How To Download Data From Think With Google

Download your data using Google Takeout

The fastest fashion to download your Google data is to use Google Takeout. What is Google Takeout? Google Takeout is a data retrieval platform created in 2011 past the engineering team known as the Google Data Liberation Front. It lets y'all easily import and export data from many Google services. Information technology's not, as the name might propose, an online nutrient delivery service.

With Google Takeout, y'all tin can export images for editing, free up space by archiving old files, and create backups to shop on hard drives or on other cloud services. You can also download data from Google Calendar, Gmail, your Google Drive — even information related to your searches and movements on Google Maps.

Once you learn how to employ Google Takeout, there are around 50 separate services whose data you can access, which will give you some idea of how Google uses your information. You tin take out (export) some or all of the data you desire. Just note that if yous download Google data it doesn't remove it from their servers — it just lets you lot access and explore it.

How does Google Takeout work? Just get to Google Takeout, download your data in a few easy steps, and start exploring the data Google collects. You might want to begin past downloading data from but i service, then there'due south less to wade through when getting started.

For pop Google services whose information you may want to admission immediately, jump ahead to:

Gmail
Google Calendar
Google Photos
Google Maps
Google Drive

Pace one: Select the data you want to download

There are merely a few steps you need to take to consign data from Google Takeout.

First, log in to your Google account.
Then, go to Google Takeout.
Click on the bill of fare item Select data to include to expand information technology.
Choose which services to export data from. Past default, all information is selected, but at that place's a button above the private checkboxes that lets yous Deselect all or Select all.
For more details virtually each service, click on the buttons below that service. For example, the Multiple Formats button under Chrome tells you which formats each type of data will be exported in and besides has an option to select which Chrome items to download.

Nosotros'll take a closer look at 5 of the near popular services in the department on downloading data from specific Google products and services below.
Click the Next Step button at the lesser and so choose the file type, frequency, and destination of your information export.

Footstep ii: Choose your preferred delivery method and export type

Delivery method: You can choose to get a download link delivered via electronic mail or add your data to a cloud storage service such as Google Bulldoze, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.
Frequency: Cull to consign your information all at once (i export) or in two-month increments over one yr (meaning you'll become six dissever exports, each with two months of data).

Step 3: Ready your maximum archive size

File blazon: Choose to download your data in a zip file or a tgz file (these are compressed file formats and nigh people choose a nada file).
File size: Apply the dropdown menu to cull how large you want your Google annal files to be. Files larger than the archive size you select will be split into multiple files. In a test of 15 services with moderate utilize, choosing the default 2GB file size resulted in 88 separate files to download and examine.

Step 4: Download and salvage your Google archive

After setting your file size and type, it's fourth dimension to download your data.

Click the Create export push.
The Export progress window will open up. It may accept some time to create your Google annal (maybe hours or fifty-fifty a couple of days if yous're downloading data from lots of services). But typically it'll be created the aforementioned day you brand the request. In our test for 15 Google services, it took just over an hr (67 minutes).
To go back and select fewer or more services, you can cancel the export. Or you tin can initiate a new consign while the first one is being created.
You may receive an email from Google notifying you that an annal of Google data has been requested and asking y'all to verify that yous made that asking.

Of grade, if you get this email and you did not request your information, and so something is awry and Google will cancel the asking.
If you did make the request, click that button and yous'll encounter a screen that says, "Y'all're all set up!" There'due south also a link to manage your Google data athenaeum, which takes y'all dorsum to the Google Takeout page y'all were just on.

When your annal is finished, y'all'll get an email notification.
Open the email, click Download archive, and follow the instructions to access and save the exported archive. You'll demand to verify it's you by using your Google account countersign.

Your files volition be made available to download for seven days. Subsequently that, Google blocks access and then that someone else can't download your information.

What type of information does Google store?

Google stores all kinds of data about you and almost how you use their apps, from what you look at on the spider web to how long you wait at it to what yous click on. Google uses web tracking methods to collect information about the content you consume, what you search for, your location history, and more. Basically, Google collects data on everything they tin can.

Google is also an online advertising juggernaut, and though they say they don't sell your information to third parties, they do share it, notably with companies that serve targeted ads beyond the web.

Have you lot ever searched for a weird production like funny socks and and so all of a sudden noticed ads for socks everywhere yous go online? That happens because Google shares anonymized demographic data similar your age, gender, and location.

Data brokers and other companies so use the information collected and shared by Google and other services, both online and off, to assemble marketplace insights, target customers, or create curated online experiences.

