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Google Takeout Alternative – Interesting Facts About the Tool

Mark Wills ~ Published: 15-02-2022 ~ Technology ~ 4 Minutes Reading

This article puts light on the best Google Takeout alternative and discusses the problems that users face while using the tool.

Hare, we will find the best solution for those who have been finding it difficult saving their messages or data using the Google Takeout method.

User Query: When I started downloading the messages using the Google Takeout tool, the procedure went up to 99% and then it showed “network failed” error. All the efforts and time I spent got wasted. I need to know if there is an alternative to Google Takeout as this method surely fails to export the data.

A large amount of vertical faces this error or similar where the procedure either takes too long to complete or it gets terminated altogether.

Even though it is a free method, it is not always as useful as one might think. There are various other things & facts that a user must know.

Let’s take a quick stroll.

What is the Need for a Google Takeout Alternative?

Google Takeout method combines all the data from a Gmail account and downloads it in only one file format i.e. MBOX.

It has a few drawbacks which we will be explaining in the upcoming section.

First let’s take a look at how the tool works for downloading the data. Here, we are going to explain how to save messages only first.

Follow these steps:

1. Open a web browser and go to Gmail. Enter your login details to sign in to your account to learn the process before finding about the alternative for Google Takeout.

login-gmail

2. In the Home section, choose the Data & Privacy option.

3. From the options, scroll down and choose the Download or Delete Your Data option.

download-data

4. You will be redirected to another window where you have to click on the Deselect All button.

deselect-all

5. Then, choose the Mails checkbox and mark all the folders you want to transfer from the list that appears.

select-mail

6. Click on the Next Step to move further with the procedure.

7. Now, select the Destination to save the output files and choose the File Size & File Type to export the data.

choose-format

8. Unlike the Google Takeout alternative, you have to wait for a long time after hitting the Create Export  button to complete the process.

9. While the process is on-going, check out the status of the download.

Once the data is downloaded on the local storage, you can do the extraction. Since the folder is either in Zip or Tgz format, you will have to extract the files from them.

As soon as you do that, you will get MBOX files as a result.

Now, to the reasons why there is a need for an alternate method.

Why Do Users Need An Alternative to Google Takeout?

The following drawbacks are why users need an alternative:

  • If the files you want to save are owned by someone else, you cannot download them.
  • The folders shared with you in the Drive are not available for export via this method.
  • The daily limit of Google Takeout method is two or three archives and seven archives as maximum per week.
  • If you try to export a huge number of messages using this method, “network error” or “not working” errors might display.
  • The need for Google Takeout alternative arises in case where the internet is disabled and you have to start from scratch.
  • When the procedure is ongoing, a note shows that the transfer might take from hours to days to complete.
  • Also, there is a daily download capacity for an archive of 50GB per day in .tgz format.
  • During the transfer of large files or folders, unfinished downloads can be encountered.
  • It also doesn’t keep the folder structure the same and messes with the order after export.

What is the Best Google Takeout Alternative for Users?

The best alternative would be the 3Steps Tool highly capable of downloading messages from mailbox in the desired format. The software has a lot of features that help users overcome the drawbacks of Google Takeout method.

You can overcome the daily limitation to transfer the data from multiple accounts in a single day without any restrictions.

It allows in bulk or selective transfer without wasting any time, and the major drawback i.e. the time taken by Google Takeout to export the data is overcome with ease.

Concluding Lines

With the help of the Google Takeout alternative, downloading emails with attachments and the same folder structure becomes easier for every type of user.

If you are stuck with Google Takeout method and the errors that it might show, you can use the software to transfer the required data. It offers certain features to help users avoid losing any data & effort.