Migration Guide iCloud Photos macOS
Google Takeout exports strip real dates and buries GPS in JSON files. Uploading directly to iCloud causes thousands of photos to appear as "taken today". FolioSort completely restores your EXIF metadata locally on your Mac before your migration.
If you use a Mac, iPhone, and iPad, iCloud Photos is the tighter fit. Here's how they compare.
Visit takeout.google.com. Select only Google Photos. Download all zip parts. Extract into ~/Google-Takeout-Raw/.
Open FolioSort and use Takeout Import mode. FolioSort reads every .json sidecar, writes the real date and GPS back into each image's EXIF. Duplicates are removed.
Open the Photos app on your Mac. Go to File → Import and select your organized folder. Apple Photos reads EXIF dates and GPS — your timeline appears perfectly in order.
In Apple Photos, go to Photos → Settings → iCloud. Check "iCloud Photos." Your entire imported library now syncs to iPhone, iPad, and Mac automatically.
iCloud uploads on your internet connection. Large libraries (50,000+ photos) may take days on a home connection — keep your Mac plugged in and connected. Progress shows in Photos' sidebar.
Once you've verified your iCloud library is complete and correct, you can cancel Google One storage and delete your Google Photos account. Keep a local backup first — always.
Apple Photos uses EXIF DateTimeOriginal to build your timeline. If that field is wrong, Apple Photos is wrong.
Without fixing EXIF first, every imported photo appears in today's date cluster in Apple Photos. With FolioSort's fix, each photo lands in the right month and year — correctly.
Apple Photos' Places view maps photos to where they were taken. This only works if GPS is in EXIF. FolioSort restores GPS from Takeout JSON so your Places map is populated.
Apple Photos' Memories feature creates automated albums by date and location. False dates produce false memories. Fix the dates first and Memories reflect your real life.
With FolioSort Pro, you can also organize directly to iCloud Drive (not Apple Photos) — giving you Finder-accessible folders synced across all your devices.
Prefer true self-hosting without iCloud? Immich gives you Google Photos' features on your own hardware.
Just want all photos on your Mac without any cloud? This guide covers the local-only migration.
Move your library to a Synology NAS for local high-speed access without relying on iCloud pricing.
FolioSort fixes your Takeout export before you import into iCloud. Your Apple Photos timeline will be accurate from day one.