Facebook’s New Tool Enables Easy Photo And Video Transfers To Google Photos

Facebook is testing a new data tool that will enable its users to more easily transfer their uploaded photos over to Google Photos, if that is what they want to do. It is actually available right now to people in Ireland. Worldwide availability is planned for the first half of 2020, and in the meantime, Facebook said it will continue making refinements to the tool.

“We want to build practical portability solutions people can trust and use effectively. To foster that trust, people and online services need clear rules about what kinds of data should be portable and who is responsible for protecting that data as it moves to different services. We hope this product can help advance conversations on the privacy questions we identified in our white paper,” Facebook says.

Last month, Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) introduced a bipartisan bill that would force tech companies to ensure their platforms are compatible with one another.

“We’ve learned from our conversations with policymakers, regulators, academics, advocates and others that real-world use cases and tools will help drive policy discussions forward. That’s why we’re developing new products that take into account the feedback we’ve received and will help drive data portability policies forward by giving people and experts a tool to assess,” Facebook says.

The photo transfer tool Facebook is rolling out today is based on code developed through the company’s participation in the open-source Data Transfer Project. In addition to Facebook, several other prominent tech firms are participating, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and more.

For those who can access it, the tool is available by clicking here, or by going to Settings > Your Facebook Information.

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