Facebook has launched a new tool that allows users to transfer their photos posted on the social media platform to Google Photos.
The move is part of a larger agreement between the two tech giants and Apple, Microsoft and Twitter that lets users of one service easily transfer their data to competing platforms. That initiative is called the Data Transfer Project.
In a blog post, Facebook said its participation in the Data Transfer Project will allow Facebook users to transfer both photos and videos directly to Google Photos with other companies and services to come after.
According to the company, the photo transfer tool will first be made available to users in Ireland, with worldwide availability planned for the first half of 2020.
It can be accessed in Facebook settings within Your Facebook Information, which is the same place where users can currently download their information, which has been an available feature for almost a decade.
Users will be required to enter their password before a data transfer and all transfers will be encrypted.
“We are currently testing this tool, so we will continue refining it based on feedback from people using it as well as from our conversations with stakeholders,” the company said.
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In the blog post, the company cited its September white paper about privacy and data portability. That sparked conversations with lawmakers, regulators, tech experts and advocates which gave the company feedback on what data should be portable.
“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,” the company said.
This comes as Facebook pushes back against privacy concerns and as U.S. lawmakers introduce legislation that would force Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies to allow users to transfer data between platforms.
Facebook started down this road last year when subsidiary social platform Instagram said it would allow users to transfer their data off that platform.
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