Google Takeout Instructions

Google Takeout instructions: the full step-by-step

Follow these steps in order. The whole setup takes about two minutes.

1. Go to takeout.google.com. Sign in with the Google account you want to export if you are not already signed in.
2. Click Deselect all. By default every product is ticked. It is far quicker to start from nothing and tick only what you want than to hunt through 50+ products removing the ones you do not need.
3. Select the specific products you want. Scroll the list and tick the checkbox next to each product, for example Location History, My Activity (which holds Search and YouTube activity), Chrome, YouTube, Gmail, Drive, or Photos.
4. Set the per-product options. Some products show a button like Multiple formats or All data included. Click it to control the export. Location History, for instance, can be exported as JSON. My Activity can be exported as HTML or JSON. You can also choose to include all data or just specific date ranges and folders.
5. Scroll to the bottom and click Next step. This moves you from choosing products to choosing how the export is delivered.
6. Choose a delivery method. Send download link via email is the simplest. You can also add the export directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box if you would rather it land in the cloud.
7. Choose the file type. Pick .zip. It opens with a double-click on Windows and macOS. Choose .tgz only if you work in a Linux or command-line environment.
8. Choose the split size. This ranges from 1 GB up to 50 GB and sets the maximum size of each file. If your export is larger than the limit, Google splits it into several numbered files. 2 GB is a safe default.
9. Click Create export. Google starts building your archive.
10. Wait for the email. When the archive is ready, Google emails you a download link. Depending on size this takes from a few minutes to a few hours.
11. Download the ZIP, then read it. Open the download link, save the file, then drop it onto TakeoutReader to turn it into a readable report.

Choosing products: deselect all, then pick

The single biggest time-saver is clicking Deselect all at the top of the product list before you do anything else. Exporting all 50+ products produces a huge archive that can take days to build and includes services you never used. Start from an empty list and tick only what you actually want to read.

For most people the useful products are Location History, My Activity, YouTube, Chrome, and Gmail. My Activity is the one that catches people out: it is the container that holds your Search history and YouTube watch history, so tick it if those are what you are after.

Per-product options: formats and date ranges

Several products let you fine-tune the export before you create it. Look for a button next to the product name.

• Location History format. Exports as JSON. This is the raw timeline data. It is unreadable by hand but perfect for a viewer. See our Google Location History viewer.
• My Activity format. Choose HTML for a browsable file or JSON for structured data. JSON is better if you plan to read it with a tool.
• Multiple formats. Products like Drive and Photos let you set the export format per file type, for example documents as PDF or DOCX.
• All data included. Click this to narrow an export to specific date ranges, labels, or folders rather than everything.

Delivery method, file type, and split size explained

After you click Next step, Google asks three questions. Here is what each one means.

• Delivery method. Email link is the default and the easiest: Google sends a link and you download the file yourself. You can also add the export straight to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box. Sending to Drive uses your Google storage quota, so email link is usually cleaner.
• File type: .zip or .tgz. Pick .zip. It opens natively on Windows and macOS. The .tgz format saves a little space but needs extra tools on Windows.
• Split size: 1 GB to 50 GB. This caps how big each file gets. Exports above your chosen limit are split into numbered files you download one by one. See our Google Takeout file size guide for how big your export will be.

What happens after you click Create export

Once you click Create export, Google gets to work building your archive in the background. You do not need to keep the tab open. When it is ready, Google emails the account with a download link that stays valid for a week. If your export was split, you will download several numbered files.

Build time depends on account size and which products you picked. A Location History and Search export can be ready in minutes. Adding Gmail and Photos can push it to hours. For the full breakdown, read how long does Google Takeout take.

How to read the files after you download them

Here is the part the instructions inside Google never mention: once the ZIP arrives, the files inside are built for machines, not people. You will find folders of JSON, MBOX, HTML, and CSV. Timestamps are stored as Unix milliseconds and coordinates as raw integers. It is complete but unreadable by hand.

TakeoutReader closes that gap. Drop the ZIP onto the page and it parses everything in your browser, then renders a plain-English report: how many searches, which places, top videos, most active years, and more. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. If you want to inspect the raw files yourself first, see how to open Google Takeout files.

Frequently asked questions