Back Up Google Photos to pCloud Without Takeout
The move comes up more than any other: get a Google Photos library out of Google and into a pCloud lifetime plan. The transfer breaks in the same place almost every time, and it is never the archive part.
The manual route
Section titled "The manual route"The manual route starts with Google Takeout. You request an export and wait hours, sometimes days, for a pile of zip files. Each item arrives next to a JSON sidecar that holds Google's metadata, and you extract the zips. For the minority of files that need it, you merge that sidecar back into the files with an EXIF tool. Then you upload the result to pCloud, and when the upload breaks partway, you figure out what happened and try again.
For a big library, that takes days. It is why so many pCloud lifetime plans sit mostly empty.
What happens to the dates
Section titled "What happens to the dates"Takeout does not break dates for most photos. Files uploaded at original quality keep their own EXIF, including the capture date, and a plain copy preserves it. The JSON sidecar is extra.
The metadata fix applies only to a subset: photos edited in Google Photos, which download as re-encoded files, and files that never had an embedded capture date, which covers screenshots, downloaded images, and forwards.[1] For those, the reliable date lives in Google's JSON. Most libraries are mostly original files, so the fix is a minority concern.
What that means for a transfer tool: the file should pass through unchanged. Whatever date is embedded in the file comes with it, no merge step and nothing stripped. That is the rule Blober follows. It reads each file as Google serves it and writes it to pCloud.
What the other tools do
Section titled "What the other tools do"rclone used to list and download a Google Photos library. Google changed its API policy in March 2025, and since then rclone can only download photos it uploaded itself.[2] That leaves an existing library out of reach. Transfer services that run on your behalf face the same limit, or they meter how much data you can move per month.
For a library you built through the Google Photos app or the web, the direct path to pCloud needs a tool that reads Google Photos the way the service exposes it, plus pCloud support on the other side.
Blober sends Google Photos to pCloud directly
Section titled "Blober sends Google Photos to pCloud directly"Blober is a desktop app with a Google Photos provider and a pCloud provider, so the Takeout step drops out of the job:
- connect Google Photos as the source and pCloud as the destination in one workflow;
- Blober reads the library through the provider and writes each photo and video to pCloud, passing the files through unchanged;
- no Takeout archive, no zip extraction, no sidecar step;
- transfers resume on their own if the connection drops, and files already copied stay done;
- you can organize during the move with a path template if you want folders by year or by month instead of one flat folder.
If your pCloud account is on the EU data center, Blober picks that up during authorization and uses it for the transfer. There is nothing to configure.
To start, connect Google Photos and pCloud, then create a workflow with Google Photos as the source and pCloud as the destination. Select the library (or an album), select the pCloud folder, and run it.
For the general case of downloading Google Photos without Takeout, see how to backup Google Photos without Google Takeout.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled "Frequently asked questions"Will the photo dates survive the move?
For the files that have a date embedded, yes. Blober passes each file through unchanged, so the capture date in the file comes along. It does not strip or rewrite anything.
Do I still need exiftool or a script?
Not through Blober. A metadata fix applies only to edited photos and files without an embedded date, which is a minority of most libraries. Blober transfers each file as it is, so the files that already carry their date come through unchanged and need nothing extra.
What happens if my connection drops halfway?
Blober keeps per-file progress. When you resume the task, the files that already transferred stay done and the rest continue. You do not redo the library.
Does this work with a pCloud lifetime plan?
Yes. Blober connects to the account the same way regardless of how you pay for it.
My pCloud account is on the EU servers. Do I need to do anything?
No. The data center is detected when you authorize, and Blober uses the right API host from then on.
Do I need to create my own pCloud app?
No. Blober pre-fills the public pCloud app keys, so you authorize in seconds without creating an app or waiting for a review. If you prefer your own app, the pCloud guide covers that too.
I still want to use Takeout as a fallback. Does that work?
It works, but you are back to the manual route: batches, zip extraction, and a metadata fix for the files that need one. Blober is the direct route, and it does not reintroduce the exact problem you were trying to avoid.
Get Blober
Section titled "Get Blober"Blober is a one-time purchase with a lifetime license. No subscription, no transfer fees, no per-GB cap. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
