Takeout Photo

Move your Google Photos to Proton Photos — with albums and metadata

Uploading a plain Google Takeout to Proton Photos loses the album structure and often the dates and locations, because that metadata lives in the JSON sidecars next to each photo, not in the files themselves. Takeout Photo's sync app moves the Google Photos part of your Takeout into Proton Photos (Proton Drive) in full original quality — writing the capture date, GPS location, description, favourites and people from the sidecars losslessly into the files first — using Proton's official open-source Drive CLI.

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Why a plain Takeout upload loses dates, places and albums

In a Google Photos Takeout, the photo files themselves often carry the export date as their timestamp, and the real capture date, GPS coordinates, description, favourites and people are stored in the .json sidecar next to each photo. If you upload the archive as-is, Proton Photos sees the wrong dates and places, and the Google album structure does not become Proton albums. Takeout Photo reads the sidecars and fixes the files before uploading, so Proton shows the correct dates and places.

Two ways to organise the import

  • "As in the Takeout" — your Google Photos albums become Proton albums, and everything not in an album goes to the Photos timeline.
  • "Trip albums" — one Proton album per detected trip, containing that trip's photos and videos.

Before anything is uploaded, the app writes the capture date, GPS location, description, favourite flag and people from the Takeout JSON sidecars into the files, losslessly. Everything is uploaded in full original quality.

How the upload works

Uploads go through Proton's official open-source Proton Drive CLI, which runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. The app installs it for you with checksum verification, and you sign in to Proton in your browser. Re-runs are safe: files that are already in Proton are skipped, and nothing in your Proton account is ever deleted.

Windows alternative: the import folder

On Windows you can instead use an import folder for the Proton Drive Windows app: Photos → Import → "Import a folder". Note that with this route a photo that belongs to several albums lands in only one album. The Proton Drive Mac app has no Photos import, so on macOS the sync uses the CLI.

Step by step

  1. Export Google Photos with Google Takeout (see how to export a Takeout).
  2. Point Takeout Photo at the archives — a local folder, a Drive link, or sign in with Google and pick the files (read-only).
  3. In the sync app, choose the layout: "as in the Takeout" or "trip albums".
  4. Let the app install the Proton Drive CLI (checksum-verified) and sign in to Proton in your browser.
  5. Run the sync. You can re-run it any time; what is already in Proton is skipped and nothing is deleted.

What is never synced

Other people's Takeouts (for example your partner's) are never synced to your Proton account. Everything is processed locally on your computer first; the only destination of the upload is your own Proton Photos. Your photos are never uploaded to our servers. See the privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

Does it upload in original quality?

Yes — the Google Photos part of your Takeout is moved to Proton Photos in full original quality, not a compressed copy.

Do my Google Photos albums survive the move?

Yes. With the "as in the Takeout" layout, Google Photos albums become Proton albums and the rest goes to the Photos timeline. Alternatively, the "trip albums" layout creates one album per detected trip.

What happens to dates, GPS and descriptions?

Before upload, the capture date, GPS location, description, favourite flag and people from the Takeout JSON sidecars are written losslessly into the files, so Proton Photos shows the correct dates and places.

Is it safe to run the sync again?

Yes. Re-runs skip what is already in Proton, and nothing in your Proton account is ever deleted.

Do I need the Proton Drive desktop app?

Not necessarily — the app uploads with Proton's official open-source Proton Drive CLI on Linux, macOS and Windows. On Windows there is also the import-folder route via the Proton Drive app; the Proton Drive Mac app has no Photos import, so macOS uses the CLI.

Are other people's Takeouts synced to my Proton account?

No. Other people's Takeouts are never synced to your Proton account — only your own Google Photos part of your Takeout is moved.

Also works with your Takeout

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