How to Download All Photos from Google Photos with Takeout

This guide explains how to download all photos from Google Photos to a computer or external drive. Takeout exports the copies stored in your Google account; it cannot recover originals that were never uploaded or details already lost through an earlier compression or deletion.

Request Takeout through a supported browser on a computer or phone; a desktop makes large downloads, extraction and checks easier. Preparation can take minutes to days, and account-security or administrator restrictions can affect availability. Keep the original library intact while the export is prepared.

Key Takeaways

• Google Takeout is the practical choice for a downloadable archive of your Google Photos library. A direct transfer to another supported cloud service is a different option.
• For a ZIP export, keep the media and any accompanying JSON sidecars. Embedded camera metadata and information added in Google Photos can be stored differently.
• Keep your original ZIP archives until you’ve confirmed every photo opens correctly on your new storage.

How to Export Your Entire Library with Google Takeout

Google’s export instructions explain the available archive types and delivery options. For a local copy, choose an emailed download link. Check the account and album selection before requesting the archive.

Before You Start: Check Your Account and Available Space

Check how much storage your photos use before you begin. Open your Google One storage settings to see your current Google Photos usage and get a rough idea of the export size.

Budget for the downloaded archives, extracted files and a separate backup. Google Photos storage usage is only a starting estimate: exported duplicates, media that does not count toward your allowance and metadata can change the total. Check actual free space, not the drive’s advertised capacity.

Plan the working space and the export record

For example, if the downloaded ZIPs total 80GB and the extracted folders need 90GB, keeping both on the same working drive requires at least 170GB, plus free working space. A second drive needs room for the 90GB extracted set—or 170GB if you also keep its ZIPs. These are planning inputs, not a prediction that every library expands by the same percentage.

Create a short export record: Google account, request date, selected albums, delivery method, expected part count, downloaded part names and sizes, extraction result, and the location of the checked second copy. Keep each new request in a separate dated folder; do not mix similarly named parts from different requests.

Record a cutoff for the collection you are checking. Google notes that changes made between requesting and creating an archive may be missing. Keep taking photos if you need to, but leave the live library intact and check those recent additions separately before relying on the export.

Make sure you’re signed into the correct Google account. If you use more than one account for photos, check that you’re exporting from the right one before creating the archive.

Download Your Full Library: Step by Step

These steps take you from selecting your library to checking an independent local copy.

This creates an export containing only your photo library, without extra Gmail, Drive or Calendar data.

Choose the Download Format and Archive Size

Next, choose how Google delivers your files.

• Delivery method: choose Send download link via email for the simplest option, or send the export directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box.
• Export type: pick One-time export unless you want Google to repeat the export automatically every two months.
• File type: choose .zip, since both Windows and macOS open ZIP files without extra software.
• Archive size: pick a maximum file size per archive, typically 2GB, 10GB or 50GB.

Smaller archives create more ZIP files but reduce the chance of a large download failing partway through. If your connection drops often, a 2GB limit is safer, though you’ll have more files to manage afterwards.

For continuing exports, Google’s current Takeout guidance also describes scheduled exports and a Google-Photos-only option for new and updated data. Check the option actually offered to your account, record each run’s scope, and preserve the baseline it depends on. A later export is not automatically a complete replacement for every earlier file.

Click Create export once you’ve chosen your settings.

Download Every Archive When the Export Is Ready

Google emails you when the export finishes. It can take minutes for a small library or several hours for one that runs into hundreds of gigabytes. Click each download link in the email to save every ZIP file to your computer. Large libraries often produce a dozen or more archives.

Google says an archive expires in about seven days and each archive can be downloaded five times. Download every numbered file while it is available. Expiry affects the export link, not the photos still in your account. If the link expires, request a new export.

How to Extract and Check Your Photos

Extracting your ZIP files turns the compressed Takeout archives into usable folders of photos and videos. Do this on your computer rather than a phone, since desktop operating systems handle large extractions more reliably.

Extract All Archives and Check for Missing Files

On Windows 10 or 11, right-click each ZIP file in File Explorer and select Extract All, then choose a destination folder. On macOS, double-click each ZIP file. Archive Utility extracts it automatically into the same folder.

Extract every archive, not just the first one. Takeout splits large libraries across multiple files, and each file holds a different portion of your photos.

1. Extract all ZIP files into separate folders first, rather than merging them straight away.
2. Open each extracted folder and confirm it contains images, videos and JSON files rather than an empty or broken structure.
3. Check coverage across years, important albums and videos. Do not equate the folder’s total file count with a photo count: JSON files and copies in album folders can increase that number.
4. Keep the original ZIP files until you’ve confirmed everything extracted correctly.