If beingness served targeted ads makes you uneasy or fifty-fifty just annoys you, you lot can use an ad blocker to regain your privacy.

But if you really want to become advertisers to stop tracking you lot, you need to use a dedicated anti-tracking tool. Avast AntiTrack lets you finish invasive online tracking and targeted advertizing, reveals who's trying to track you, and uses innovative anti-fingerprinting technology to disguise your online identity.

Why would I need to download my Google data?

The most obvious reason you'll desire to download your Google data is because y'all should know what the tech behemothic knows almost you. Google collects data on you lot, and equally they acknowledge, they should exist transparent well-nigh that data and let y'all come across what they have.

And they have a lot of data well-nigh you, especially if you sign in to websites using Google, accept geolocation turned on for your Android device, or use Google Assistant or Google Home.

Every website yous've visited, every place yous've traveled, and everything yous've always said to your Google Assistant or Google Domicile is all at that place. If you observe they're routinely collecting information on something y'all'd adopt they didn't, y'all can go to your Google account settings and update your permissions.

But there are more practical reasons also, like efficiency. If you take a lot of pictures and desire to batch edit them, downloading them from Google in i file is a lot more than efficient than dealing with each photo individually. If you lot desire to resync contacts or your calendars, doing it all together at once will be a lot faster.

If you're approaching your storage limits on Google Drive of Google photos, you lot can costless up space by downloading files and images, archiving them elsewhere (on an external hard drive, say), and then deleting them from the cloud.

Or, perhaps you lot want to close your Google business relationship and transfer all your files to another platform, including contacts, emails, and calendar events. Or possibly you just want to have a backup. It'south unlikely that anything will go incorrect with a company every bit large as Google — or that your data will be unavailable for an extended period of time — but backups are always a skillful thought.

Perhaps you're concerned near your online privacy. Maybe you're worried that your personal information has been exposed or is being used by advertisers or others for less than savory purposes.

Downloading your Google information is just the starting time stride in protecting yourself. Once you lot've done that, use an identity theft protection solution, similar Avast BreachGuard, to add together additional layers of protection and control effectually your personal information.

With Avast BreachGuard, yous'll get 24/7 chance monitoring and advice on creating robust privacy settings to keep your personal information private. Plus, BreachGuard will help you remove your information from data broker databases. And, if your data is ever exposed and winds upwards on the nighttime web, BreachGuard will notify you immediately with practiced advice on how to safeguard your personal information.

Downloading data from specific Google products and services

Now let's explore how to use Google Takeout to request a data archive for five of the company's about popular services: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Photos, Google Maps, and Google Drive.

Gmail

First, log in to your Google business relationship and go to Google Takeout.
Click on the menu Select data to include to aggrandize information technology.
To download your Google emails, roll down to Mail (also known as Gmail). Your email messages will be in an MBOX format, and your user settings will exist in a JSON format.
Click the All Postal service information included push to open the Mail content options bill of fare. You'll see a list of all your labels and categories. Cheque the box to Include all letters in Mail to download everything, or uncheck that box and individually select the items you lot want to see or archive.

(Notation that Google is rolling out new settings to requite you lot more control over your Gmail and Google Chat data.)
To download your data, proceed as described higher up in the section Download your information using Google Takeout, steps 2-4.

Google Calendar

You lot can use Google Takeout to access your Google Calendar data, or you can export events directly if you're using a desktop computer (this functionality isn't possible with the mobile app).

Notation that if your Google agenda is administered by an organisation (like your work or school), yous may take to contact your arrangement'due south admin to download your calendar data.

Use Google Takeout to download your Google Agenda data

First, log in to your Google account and become to Google Takeout.
Click on the menu Select data to include to aggrandize it.
Roll downwards to Agenda. Your information will be in the iCalendar format.
Click the All calendars included button to open the Calendar content options carte du jour.
Select which calendars to export data from.

Utilize Google Agenda to export all calendars

Open Google Calendar on your desktop reckoner.
Click the Settings icon in the top right and then select Settings.
In the left carte du jour, click Import & export. This will create a zip file of all the listed calendars.
Download the nothing file to your computer.

Use Google Calendar to export just one calendar

Maybe you lot don't need data from all your calendars. Hither's how to export data from merely one Google calendar:

Open Google Agenda on your desktop computer.
In the left menu, expand the My calendars carte.
Mouse over the agenda you want and click the three vertical dots on the right.
Click Settings and sharing.
Click the Export agenda button. This volition create a zip file for the calendar.
Download the zip file to your figurer.

