Facebook has announced that it is launching a new photo transfer service from and to other platforms. Users will be able to transfer videos and photos from one account to another with a few clicks, without first having to download them to their computer, vesti.bg reported.

The service is being phased in for users in different countries, and should be available worldwide by the end of the first half of 2020. Initially, it is compatible with Google Photos, and other platforms will be gradually added.

The service has been developed through the Data Transfer Project, a common open source project for IT companies to facilitate the transfer of information between their services when users request it. Facebook says the information will be encrypted and can be transferred after further password entry.

“For almost a decade, we’ve enabled people to download their information from Facebook,” Steve Satterfield, director of privacy and public policy at Facebook explained. “The photo transfer tool we’re starting to roll out today is based on code developed through our participation in the open-source Data Transfer Project.”

The new software is still being tested and will therefore initially be available to a limited number of users. They will gradually become more, and according to their feedback, additional changes in the service may be made.

The first users to access the new feature are in Ireland. Facebook is also urging other companies to join the Data Transfer Project. The project already involves Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter and more. Therefore, it is expected that their services will gradually be able to transfer consumer data to each other more easily, as it is one of the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).