If extraction reports an error, first compare the affected archive’s name and size with the download listing. Retry that part into a new folder and keep the original error details until the replacement extracts cleanly. Do not let one failed part send you back to merging or deleting otherwise good folders.

Reconcile parts before counting pictures

Mark each expected part as downloaded, extracted and checked. A successful extraction with zero reported errors is different evidence from a few thumbnails opening. Look inside every extracted part; identify missing years, albums or media types against the account and the export selection.

Count media separately from sidecars and support files. A JPG plus its JSON is not two photographs; an image appearing in more than one album folder may not be a unique scene either. Keep the untouched folder structure until you have reconciled the export. Do not run a duplicate cleaner simply to make a folder count match a number shown elsewhere.

Before importing the whole collection, copy a small test set into the destination app. Include an old camera image, a date edited in Google Photos, a captioned item and a long video. Compare the visible capture date, orientation, resolution, duration and sound with the source. Check any motion or paired media important to your family separately.

What Are the JSON Files?

Takeout can include JSON sidecar files for information added in Google Photos, such as descriptions. Existing camera metadata remains in the downloaded media when it was already present. A file’s download or modification date is different from its capture date. Keep the JSON files with the images until you know what your destination app can import.

A photo viewer may display the embedded capture date without reading JSON. Google-added changes may need a compatible import or a separate metadata step. Test a small copied folder first, including an edited date, a caption and a video, before changing the only copy of your archive.

Copy Your Photos to an External Drive Before Deleting Anything

Copy your extracted photos to an external hard drive as a second copy before you delete any ZIP files or touch your Google Photos library. This gives you a backup that doesn’t depend on your computer’s internal drive or your Google account staying accessible.

Do not delete anything from Google Photos yet. First, verify that the external copy opens correctly and contains the files you expect. If you’re setting up a USB drive for this kind of transfer, this guide on how to transfer photos from phone to USB stick covers the process for phone-based transfers.

What If You Only Need Certain Photos?

Google Takeout suits a full library export, but it’s overkill if you only want a handful of photos or a couple of albums. The Google Photos website and app offer faster options for smaller downloads.

Download Photos or Albums from the Google Photos Website

Open photos.google.com in a desktop browser to download an album or a batch of individual photos without running a full Takeout export.

To download a whole album, open it and click the three-dot menu in the top right corner, then choose Download all. Google packages the album into a ZIP file automatically.

To download selected photos, hover over each one and click the circle checkmark that appears, or hold Shift and click to select a range. Click the three-dot menu and choose Download, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+D.

For a whole-library archive, use the export route linked from Google’s official download instructions. Selecting individual items is useful for a small batch, but a recorded Takeout request gives you a clearer scope and numbered parts to reconcile for a large collection.

Save Individual Photos in the Mobile App

The Google Photos mobile app has no bulk export feature for your whole library. You can save individual photos or small selections to your phone’s camera roll by opening a photo, tapping the three-dot menu, and choosing Save to device.

For anything larger than a few dozen photos, use Takeout through your phone’s browser instead of the app. Download over Wi-Fi rather than mobile data to avoid using up your data allowance.

When a Direct Cloud Transfer Fits Your Goal

Google offers a direct transfer to supported services. That moves supported media into another service rather than giving you a local ZIP archive. Google’s listed exclusions include Locked Folder content, unsaved creations, some edited metadata and the video portion of Motion Photos and Live Photos. Check the current destination and exclusions before choosing this route.

After a transfer, inspect both pictures and videos at the destination, check its privacy settings and confirm available storage. A second transfer may produce duplicates. Do not apply those transfer exclusions automatically to every Takeout ZIP: the two workflows need their own acceptance checks.

For most people who want a local, offline copy of their photos, Takeout combined with an external drive is simpler and avoids handing account access to another service.

What If the Export Is Incomplete or Won’t Open?

First distinguish a missing export part, an absent library item and a file that will not play. Each points to a different check. Keep the source library and completed downloads intact while you investigate rather than assuming every gap has the same cause.

Check for Missing Archives, Albums and Shared Photos

Compare every part in the Takeout download listing with your export record. Then check the correct Google account, selected albums and whether shared or partner-shared items are actually saved to your library. If something important is missing, investigate that specific source and date range before requesting a replacement export.

Check that shared items have been saved to your own library and that the correct account and albums were selected. Do not confuse Archive with Trash. Google says data still in the process of deletion is not included in an export. Open important examples in Google Photos and compare them with the extracted copy.

Retry Failed Downloads or Extract Smaller Archives

Separate an archive problem from a playback problem. An extraction error or unexpectedly short ZIP points you toward the download. A cleanly extracted video that another player can open may instead need a compatible codec or player, as Google’s download help explains. Keep the downloaded master intact rather than converting the only copy to make one app accept it.

