Use Google Takeout

Learn how to select and export specific files and albums from your Google Drive and Google Photos. This guide walks you through deselecting all data and choosing only the content you want to download, customizing file type and size for your export.

Verna Holcomb
23 steps
3 minutes

Google

Gmail

Navigate to [https://takeout.google.com/](https://takeout.google.com/?pli=1)

Click "Deselect all" (to avoid having way more content than you want or need).

If you want to download something from Google Drive, click the checkbox to the right of that entry.

Click "All Drive data included" to narrow down your content selection. This is especially important if you have not already deleted files you do not wish to keep.

Click the "Include all files and folders in Drive" field to uncheck that box. \*\*Note: if you already deleted all folders except what you want to save elsewhere, you can skip down to step 8.

Click "Deselect all"

Click the checkbox next to any folders you wish to backup. If you've already cleaned up your Drive, this list should be short.

Click "OK"

If you want to download something from Google Photos, click the checkbox to the right of that entry.

Click "All photo albums included" to narrow down your content selection. This is especially important if you have not already deleted photos you do not wish to keep.

Click "Deselect all" to uncheck that box. \*\*Note: if you already deleted all folders except what you want to save elsewhere, you can skip down to step 13.

Click the checkboxes next to any albums you wish to save elsewhere.

Click "OK"

Scroll down and click the "Next step" button.

Click the "Transfer to" drop down to see your options. DO NOT select “Add to Drive” as a destination. We recommend "Send download link via email" unless you are very comfortable with one of the alternatives.

Click "File type select" if you wish to choose the .tgz file type. We recommend using the ".zip" default.

Click "File size select" to choose the size of each file Google Takeout will create for you. What you choose depends on the amount of data you are copying out.

Click "Create export"

You will get an email confirming that you requested an "Archive of Google data". You do not have to do anything with this email.

When the takeout process is complete, if you chose the "Send download link via email" option, you will receive an email letting you know when your files are ready.

Click "Manage Google Takeout request" from the email.

Click the download link. Depending on the size of your export, you might have multiple files to download. Choose where to save them.

Verify that you have everything you want, then return to Drive and Photos to delete everything. See [Google Storage Cleanup Information for Alumni](https://uknow.drew.edu/confluence/x/gwlOEQ) again for more information.

Use Google Takeout

Verna Holcomb
23 steps
3 minutes

Google

Gmail

Navigate to [https://takeout.google.com/](https://takeout.google.com/?pli=1)

Click "Deselect all" (to avoid having way more content than you want or need).

If you want to download something from Google Drive, click the checkbox to the right of that entry.

Click "All Drive data included" to narrow down your content selection. This is especially important if you have not already deleted files you do not wish to keep.

Click the "Include all files and folders in Drive" field to uncheck that box. \*\*Note: if you already deleted all folders except what you want to save elsewhere, you can skip down to step 8.

Click "Deselect all"

Click the checkbox next to any folders you wish to backup. If you've already cleaned up your Drive, this list should be short.

Click "OK"

If you want to download something from Google Photos, click the checkbox to the right of that entry.

Click "All photo albums included" to narrow down your content selection. This is especially important if you have not already deleted photos you do not wish to keep.

Click "Deselect all" to uncheck that box. \*\*Note: if you already deleted all folders except what you want to save elsewhere, you can skip down to step 13.

Click the checkboxes next to any albums you wish to save elsewhere.

Click "OK"

Scroll down and click the "Next step" button.

Click "File type select" if you wish to choose the .tgz file type. We recommend using the ".zip" default.

Click "File size select" to choose the size of each file Google Takeout will create for you. What you choose depends on the amount of data you are copying out.

Click "Create export"

You will get an email confirming that you requested an "Archive of Google data". You do not have to do anything with this email.

When the takeout process is complete, if you chose the "Send download link via email" option, you will receive an email letting you know when your files are ready.

Click "Manage Google Takeout request" from the email.

Click the download link. Depending on the size of your export, you might have multiple files to download. Choose where to save them.