With over 1.8 billion active users worldwide, Gmail is one of the best email clients. It offers 15 GB of cloud storage for Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. In order to access it without an internet connection, you must back up your data.
So, in this article, we'll go over how to backup Gmail emails to hard drive manually and automatically. Additionally, we will conclude with what method is considered the best solution, a manual backup or a Gmail Backup Tool.
Some Reasons Why Gmail Emails Should be Backup
Here are some reasons why you should download Gmail emails to hard drive. Look at the points below:
Users want to save space provided by Google.Users don’t want to compromise their important data, so they prefer to save it in another safe place.If the user wants to download Gmail emails to their hard drive.To protect the data from malware or hacker attacks.To protect the data from unwanted deletion.Users can access emails without internet connectivity.Now, we will move on to the detailed process to archive Gmail emails to hard drive.
Solutions to Backup Gmail Emails to Hard Drive
There are various manual solutions to export Gmail emails to hard drive. Here we will discuss it all.
Solution 1: Download Gmail Emails Using Google Takeout
Takeout is an inbuilt feature provided by Google that is absolutely free to use. Follow the given steps to use Google Takeout to backup emails:
Login to your Google account with your account credentials. From the top right corner, click on the account image icon and select Manage your Account.Choose Data and Privacy from the left.Select Data from apps and services and click on Download your data.Choose the option Deselect all.Scroll down the screen to the Mail feature and choose the option All Mail Data Included.Now, unmark all the options and mark Include all messages in Mail.Scroll down and tap on the Next Step button. Select Send download link via email from the dropdown list of the Delivery method.Select the File type & size of the resultant file.Now click on the Create Export button, and you will receive an email once the archiving process is completed. Once the email is received, you can open it by clicking on the Download Your Files button.
Solution 2: Backup Gmail Emails to Hard Drive using MS Outlook
If you want to save Gmail emails in PST format, you can choose this method. In this, we will use MS Outlook to download. Let’s discuss the process:
Launch MS Outlook and select the Add Account option from the File menu.Enter your account details, such as Name, Gmail address, and third-party app password.Now, click on Next. It will link the Gmail account to Outlook.Once the linking process is complete, click the Finish button.Once again, go to the menu tab and select the File option.Now, select the Open & Export option and choose Import/Export.On the Import and Export Wizard, choose the option Export to a file and tap the Next button.Choose Outlook Data file (.pst) and select Next.Select the file or folder and hit Next.At the end, mark Replace Duplicates with Items Exported and select the Finish option.All two methods we discussed above can guide you to backup Gmail emails to hard drive or PST. But some limitations can stop you to use these methods. Let's discuss in the next section what you could face during the above manual procedure.
Users can use the above-mentioned solutions, but their limitations can make you think twice about using them. The disadvantages of using the manual process are given below.
Limitations of Manual Backup Gmail Emails
It requires more time and effort as it is a lengthy process.The process is not suitable for non-technical users as it requires technical skills.This process is full of data loss risks and may corrupt the files.It only transfers one file at a time.Didn’t have multiple choices of file formats for conversion.In the above section, we have described what consequences users may face during the manual backup. So, these are the main reasons why users do not want to use manual techniques.
To avoid these challenges, experts recommend that users should utilize the automatic technique, such as the Gmail Backup Tool. It allows users to save emails from Gmail to hard drive. Moreover, using this advanced utility, users can save Gmail data into PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, Yahoo, Office 365, thunderbird, etc. Moreover, it does not require any technical skills, so anyone can back up data with just a few clicks. It is safe and secure, and it maintains data accuracy throughout the backup procedure. Now, let’s move on to sum up the information.
Conclusion
In the above article, we explained the two manual and automated solutions to backup Gmail emails to hard drive. Furthermore, we have seen there are possibilities of data loss and file corruption in the manual process. While the third-party tool facilitates a quick and smooth email backup without any data loss. Now, you can choose the solution that you believe is best for you and your data.
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