Keep private exports private

Use a computer and drive you control. Takeout files can contain personal locations, descriptions and family images. Check who can access the download folder, avoid a shared public folder, and protect an encrypted drive’s recovery information separately. Download from Takeout itself after signing in; do not send an archive or account password to a stranger offering to repair it.

If downloads keep failing on a large export, try these steps:

• Switch browsers, since some handle large downloads more reliably than others.
• Use a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi if your network drops frequently.
• Reduce the archive size setting to 2GB and create a new export if failures continue.
• Pause other downloads or streaming on your network while the export downloads.

Google says preparation can take a few minutes to a few days. Check the request’s status in Takeout before starting another export. For persistent failures, request only Google Photos and use smaller archive parts; keep completed downloads until you have checked the replacement.

Choose an export route that leaves a recoverable archive

Choose the destination for the job you need to finish. An emailed download link is a route to local files; adding the archive to another cloud account is a delivery choice; a direct photo transfer is an import into another service. For an offline archive, finish with full files on storage you can access without either online account. A shortcut or a folder of cloud placeholders does not meet that goal.

If you add an export to Google Drive, it uses account storage and still depends on the Google account. Move and verify an independent copy before deleting that account. For Box delivery, Google warns that files exceeding the destination account’s per-file upload limit are not exported there. Check the destination’s actual limits before treating a successful delivery notification as confirmation that every long video arrived.

Account protection can also affect availability. Google says Advanced Protection delays a one-time archive by two days and does not support scheduled exports. Work or school administrators can restrict exports. Follow the legitimate account instructions or ask the administrator about an authorised export; do not turn off security controls or move sensitive files into a public account to evade a restriction.

Keep the baseline when later exports contain changes

When using an option for new and updated Google Photos data, retain the complete starting archive and each later export as separate dated sets. The latest small set can be useful without containing all the older family photographs. Record which baseline it follows and which request produced it. Do not overwrite the baseline merely because a more recent download has a newer date.

Test the combined recovery route on a copied folder: choose an older item from the baseline, a newly added image from the later set and an updated item whose version matters. Confirm what your intended photo app imports and how it handles dates or duplicate filenames. Keep both versions when the difference is meaningful, rather than allowing an automatic merge to decide which one survives.

A simple record can list the request date, scope, parts, extraction result and second-copy location for every set. If you cannot explain how the latest export relates to the earlier ones, keep all untouched sets while resolving it. A periodic fresh complete export may be easier to manage than a long chain, depending on the account options and available storage; either route still needs verification.

Resolve one failure before repeating the entire migration

Use the failed stage to choose the next check

Observed problem	Next check	Keep intact
One archive will not extract	Its request, part name, download size and extraction error	Other completed parts and the live source library
An extracted video will not play	A compatible player or codec, then full duration and sound	The downloaded original before any conversion
A date or caption differs after import	The media metadata, JSON sidecar and importer’s supported fields	The untouched export and a small test copy
An event or album is absent	The selected account, export scope and saved-library status	The cloud source and all current request records

After fixing an error, repeat that specific acceptance check and inspect another date or format. Avoid repeatedly requesting a whole export while changing accounts, album selections and destination folders at the same time. Keeping one clear request record makes the result easier to reconcile and reduces the chance of mistaking a part from one export for a missing part from another.

Keep a Verified Copy Before Clearing Cloud Storage

Verify your downloaded photos fully before deleting anything from Google Photos or freeing up your Google storage. Treat this as a non-negotiable step: family photos and videos are often impossible to recover once deleted from both the cloud and your device.

Open a sample of photos from different years and albums in your extracted folder to confirm they display properly and aren’t corrupted. Check that video files play, not just that they appear in a folder listing. A partially downloaded video can still show up as a file.

Store your verified copy in at least one location that doesn’t depend on your computer’s health, such as an external hard drive kept separately or a NAS device. Keep the original Takeout ZIP files as an untouched backup for a few weeks after verifying the extracted copies. That gives you a way to undo mistakes made while organising files.

A sample check cannot certify every file. Finish the part-by-part record, resolve extraction failures and missing coverage, then keep the checked archive independently of Google Photos. Use our 3-2-1 photo-backup plan to decide where the additional copy belongs. Downloading does not require deleting the source.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and image credits

Current instructions: Google Takeout exports and account conditions, Google Photos downloads and playback and direct transfers and exclusions. The archive-part and independent-copy diagrams explain the workflow; the opening photograph illustrates a home export setup.

Share this article

WhatsApp Facebook Email Pinterest Reddit