How to Export Gmail Emails as MBOX Files

Updated On - December 31, 2022 by Henry Bray |

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Gmail has been ruling the email niche since the very beginning. Gmail is so famous that even for some users, email means Gmail, nothing else. It is a free email service by Google, and today, to log in on several web platforms, users need to have a Gmail account. Nowadays, businesspersons of any respective field, engineers, doctors, directors, and the writer can’t complete their day without scrolling through their Gmail inbox and checking for their tomorrow schedule.

The only problem that several other Gmail users and I have with it is Gmail doesn’t store data on the local drive, which increases the risk of data breach and data loss. Recently Gmail has faced a data breach of millions of users.

In this write-up, I’ll mention a few ways by using which you can secure your Gmail data into MBOX format and save them in any preferred location (local disk or remote). But before moving to the Gmail emails export process, let’s discuss the few features which you’ll get by exporting Gmail emails to MBOX file format.

Related blog: How to Import your Gmail Contacts to Outlook

Why should you export Gmail emails as MBOX files?

• First and my favourite reason, by exporting Gmail emails into MBOX file formats, you can easily access your data even in offline mode.
• By processing Gmail emails to a local disk, you completely eliminate the risk of data breach and data loss. Like if you think someone has unauthorized access to your Gmail account, you can simply delete your account and export MBOX to your new Gmail account.
• Gmail only offers free 15GB of data storage; after that, you’ve to pay a specific amount according to your plan. But you can reduce Gmail storage by exporting Gmail emails to MBOX format.
• By exporting Gmail emails to MBOX format, you can easily share your complete folder without sharing any credentials.

Now you know the advantage of exporting Gmail emails to MBOX format, let’s move to our main subject.

How to export Gmail emails as MBOX files on the hard drive?

Basically, there are two ways to export your Gmail emails into MBOX format; one is by using Google Takeout, a utility by Google, and another one is using an automated tool. For sure manual method is free but is laced with a few limitations. Below I’ve mentioned both methods with their advantages and disadvantages. Read the complete blog and pick a method according to your ease and needs.

Google Takeout to export Gmail emails as MBOX file

• Step1: Search Google Takeout in Google.
• Step2: Open the first link and sign in with your Gmail account.
• Step3: Now select the data you want to export and click Next Step.
• Step4: Following, choose a file type, frequency and destination to save the resultant MBOX files on a hard drive.
• Step5: Once done with the above options, click on the Create Export option.
• Step6: once you click on the Create Export option, Google Takeout will start to export Gmail emails in MBOX file format.

As you can see, Google takeout is quite easy to use; however, this method has a few drawbacks.

 Is Google Takeout a good option to export Gmail emails as MBOX files?

No!

Google Takeout is not a full solution for exporting your Gmail emails. It can help you store data so that you can comply with the law. It will be hard, though, to use it to keep business going as usual.

Here are four warning reasons why it’s not a good export option:

1. A difficult way to back up

Google Takeout backup has a lot of problems. A user can only do two or three backups per day, and they can only try to back up their Gmail data up to seven times per week. The bigger problem is that Google Takeout doesn’t work even when the backup is done. This makes backing up time-consuming and, at best, wrong and, at worst, impossible.

2. Getting better is a nightmare

Backing up is only half the battle. The real value is in being able to get your data back.

God forbid you ever have to recover all your Google data because if you do, you could be in a lot of trouble. You’ll most likely find different kinds of files in different zip files. Then it will be your job to organize and sort these files.

There’s also the problem of getting along. You might notice that the complicated blog you wrote on Google Docs isn’t as complicated on Word. Did we tell you that you can’t download the project document you worked on with someone else last year? That’s too bad, huh?

The admin console does not have a download button. To download a user’s information using takeout, the person needs to log in as the user.

3. IT administrators have to do a lot of work

Getting a backup solution is about making your IT administrator’s job easier. Well, Google Takeout does things differently.

When you download Google Takeout data, it makes the admin console useless. Administrators must log in as the user to get that user’s account information. IT admins can’t set up business continuity and log in to each user’s account to save important information simultaneously.

4. Mishaps with privacy

Google Takeout has been known for a long time to have bugs that have caused a lot of damage. The most recent “technical issue” was when Google shared private videos saved on the company’s servers with people who had nothing to do with the videos. You’re right! A group of strangers got a good look at the information that was supposed to be private. Google said there was a problem and sent a quiet apology to the affected people.

What is a better alternative for Gmail export?

So, these are a few reasons why you shouldn’t use export Gmail emails as MBOX files using the Google Takeout utility. Many of you might be wondering what a better way for this.

So don’t worry; you can use an automated tool such as Regain Gmail Backup tool. It is a specially coded tool to backup/export Gmail emails to PST, MBOX, PDF, EML, MSG and several other file formats.

Free Download100% Secure Buy NowPrice: $29

Also, the tool is laced with several user-oriented features and a convenient GUI, which makes this tool the best option for novices and beginners. For a better experience and a free evaluation, I’ll suggest using the free version of Regain Gmail Backup tool.

Conclusion

The Regain Gmail backup tool is a powerful solution for users that lets you backup Gmail emails in several popular file formats. Apart from this, its advanced features enhance the export process for everyone.