Google Photos

You can export the photos and videos that you have stored in Google Photos, likewise as the metadata for your files and albums.

Use Google Takeout to download your Google Photos

Beginning, log in to your Google account and become to Google Takeout.
Click on the menu Select data to include to expand information technology.
Scroll down to Google Photos.
Click the All photo albums included push to open up the Google Photos content options carte du jour.
You'll see a list of all your labels and categories. Check Select all to download everything, or uncheck it and so select the individual albums y'all want to archive.
To download your information, proceed equally described above in the section Download your data using Google Takeout, steps 2-4.

Utilize Google Photos to download individual pictures and videos

Open Google Photos on your desktop computer, Android device, iPhone, or iPad.
Select a photo or video.
Click the iii vertical dots in the upper correct corner.
Click Download (if the moving-picture show is already on your device, this option will not be visible).
Choose a location on your device and click Save.

Google Maps

First, log in to your Google account and go to Google Takeout.
Click on the menu Select data to include to aggrandize information technology.
Gyre downward to Maps (Google Maps).
Click the All Maps information included button to open the Maps content options menu.
Brand sure the boxes for the data you want are checked, like any dishes, products, or activities y'all've added; your commute routes; your food and drink preferences; places you've labelled; or even all of your personalization feedback.
To download your data, proceed every bit described higher up in the department Download your data using Google Takeout, steps 2-4.

Google Drive

Yous tin can download all your Google Drive documents and files, or just some of them. This includes anything created or saved in Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, Drawings, Jamboard, and Sites.

Utilise Google Takeout to download your Google Drive data

First, log in to your Google account and go to Google Takeout.
Click on the bill of fare Select data to include to aggrandize it.
Coil downward to Drive (Google Bulldoze).
Click the All Drive information included push button to open the Drive content options bill of fare.
Choose the individual folders you'd like to download, or check the Include all files and folders in Drivebox. You lot can add together more than information by clicking on the Advanced Settings button, which will open the Drive — advanced settings card.
To download your information, proceed every bit described to a higher place in the section Download your information using Google Takeout, steps two-iv.

Use Google Drive to download single files

Open Google Drive on your device and right-click on the file you'd like to download.
Choose Download from the bill of fare. If you'd like to select multiple files, press the Ctrl fundamental on a Windows reckoner or Command on a Mac while you select files.
Choose a location on your device and click Save.

It's not only Google that stores your data

Google is 1 of the biggest data collectors out there, just they aren't the but ane. Well-nigh of the websites you visit gather information on your behavior and preferences. Ad tracking is everywhere, and it's big business.

Facebook is another major data gathering visitor — for more details, you lot tin explore our guides to how Facebook uses your data and how to download your Facebook information. It's worth remembering that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp, and both of these platforms share their data with Facebook. In fact, as of early 2021, all WhatApp users are at present required to allow WhatsApp to share their user data with Facebook.

To get a handle on what popular platforms are doing with your data, see our guide:

How to download your Facebook data

Twitter and other social media sites also collect information on yous, and then does Amazon. Some studies approximate that nigh 80% of all websites around the world use trackers to get together information on their visitors. In other words, tracking applied science is ubiquitous.

And tracking is just every bit prevalent on mobile devices every bit it is on desktop or laptop computers. Merely there are definitely ways to prevent Google from tracking your Android device. Other brands accept their own sets of options and settings, with varying degrees of consumer-level command possible.

Again, a lot of tracking technology is used for targeted advert. And while this can be rather harmless (if annoying), sometimes the data is used for other purposes, peculiarly if information technology winds upward on the dark web.

Some people have begun referring to the widespread employ of tracking as the "surveillance economy," a situation in which techniques like browser fingerprinting let trackers trace you lot around the internet and log your behavior across different browsing sessions.

So, information technology'southward important to sympathise the different ways that companies and websites collect your data and what they do with information technology. And a skillful starting time step is knowing whether or not y'all tin download the data companies have on you lot and inspect it.

Information technology's also important to consider using a strong anti-tracking solution to proceed your personal data individual and trackers off your tracks.

Further safeguard your online privacy with Avast BreachGuard

You lot tin further bolster your online privacy with Avast BreachGuard. This powerful tool warns you lot if your personal data or credentials accept been exposed, and it helps yous remove your data from information broker databases.

Avast BreachGuard even advises you lot on how to control and raise your privacy settings on lots of your other online accounts (like Facebook), how to create potent passwords, how to limit the information companies can collect about you, and much more. Regain control of your data today with Avast Breachguard.