Since Gmail is a cloud email service, it provides flexibility when it comes to data accessibility and security in the cloud. However, no matter how secure your Gmail account is, creating a backup of its emails on the local drive can save you from disasters. In this article, we aim to help you migrate Gmail emails to local folder for backup purposes.
Migrating Gmail to a local drive is not a tough task and can also be done manually. There is a tool called Google Takeout that allows you to download Gmail along with other drive data to local storage. We have detailed the complete steps to use Google Takeout to export Gmail to local drive. Please find the steps below.
How to Migrate Gmail Emails to Local Folder?
- You may click the link to reach Google Takeout https://myaccount.google.com.
- Go to “Data & Personalisation” and select “Download, delete, or establish a data plan.”
- Now select the “Download your data” option.
- Now select “Mail” and deselect all other items.
- Choose a file type, a frequency, and a destination now.
- On the new page, click Create Export, and then click Download.
So here is how to migrate Gmail emails to local drive with Google Takeout. However, you should be aware that this approach has some limitations.
Limitation of the Manual Approach
- The process may take several hours or even days, depending on the size of your data.
- The data will be saved in MBOX format, which is not easy to open unless configured with a Thunderbird account.
- Google Takeout does not allow you to migrate specific folders from the Gmail account.
In order to overcome these limitations, you can consider the following approach.
A Professional Way to Export Gmail to Local Storage
Gmail Backup Tool is the professional and easiest way to migrate Gmail emails to local folder. Unlike Google Takeout, it does not save your data in MBOX format, but rather allows you to choose the file format. With the help of the software, you can choose from EML, PDF, text and other file formats to preserve Gmail emails.
The software is easy to use and allows you to migrate specific folders to a local folder rather than an entire folder. You may find the step below to use the professional software.
Steps to Migrate Specific or All Folders to Local Drive
- Download, install and launch the software on Windows device
- Add a Gmail account in the software
- Click Export and select the saving option such as PDF.
- Select the location to save the output file, then click the Save button.
This is how you can migrate Gmail emails to local drive with a professional software. This approach is definitely better than Google Takeout because it gives you multiple saving options and allows you to migrate a specific folder to local drive.
Advantages of Using Professional Software over Google Takeout
- The software has simple user interface hence useful for non-technical users as well.
- It allows you to migrate Inbox, Sent Box, Outbox, Drafts and other folders from Gmail to local drive.
- It allows you to migrate emails from multiple Gmail account to local drive.
- It is 100% safe and secured and maintains the integrity of the data during migration process.
- The software is Windows compatible and can be used on Windows 11, Windows 10 and earlier versions.
In Conclusion
Migrating Gmail to a local drive is a wise choice as it can serve as a backup and save you from disaster situations. In this page, we have described two best ways to migrate Gmail emails to local folder. You can use either a Google Takeout or professional software. Read the article to know the detailed approach.
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