Import Google Photos to Immich
So you decided to abandon Google Photos.Photos. Whether it be due to privacy concerns,concerns, lack of control, Google's ever changing Privacy Policy or you just don't want to end up like this guy, doesn't matter. No matter what pushed you to this decision, it is certainly the right thing to do.do. You stumbled upon one of the self hosted alternatives, Immich.Immich. Good choice. Now it's time to make the switch.
After initial setup, Immich allows you to upload your photos and videos in 3 main ways:ways:
- Upload through GUI
- Backup using a mobile application
- Immich CLI
The first two options are useful for new photos, which you have saved on your computer or phone. But how do you transfer your entire Google Photos library?library? This is where Immich CLI comes into play. It is a CLI utility which allows you to bulk import photos and videos to your Immich account, with all the necessary metadata.
Export photos from Google Account
First of all, you need to get all your photos from the Google Account. The web photos.google.com allows you to download images individually or in bulk, but that's not useful for exports of your entire library, which might be thousands of photos.
Fortunately Google allows you to do a Takeout.
- Log in to your Google Account and go to photos.google.com
- Click on the Settings button in the top right corner
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Export your data and then Backup
- This will take you to a new page called Google Takeout
- It will automatically select just Google Photos, so you won't be exporting your entire Google Profile (although it may be a good idea in the future)
- Click on Continue and choose how you would like your file to be delivered. It's mostly enough to select Send download link via email, Export once, .zip file type and File size depending on the stability of your connection and size of your library.
