Migrate from Google Photos to Ente

Export

1. 1

   Step 1

   Request a Takeout

   In Google Takeout, export Google Photos. Choose a file size you can actually download. Leave the Google library in place until the new one looks complete.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Expect files plus sidecars

   Takeout is image and video files with JSON next to them. It is not a live album structure. Shared albums and partner libraries need their own export if someone else owns them.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Check a recent month

   Open the newest month in the download before you start the upload. A truncated zip is a bad thing to discover after you have deleted Google Photos.

Import

1. 1

   Step 1

   Create the Ente account or server

   Use Ente's hosted service or a server you run from their repository. The hosted plan and a self-hosted server are different places. Pick one before you upload.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Import the files

   Ente's site describes an import path. Point it at the Takeout files. Do not assume the JSON sidecars rebuild Google's albums.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Turn backup on for the phone

   After the old library is in, install the Ente app and let new photos back up there. Two backups running at once is fine. Two places you forget to check is not.

What breaks

• Albums and people

  Google's albums, people groups, and creations do not transfer as albums. Ente has its own albums, face grouping, and search. They start from the files, not from Google's index.

• Partner sharing

  A partner share is another person's library. Takeout of your account does not include it. They export their own, or they join the new album.

• Edits

  Some Google edits live beside the original. Look at a photo you cropped in Google before you throw the original away.