There's now an easy way to transfer your photos and videos from Facebook to Google Photos — here's how

• Facebook announced Monday that it would start rolling out a tool that lets users in the US and Canada easily transfer photos and videos from the platform to Google Photos.
• The tool was announced in December 2019 as part of the Data Transfer Project, a collaborative effort between some of the biggest tech companies, including Apple, Twitter, and Microsoft.
• Here are the steps to transfer your Facebook photos to Google Photos. If the feature isn't yet available to you on your account, it should be soon.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A new tool allowing you to easily transfer all your photos and videos from Facebook to another service may be the final straw that lets you sever ties with the platform once and for all.

Facebook announced Thursday that it was rolling out a tool to users in the US and Canada that allows them to easily transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos in one fell swoop. In just a couple of steps, users can transfer years' worth of baby pictures or heavily edited middle school montages to Google's popular photo-storage service — and likely other services in the future.

The photo-transfer tool was released as part of the Data Transfer Project, a collaborative effort from some of the biggest tech companies announced in 2018 aimed to make it easier and simpler to move files and data across platforms. This is the first product from the project, which currently includes Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter.

The photo-transfer tool was first announced in December 2019, and has since rolled out to users in countries across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The expansion to the US and Canada means millions of more users will be able to take advantage of the tool.

Google Photos is free and has virtually unlimited storage space. It's become my go-to tool for storing photos across all platforms, even on my iPhone. I have hundreds of photos on Facebook since I got my account more than a decade ago, and this new tool provided me with an easy way to reference and share old pictures with friends and family without the tedious task of searching through all of my photos on the platform. It's unclear whether you can also transfer photos you are tagged in — I've reached out to Facebook for comment.

Facebook has said that Google Photos is only the first service the platform is partnering with for photo transfers, but has hinted that users will be able to transfer Facebook data to other online services in the future.

Here are the steps for transferring your photos and videos from Facebook to Google Photos. If the feature isn't yet available in your account's Settings, it likely will be soon.

You'll know the transfer has successfully started thanks to the "Pending" status shown to you under Activity. The transfer process is complete when the status bar changes to green and reads "Completed." Be patient: This process took several minutes for me.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

You'll be directed back to Facebook. Select "Confirm Transfer" to start the process.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

You'll have two different prompts pop up where you have to manually give Facebook permission to add content to your Google Photos Library. Make sure to click "Allow" for both.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

Your browser will then direct you away from Facebook to a page where you'll see your Google accounts. If you have multiple, make sure you select the account where you want the photos to be transferred.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

From there, select the button next to Photos or Videos to choose which to transfer. You can only select either photos or videos, so you'll have to repeat the process to transfer the other set of files to Google Photos.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

From the "Choose Destination" drop-down menu, select "Google Photos." It's currently the only option, but more services may be available in the future.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

Under Settings, select "Your Facebook Information" from the menu on the left. If the tool is available to you, you'll see an option to "Transfer a Copy of Your Photos or Videos." Click it — and enter your Facebook password if you're prompted.

Facebook; Paige Leskin/Business Insider

From the main page of your Facebook account, click arrow in the top-right of your menu bar and select Settings from the drop-down menu.

Paige Leskin/Business Insider