How to export your data from Google

easy Screenshots from 30 July 2026 Wait: minutes to a few days depending on size

Google is required to give you a copy of the data it holds about you, including photos, videos, location history, email, browsing activity and purchase history. The request itself is free, and arrives as .zip (recommended) or .tgz, split into chunks of up to 50 GB. Typical wait: minutes to a few days depending on size.

Google Takeout ->

Step by step

Every screenshot below is from Google's own pages on 30 July 2026.

  1. Open Google Takeout

    Sign in with the Google account you want to export.

    Google Takeout, stage 1 'Select data to include', showing 61 of 61 products selected and a format button under each one.
    Takeout opens with everything selected - 61 products. Deselect all first unless you genuinely want all of it.

  2. Deselect all, then pick what you need

    Takeout ticks everything by default. Click "Deselect all" and choose only what you want (e.g. Google Photos, Mail, YouTube).

  3. Choose .zip and a large chunk size

    Under "Next step", choose file type .zip (imports far faster than .tgz) and a 50 GB max size to minimise the number of files.

    Google Takeout stage 2, showing destination 'Send download link via email', frequency 'Export once', file type .zip and file size 50 GB.
    Destination, frequency, file type and size are all on one screen. Google's own note here is worth reading: anything over 2 GB comes back as zip64, which some tools cannot open. Muletto can.

  4. Choose a one-time export

    "Export once" is right for most people. Then "Create export".

  5. Wait for the email

    Small exports finish in minutes; large photo libraries can take a day or more. Google emails a download link.

    Google Takeout export progress, reading 'Google is creating a copy of data from 61 products' and warning it can take hours or days.
    Confirmed on the screen itself: hours or days. Asking for all 61 products is what makes it days.

  6. Download all parts

    Keep every chunk together in one folder for Muletto to open as a set.

Worth knowing

The emailed download link is good for one week, and the export screen says so. Miss it and the whole request has to be made again.
Google Maps Timeline (your location history) now lives on your phone rather than in Takeout. To include it, export it from the Google Maps app on your device.
Google Photos stores each photo's date and location in a separate .json file next to it. Keep them together, and Muletto uses them to restore correct dates and places.

What Muletto does with this export

Once your download arrives, open it in Muletto. The file is read in your browser, on your own machine - nothing is uploaded. You get a breakdown of what is inside, duplicate detection, and a browsable view of your photos, messages, timeline and records.

Open your export ->