How to Backup Gmail Inbox in 3 Ways - Auto & Manual

Do you know how to backup Gmail inbox? This article offers 3 practical ways to back up your Gmail messages in inbox to PC and other locations. Read it to create a Gmail email backup easily.

Jonna

By Jonna Updated on August 25, 2023

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Is It Possible to Backup Gmail Inbox?

Gmail stands as a widely-used email platform all over the world. For individuals who have engaged with Gmail for a long time, there would be a lot of emails and attachments within the Gmail inbox. The recurring query that arises is: Can I backup my Gmail inbox for accidents? This is because unpredictable accidents can usually lead to serious digital disasters, such as files lost, email doom, etc.

Gmail Logo

But don't worry; you can certainly backup Gmail messages in inbox to ensure all of your emails remain safe. So on this page, we will show you some Gmail backup software and walk you through the steps to backup your Gmail data. Now, let's get started!

Necessity of Backing up Gmail Emails

Why do you need to be concerned about backing up Gmail? There are several threats that could compromise your ability to access and use your Gmail account as normal, including:

  • Data loss prevention - Accidental deletion, hacking, or technical glitches can result in the loss of your important emails. Regular backups ensure that you can recover your emails in case of any data loss.
  • Account shutdown/loss - There’s a chance that you could lose access to your Gmail account. There are rare situations where Google intentionally locks users out of their own accounts, creating periodic backups of your Gmail account will protect you from all these scenarios, providing you with continued access to your account.
  • Access to emails offline - While Gmail offers offline access through its web interface, having a local backup allows you to access your emails without an internet connection and use them with various email clients.

3 Ways to Backup Gmail Inbox with Ease

This section mainly discusses three reliable methods to backup Gmail inbox emails. The former two require you to save them manually, and the last is to use professional email backup software to backup your Gmail inbox automatically. Take a look at how to back up emails in Gmail inbox now, and you can choose the suitable one according to your needs.

Way 1. Backup Gmail Email Inbox with Google Takeout - Manual

Google Takeout works as an official Gmail backup tool from Google. It enables to backup Gmail emails to hard drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and other clouds. This service empowers users to export and download data from their Google accounts, encompassing emails, documents, calendar events, and photos, among other items. The steps below will assist you in executing the Gmail inbox backup process correctly:

Step 1. Begin by entering your Gmail credentials to access your account. Subsequently, click on the Profile icon and opt for Manage your Google Account.

Manage your Google Account

Step 2. Select Data & privacy from the left menu, and click Download your data.

Google Takeout Download Your Data

Step 3. Upon reaching the Google Takeout page, initiate the process by clicking Deselect all.

Deselect all

Step 4. Scroll down and mark the Mail option. Click on All Mail data included, and tick the checkbox next to Inbox. You can also choose to backup Chat, Archived, and other folders together.

All Mail Data Included

Step 5. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on Next step.

Step 6. Now, you can choose a delivery method. The default approach involves receiving a download link for your Gmail data via email. Besides, you can choose frequency and file size & type of the downloadable file. Then, click Create Export.

Choose File Type Frequency Desination

Way 2. Backup Gmail Inbox using MS Outlook - Manual

An alternative method you can backup Gmail emails locally is by using the MS Outlook desktop app. However, a prerequisite entails configuring specific settings within your Gmail account before integrating it with MS Outlook on your personal computer. Here's what you'll need to follow:

Step 1. Open Gmail settings, go to the Forwarding and Pop/IMAP tab and click on Enable IMAP within the IMAP Access section. Then, hit Save changes.

Switch to The Forwarding And Pop Imap Tab

Following this configuration, the subsequent steps involve signing into your Gmail account via MS Outlook. The subsequent actions detail how to export Gmail inbox emails to your computer:

Step 2. Launch MS Outlook > click on Open & Export from the left-hand menu.

Click on Open Export

Step 3. Within Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file and click Next.

Select Export to a File

Step 4. Choose Outlook Data File (.pst), then click on Next.

Select Iutlook Data File

Step 5. Select your Gmail Inbox for backup and check the Include subfolders option.

Include Subfolders Option

Step 6. Decide where you want to save the Gmail inbox emails, then press the Finish button.

Way 3. Backup Gmail Inbox via Professional Email Backup Software - Auto

Many Gmail backup solutions are available for backing up your Gmail account, yet only some are as reliable and versatile as AOMEI Backupper Professional. By logging into your Gmail account using the Outlook client, this professional email backup software will automatically and regularly backup all your Gmail emails to PC, external hard drive, cloud drive, network drive, NAS, and multiple locations.

The following are some main features of AOMEI Backupper Professional:
✨ Its Outlook backup feature allows you not only to backup Gmail emails, but also backup Outlook 365 emails, Yahoo emails, etc, after adding to Outlook client.
✨ It provides versatile automatic backup modes to back up your emails and other mailbox folders in daily, weekly, monthly, event trigger, or USB plug in.
✨ Security-conscious users have the option to set a password to encrypt their email backups, preventing them from unauthorized access.
✨ You are able to run incremental or differential backup to save only the changes, reducing your backup time and backup image size.

The following are some main features of AOMEI Backupper Professional:

Download Free Trial Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

After adding your Gmail account to Outlook, you can follow these steps to learn how to backup Gmail inbox to PC or other paths effortlessly.

Step 1. Install AOMEI Backupper on your computer. Then launch it, and click Backup to select Outlook Backup.

Outlook Backup

Step 2. Hit Add Outlook Data and select Gmail inbox as your backup source. Then click OK.

Add Outlook Data

Step 3. Click the destination box, and choose to save Gmail emails to your computer hard drive by hitting Select a local path.

Select A Local Path

Tip: You can also choose Select a cloud drive to backup Gmail emails to Google Drive, OneDrive, and other cloud, or select Add Share or NAS Devices to backup Gmail to network drives.

Step 4. (Optional) Hit Schedule Backup to enable automatic Gmail backupsas needed. Additionally, you can access a password-protect feature by clicking Options.

Schedule Settings General

Step 5. Confirm you have selectedthe desired email folders. Tap on Start Backup to auto backup Gmail inbox and other folders now.

To Sum it up

This article shows 3 effective solutions to backup Gmail inbox onto various destinations such as local and external hard drives, cloud storage, etc. We highly recommend you backup your Gmail account automatically using AOMEI Backupper for continuous protection.

Except for creating Gmail backup, this software also comes with other backup options like system backup, disk backup, and file backup that can help you take comprehensive backups for all your computer data. What’s more, it offers clone functionality that lets you clone SD card to larger card or smaller card hassle-free.

Jonna
Jonna · Editor
Jonna joined AOMEI in 2021 and has become a professional in the areas of computer backup and restoration, disk cloning, file synchronization, etc. She maintains a keen eye for the latest technology trends, ensuring that the information provided is always in step with industry developments.