It’s possible you want to change your job, or maybe you’ve decided to stop using a particular Gmail account, or could it be that you just need copies of all your emails stored just in case. For whatever reason, we recommend that you use the Google Takeout feature to backup and export your Gmail and other Google accounts. In fact, you can set your account to backup regularly, which is usually a good idea.
- While on this page look for “Privacy & personalization” and tap “Manage your data & personalization.”
- This will take you to a new page where you can scroll to find “Download, delete, or make a plan for your data”. Once you’re there, select “Download your data.”
- This next page will be Google’s Takeout page. Expand the “Select data to include” option, and mark the box(es) next to Gmail and any other apps you want to backup. If you’re attempting this with your phone it will show up as a list. Some services have a “Multiple Format” button. Click this button to select the format for downloading the data.
- Tap “Next” or “Next step” if you’re using a phone. This will take you “Choose file type, frequency & destination” which is the next stage.
- You can choose how you want to receive your data. There are different options under the “Delivery method”, such as requesting to Email a download link, add it to your Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box. Decide which method you want your data to be delivered.
- For frequency, you can choose whether you want the files exported just once or every two months (for one year), and you can choose the file size and also type. (If the file size is larger than your maximum, it will be separated into multiple files; and any files larger than 2GB will use the zip64 compression format.)
- Next, click “Export” or “Create export.”
- The data export will commence immediately but you’ll have to wait as this might take days to complete. You can choose to “Cancel export” or “Create another export.”
One final thing to note is, if you’re backing up your company account, you may find out that Google’s Takeout has been disabled. There are certain third-party apps that claim they have features that can allow you to backup your company’s Gmail account. However, we advise you to check the company’s policies before using these softwares.
