Google provides users the ability to export and download an archive of the data associated with their Google account across various services like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, etc. This is useful to backup your data or if you want to delete your Google account but still retain the data.
Table of Contents
What Data Can You Export
You can export data from the following Google services:
- Gmail – Emails, labels, filters, blocked addresses, signatures, vacation responder, etc.
- Google Drive – Files, folders, metadata like sharing info, trashed items, etc.
- Google Photos – All photos and videos, albums, etc.
- Google Calendar – All calendars, events, attendees, etc.
- Google Contacts – All contacts and groups
- Google Keep – All notes and lists
- YouTube – Playlists, subscriptions, watch history, etc.
And many other Google services.
How to Export and Download Data Archive
Follow these steps to export and download an archive of your Google data:
- Go to Google Takeout and sign-in to your Google account
- Deselect all data types, and only select the services you want to export data from
- Configure export settings:
- Delivery method – Get download link via email OR save to cloud storage like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
- Frequency – Export once or scheduled exports
- File type & size – ZIP, TGZ, max 50GB per file
- Click on “Create Export” to start the export process
It can take from a few minutes to a few days for Google to create the export archive depending on how much data is being exported. You will get an email notification when it is ready.
Download and Extract the Archive
Once you receive the email from Google Takeout that the export archive is ready:
- Click on “Download Archive” in the email to start downloading the files
- The files will be compressed ZIP or TGZ files
- Extract and decompress the downloaded files on your computer
- The extracted files contain your data from the various Google services
Store these extracted files securely as a backup of your Google data.
Import the Data to Other Services
If you want to delete your Google account but still retain the data, you can:
- Import Gmail emails and contacts into another email service like Outlook or Yahoo Mail
- Upload Google Drive files to another cloud storage like Dropbox
- Upload Google Photos to another photo storage service
- Import Google Calendar events to Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud calendar, etc.
Refer to the destination service’s help articles for how to import data.
Conclusion
- Google Takeout allows exporting your data from Google services
- You can backup and download this archive to your computer
- Extract the archive to access your Gmail emails, Drive files, photos, etc.
- Import this data to non-Google services if closing your Google account
Using Google Takeout can ensure you have copies of your important Google data so you never lose access.
