While Gmail is by far the most popular email client, there are a few alternatives to Google’s offerings like Outlook and Mailbird that can compete strongly in both smart email management and flexibility. So, if you’ve finally decided to switch your loyalty to other email clients, you may want to save a backup of your entire Gmail for reference. Even if you don’t want to look beyond Google’s email client, backing up your entire Gmail account can help with security.
How to Export Backup of Whole Gmail
Backing up Gmail just got a little easier, thanks to the introduction of a handy tool called Takeout. You also have the flexibility to choose the preferred delivery method, which includes specific data, file type, and even email and cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box. Surprisingly, Apple iCloud is not included in the list of cloud services.
However, there are a few caveats that make the Gmail account export process seem like a tedious task. First of all, Google does not specify a time frame for when archived files will be sent. Second, if the total file size is greater than 2GB, Google will split the export into multiple files. Having said all that, let’s get started with the steps!
1. Open a web browser on your computer and go to: myaccount.google.com. After that, make sure you are logged into your account. google account. Then scroll down Account Storage section to check how much storage is left in your Google Account.
2. Now, click Manage your data and personalization The option under Privacy and personalization.
3. Next, scroll down and click on it. Download your data. (From now on you can have two options: Export or delete data. To choose Export).
4. Next, Google Takeout page will appear. On this page, you should see a long list of Google Services from which you can download preferred data. By default, all options are selected. Click on it since we only want to backup emails. Don’t choose any.
5. Next, scroll down to find Mail option and then check the box for him.
Messages and attachments in Gmail account are in MBOX format. User settings are in JSON format. While MBOX is the standard format for storing emails, JSON is a standard lightweight data exchange format.
Because labels are applied to all conversations in Gmail, you may get duplicate copies of some messages if you choose to export multiple labels.
Depending on your needs, you can choose to export all emails or export only specific emails. By default, all mail data is included.
If you only want to export certain data, click on it. All Mail data included -> Include all messages in Mail. After that, select the specific data and click. OK.
6. Now, click on Next step button.
7. On the next page, export a copy of the content in your Google Account to back up. Additionally, there is an option to use the backup with a service other than Google.
Google also lets you choose the file type, frequency, and destination. For example, have him send the download link via email or attach the files to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box.
There are two file types to choose from – zip and tgz. Choose zip as it is the most preferred option. You can also set it to export all files at once or choose to export files every 2 months for 1 year.
Note that exports larger than 2 GB will be split into multiple files. After choosing the file type and destination, click on it. Create Export. That is all! Now, wait a few hours or days for a backup of your emails to arrive.
Make A Copy Of Files From Gmail And Export With Ease
So, you can make a copy of the files from Gmail and transfer them to the preferred destination. Other than a few caveats, the process is simple.
It’s worth noting that you can take advantage of the Takeout tool to export data from other Google offerings, including Chrome, Calendar, Classroom, and Google Photos. So, never neglect to make the most of this tool to backup your data in preferred destination.
