5 Easy Methods to Perform Gmail Backup

It’s always an important thing to take the backup of your online data because nothing is safe on the Internet and nobody knows when his/her data will be hacked or stolen. Gmail is one of the most used emails client-server in the world and if you are also a Gmail user then you should know 5 easy methods to perform Gmail backup.

Sometimes, you can lose access to your Gmail account and their emails because of hacker attacks and malware attacks. Many users share their important information through Gmail emails and losing that information could be very painful. That’s why we should understand the need for Gmail backup or the backup of any other email clients. Now in the next part, we will see 5 methods for Gmail backup and restore.

Method 1: Backup Gmail Emails through Google Takeout

Step 1: First, open your Chrome web browser and type https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout and sign in, if already signed in, ignore it.

Step 2: Now scroll down and see the whole list of data that you want to backup. Drag right in the Mail icon and click the down arrow and choose which part of Gmail you want to backup. Then again scroll down and go to the bottom and click the Next button.

Step 3: Now, a Customize archive format window will open, set the File type, Archive Size, Delivery method and click on the CREATE ARCHIVE.


Step 4: Once you have done all the above steps you will see a message on the next screen that tells you archive is being prepared. Once it is done then you will be informed for the archive location through email. Finally, click on the Download archive button.

Refer: You can refer this blog for more details

Method 2: Backup through the Desktop Clients

Add your Gmail account to a desktop email client such as MS Outlook, Thunderbird (ios), etc. Through the POP/IMAP protocol, the user can take the backup of Gmail account. Now see the steps below to enable this protocol:

Step 1: First, log in to Gmail and go to Settings (gear icon) >> Settings.

Step 2: In the next screen click on Forwarding and POP/IMAP and then select the toggle Enable IMAP.

Note: Always allow less secure apps on because Google considers desktop email clients less secure.

Step 3: Now, add Gmail to the desktop email client. (desktop email clients may be different and the process will also be different, here I have taken MS Outlook desktop email client)
Now, for Outlook click on the File tab, an Account Information screen will appear, click there Add Account button.

Step 4: Finally, in the next screen enter your login credentials, click Connect >> OK.

Now you will get an email in the Outlook inbox with the subject line: Microsoft Outlook Test Message and also get the same message in your Gmail inbox.

Method 3: Backup Gmail Emails as an EML file

EML is the message file format used by various email clients such as Outlook, Thunderbird, Live mail, etc. Now see the steps below to use this method:

Step 1: Open Gmail in the web browser and select email that you want to save as an EML file format.

Step 2: Now, click on the More option. (three dots)

Step 3: Next, click the Show original in the drop-down menu after that click on the Download original.

Step 4: Now, set the File name with .eml file extension and set Save as type as All Files. Choose the storage location where you want to store the EML file and click on Save.

If you have done everything right and backup is complete then you can import the EML files to another email clients and also move between the external hard drives.

Method 4: Save Gmail Emails as PDF

This is one of the easiest ways to back up the Gmail emails into a hard drive, follow the steps below to apply this method:

Step 1: Login to your Gmail account and choose an email that you want to save as PDF.

Step 2: Now, go to the Print all option (icon) in the upper right corner. As you click on that icon a new window will open.

Step 3: From there set Destination, Pages, Copies, etc. and click on the Print button.

Note: With this method, you can save emails one by one only.

Method 5: Backup Gmail Emails with an Automated Utility

After trying all the above-mentioned methods that are easy but lengthy to perform that’s why we have also the easiest solution for the Gmail emails backup which is Gmail Backup and Restore Tool. There are also available multiple tools like this on the Internet for Gmail backup. The tool allows exporting Gmail emails and other items like contacts, calendar, Google-drive data, etc. to the computer’s storage and external hard drives. Also, it allows the users to directly export Gmail into Outlook, Thunderbird, Yahoo, etc. on both Windows and Mac operating systems. User can save Gmail emails too into various file formats such as PST, PDF, EMLX, EML, TXT, MBOX, and HTML.

Conclusion

I have discussed 5 easy methods to perform Gmail backup. All the methods are easy to use and it’s all up to you which one you choose. But I would suggest using an automated utility because it exports all the Gmail data at once in the hard drive and also exports Gmail data on the other email clients directly. The third-party tool is the best solution for Gmail backup because novice users can use the tool very easily.