How to Back Up Your Gmail Account

This How.com.vn teaches you how to download an archive file that contains all of your Gmail information to your computer. Unfortunately, you can't back up your Gmail account from within the mobile app.

Steps

1
Open your Google Account page. Go to https://myaccount.google.com/ in your computer's web browser. All of your Google account settings and information are stored here.^{[1]XResearch source}
- If you aren't signed into your Google account, click Sign in in the top-right corner of the screen, then enter your email address and password.
It's in the middle-center of the page.
You'll see this option under the "Personal info & privacy" heading on the far-left side of the screen.
It's below the "Download your data" section on the right side of the page.^{[2]XResearch source}
5
Click SELECT NONE. This grey button is near the top of the page. Doing so will deselect every item on this page, which prevents you from backing up all of your Google Account's aspects instead of just backing up Gmail.
- If you'd prefer to back up your entire Google Account, skip this step and the next one.
6
Scroll down and click the grey "Mail" switch
. The switch will turn blue
, signifying that your Gmail contents will be backed up.
- You'll see a downward-facing arrow to the right of "All mail"—clicking it will allow you to choose between downloading all of your mail and selecting specific labels to download only emails with those labels attached.
It's at the bottom of the page.^{[3]XResearch source}
8
Select an archive size. Click the
icon below the "Archive size (max)" heading, then click a size in the drop-down menu.
- Ideally, you'll select a size which allows all of your Gmail files to be in one folder. For example, if you have under 4 gigabytes of data (but more than 2) in Gmail, you would click the 4 GB option.
9
Click CREATE ARCHIVE. It's at the bottom of the page. Doing so will prompt Google to begin creating a backup file with your inbox's files in it.
- Depending on your inbox's size, this can take several hours (or, according to Google, even days).
10
Download your backup file. Once Google finishes creating your backup file, they will email a download link to you. You can then download your backup file:
- Open the "Your Google data archive is ready" email.
- Click Download archive in the email.
- Re-enter your Gmail password when prompted.
- Select a save location if prompted.
- Wait for the file to finish downloading onto your computer.
11
Open and browse your archive. Since the archive will download in ZIP format, you'll have to extract it before you can open it:
- Windows — Double-click the downloaded file, click Extract at the top of the window, click Extract all, and click Extract. Once the file finishes extracting, you can browse its files like any other folder.
- Mac — Double-click the downloaded file, then wait for it to extract. Once the file finishes extracting, you can browse its files like any other folder.
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Question
Can I back up my emails without logging in?
Community Answer
No, you have to have access to the emails in order to back them up.
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Question
How can I get my Gmail account backed up?
Community Answer
It's done automatically by Google. Your emails are all stored on the Cloud.
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Question
My computer is being reset to the factory settings. Will my Gmail account be deleted at the same time?
Community Answer
No. Your Gmail account is connected to their servers, not your computer. You will have to enter in your username and password again as all of your saved data will be reset, but your actual account will be fine.
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Tips

Backing up Gmail every week or so is a good way to prevent catastrophic loss of data if your account is hacked or otherwise compromised.
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