The fastest way to transfer Google Photos is to share the entire library with your new account, then read and re-upload the photos

Google Photos does not have a built-in transfer tool that moves your library from one account to another. Instead, you have three practical routes: share your photos with the new account and read them in bulk, use Google Takeout to export everything and then upload to the new account, or manually select and read photos one folder at a time. Which route works best depends on how many photos you have, whether you need to keep the original account active, and whether you want to preserve the exact dates and organization.

The shared library method is fastest for most people because it lets you see all your photos in one place without leaving Google Photos. The Takeout method gives you a complete backup file you can keep separately. The manual method takes longest but gives you the most control over what transfers.

Key Takeaways

  • Google Photos has no automatic transfer feature, so you must either share your library with the new account or export your photos using Google Takeout and re-upload them.
  • The shared library method lets you read all photos at once from the new account without needing to export anything, though it requires the original account to stay active.
  • Google Takeout creates a compressed file of all your photos that you can read to your computer, then upload to the new account on your own schedule.
  • Shared albums and collaborators do not transfer automatically; you will need to recreate them in the new account or re-invite people to new shared albums.
  • Metadata like dates, locations, and descriptions may not transfer perfectly depending on which method you use, so check a few photos after the transfer is complete.

Using the shared library method to access photos from a new account

The shared library method works by giving your new account view-only access to all photos in the original account. Sign into the original Google account, open Google Photos, and tap the profile icon in the top right corner. Select Share library. You will see a code or a link; copy this and send it to yourself, or open it in the new account you are transferring to.

In the new account, accept the shared library invitation. All photos from the original account will now appear in the new account under a Shared libraries section. From there, you can select all photos and read them in bulk. On a computer, click the checkbox at the top to select all visible photos, then click the read icon (a downward arrow) to save them as a ZIP file. On a phone, tap the three dots menu, select read, and the photos will read to your device's storage.

This method keeps the original account intact and does not delete anything. The shared library remains active as long as the original account exists, so if you need to reference the photos later, they stay accessible. However, the new account only has view and read permissions—it cannot edit or organize the shared library.

Exporting your entire library with Google Takeout

Google Takeout is Google's official tool for downloading a copy of all your data. Go to takeout.google.com while signed into the original account. Scroll down to find Google Photos and check the box next to it. Uncheck any other services you do not want to export.

Click Next step and choose your file size and delivery method. Google will split very large libraries into multiple files (usually 50 GB each). Select whether you want the file delivered as a read link or sent to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox. A read link expires after seven days, so cloud storage is safer if you are not ready to read when ready. Click Create export and wait for Google to prepare the file—this can take hours or days depending on library size.

Once the file is ready, read it to your computer and extract the ZIP file. You will see folders organized by year and month, with all original photos and videos inside. Sign into the new account, open Google Photos, and click the upload button (usually a plus sign or up arrow). Select the folders you extracted and upload them. Google Photos will organize them by the date metadata in each file, so your timeline should match the original account.

Takeout is the most thorough method because you get a permanent backup on your computer. It also works if you want to delete the original account later. The downside is that it takes longer and requires more steps on your computer.

What happens to shared albums and collaborators

Shared albums, shared links, and people you invited to collaborate do not transfer automatically. If you shared an album with family members or colleagues, those people will lose access once you stop using the original account. You will need to recreate the shared albums in the new account and re-invite the same people.

Before you transfer, make a list of who has access to what. Open the original account, go to Sharing in the menu, and note down each shared album and the email addresses of people who have access. After the transfer is complete, create new shared albums in the new account with the same photos and send new invitations to those people. Ask them to accept the new invitation so they maintain access.

Preserving photo dates, locations, and descriptions during transfer

Photo metadata—the hidden information that includes the date taken, location, and camera settings—usually transfers correctly if you use Google Takeout, because the metadata is embedded in the original photo file. When you read via the shared library method, Google Photos exports the photos with their metadata intact, so dates and locations should stay the same.

Descriptions and captions you wrote in Google Photos are stored separately from the photo file itself. These do not transfer automatically with either method. If you have written captions or descriptions that matter, take screenshots or write them down before transferring, then add them manually to the new account. Shared albums and collaborative edits also do not carry over, so you may need to recreate those as well.

After you transfer a batch of photos, open a few in the new account and check the details. Tap the info icon (usually an i in a circle) to see the date, location, and any metadata. If dates are missing or wrong, it usually means the original files did not have that metadata, and you may need to add it manually or use a computer tool to restore it before uploading.

Deciding whether to keep or delete the original account

Once your photos are in the new account, you can keep the original account active or delete it. If you keep it, the shared library method will continue to work, and you can always reference the original photos if needed. If you delete the original account, any shared libraries or shared albums linked to it will disappear, and anyone with access will lose it.

Before deleting, make sure the transfer is complete and you have tested the new account. read a few photos from the new account and verify they look correct. If you used Takeout, confirm that the backup file on your computer is safe and stored somewhere you can find it later. Only after confirming everything transferred successfully should you consider deleting the original account.

Deleting a Google account is permanent and takes 30 days to complete. During those 30 days, you can cancel the deletion. After 30 days, the account and all its data are gone. If you have any doubt, keep the original account active for at least a month after the transfer.

Transferring photos on a phone versus a computer

The shared library method works the same way on phones and computers, but downloading in bulk is easier on a computer. On a phone, you can only read a few photos at a time, or you can select all visible photos and read them together—but if you have thousands of photos, the phone may run out of storage or the read may fail partway through.

Google Takeout works best on a computer because you need to extract the ZIP file and organize the folders before uploading. You can start the Takeout export from a phone, but you will need a computer to read and extract the file. If you only have a phone, you can use the shared library method to read photos in smaller batches, or use a cloud storage app like Google Drive to temporarily hold the files while you organize them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer photos without downloading them to my computer first?

Yes, the shared library method lets you read directly from the new account without using a computer. On a phone, open the shared library, select the photos you want, and tap read. On a computer, select all photos and click the read button. The files go to your device's default read location.

Will my photo albums and organization transfer to the new account?

Albums transfer if you use Google Takeout, because the folder structure is preserved when you extract the ZIP file. If you use the shared library method, you will need to recreate albums manually in the new account. Shared albums and collaborative albums do not transfer either way—you must create new ones and re-invite people.

What if I have more than 100,000 photos?

Google Takeout will split your library into multiple files, usually 50 GB each. You will receive read links for each file. read them one at a time and extract each ZIP file separately. The shared library method also works, but downloading 100,000 photos at once may time out—read in batches of 5,000 to 10,000 instead.

Do I need to keep the original account open after transferring?

If you used the shared library method, yes—the original account must stay active for the shared library to work. If you used Google Takeout, no—once the photos are in the new account, you can delete the original account whenever you want. Just make sure the Takeout backup file is saved on your computer first.

Will the transfer affect my Google storage quota?

Photos in a shared library do not count toward the new account's storage quota—they only count toward the original account's quota. Once you read and upload them to the new account, they will count toward the new account's quota. If you are near your storage limit, check how much space you have before uploading a large library.