How to Download Your Google Data With Google Takeout in Canada

Your Google account probably holds years of your life: emails, photos, documents, contacts, location history and videos. Google Takeout is the free tool that lets you download a copy of all of it. Canadians use it before switching accounts, backing up important files, or simply checking what Google has stored about them. Here is how to use it without getting lost in the settings.

Step 1: Open Google Takeout and sign in

Go to takeout.google.com in your browser and sign in to the Google account you want to download from. If you have more than one account, double check you are in the right one, because Takeout only exports data for the account you are signed in to. On a shared computer, sign out of other accounts first to avoid confusion.

Takeout will show a long list of Google products with checkboxes beside them. By default, everything is selected. If you want a full archive, you can leave it as is. If you only need certain things, click "Deselect all" at the top and tick only the products you want, such as Gmail, Google Photos, Drive and YouTube.

Step 2: Choose what to include for each product

Some products let you fine tune the export. For Gmail, you can choose to download all mail or only certain labels. For Photos, you can pick specific albums. For Drive, you can include files in specific folders. These options appear when you click the button under a product name, such as "All Mail data included" for Gmail.

Think about what you actually need before you start. A full export of a long lived account can be very large, especially if it includes years of photos and videos. If you only need your emails and documents, leaving Photos out will make the download much smaller and faster. You can always run another export later for the rest.

Step 3: Pick your file format and size

Next, choose how you want the export delivered. The usual choice is a download link sent by email. You can also send the archive directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive or Box if you prefer, though that means trusting another service with the same data.

For file type, ZIP is the most widely supported option. For archive size, you can split the export into files of 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 10 GB or 50 GB. Smaller parts are easier to download on a slower connection, because a failed download only costs you one part. If your export is small, a single file is fine.

Step 4: Start the export and wait for the link

Click "Create export" and Google will begin preparing your archive. This can take minutes or hours, and for very large accounts it can take days. You do not need to keep the browser open while it works. When the archive is ready, Google sends an email with a download link to the account you exported from.

The link stays active for seven days, so download the archive promptly once it arrives. If you miss the window, you will need to create a new export. While you wait, it is worth checking how much free space you have on your computer or external drive, because a full archive can easily run into tens of gigabytes.

Step 5: Download and store the archive safely

Download the archive parts to your computer, then check that the files open properly. The archive contains your data in standard formats: emails as MBOX files, contacts as vCards, calendars in ICS format, and photos and videos in their original formats. Most email programs and photo apps can open these without special software.

Store the archive somewhere safe, such as an encrypted external drive kept at home. Remember that this file contains a huge amount of personal information, so treat it like a filing cabinet full of private documents. Do not leave it sitting in your Downloads folder indefinitely, and do not upload it to a shared drive or send it to someone else.

Step 6: Use the export to clean up your account

Once you have a safe copy, the export becomes useful in other ways. You can delete old emails or files from your Google account to free up storage, knowing you still have a local copy. You can also review what Google had stored, from old location history to app data, and adjust your privacy settings or delete data you no longer want kept online.

If you are moving to a new account, the export helps you carry your history with you. Contacts and calendars can be imported into the new account, and photos and documents can be uploaded again. Take your time with the move and keep the archive until you are sure everything you need has arrived safely in its new home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google Takeout free?

Yes, Google Takeout is free for all Google account holders. There is no charge for creating an export, regardless of how much data it contains.

How long does a Google Takeout export take?

It depends on the size of your account. A small export can be ready in minutes, while an account with years of photos and videos can take hours or even days. Google emails you when the archive is ready to download.

How long do I have to download my archive?

The download link stays active for seven days after the archive is ready. If it expires before you download everything, create a new export and try again.