How to Save Gmail Emails to Google Drive?

Summary: To save Gmail emails to Google Drive, use the built-in Add to Drive button for attachments, and Google Takeout to export the mailbox. We can also use Print > Save as PDF to save individual emails and then upload them to Google Drive. Gmail has no one-click option to export the emails to Drive. Takeout can take hours or days, and saving PDF files one by one is slow. For bulk exports, filter by folders, sender, or date range; an automated tool saves the emails directly to Google Drive in a few clicks.

As we all know, Gmail is one of the most popular email services and often serves as a repository for all the important data, including documents, attachments, and emails. Thus, to ensure all these documents and data are backed up and easily accessible, many users want to save Gmail emails to Google Drive. Here, we will find out the manual as well as automated methods to complete this task.

Even though Gmail and Google Drive are both Google services, Gmail does not have an option to export complete emails to Google Drive. It only has the option to save individual attachments to Drive. Therefore, we are here to find a practical approach, a built-in option for bulk export.

Why Save Gmail Emails to Google Drive?

The popular reasons why Gmail users want to transfer their email data to Google Drive are given below.

• Effortless Connectivity: Just like any other Google service, Google Drive integrates effortlessly with Gmail. With this, you can easily access the backed-up emails directly from your Gmail account.
• Cross-Platform Access: You can access the data in Google Drive from any device with an internet connection. If you save Gmail messages to Google Drive, you can access the data from anywhere.
• Regular Backup: Google Drive offers regular backup of data, ensuring that you have multiple versions in case of accidental deletion or corruption. This will allow you to have confidence that the important data is always recoverable.
• Easy Sharing: It has the option to share Google Drive files with a specific email account; it is simple to grant access.
• Centralized Management: With simple access to Google Drive, users can manage the data across different email accounts. This will simplify organization and administration.

Save Gmail Emails to Google Drive Manually

Here, we have given two different approaches to export bulk and individual emails. Check the steps below and use the one that works best for you as per the requirement.

Method 1: Save Gmail Attachments to Drive with “Add to Drive”

If you only need the attachments of an email, Gmail has the option to save them directly to Drive, without the need to download them.

1. Start by opening the email containing the attachments.
2. Go to the attachments and click the Add to Drive icon.
3. Click on Organise in Drive and choose the folder.

Limitations: It saves the attachments only. To save the emails from Gmail to Google Drive, follow the methods below.

Method 2: Google Takeout

We can use Google’s own built-in export tool, which is the fastest way for bulk extraction of mailboxes into Drive without any installation.

1. Go to Google Takeout and sign in to the account.
2. Click Deselect all, then check the box for Mail only.
   
3. Now, click on All Mail data included if you want to limit it to a specific label.
4. Scroll further and choose the delivery method, and under Destination, select Add to Drive.
   
5. Now, choose a file type and frequency, then click Create export.
6. Soon, Google will email you when the export is ready. It will be sent to Drive as a .zip file, with the file in MBOX format.

Where it falls behind: Google Takeout gives you a large MBOX file. The file can’t be opened directly without an email client that supports MBOX files. Opening MBOX files in a browser will only open the file in raw format. There is no way to filter the Mail before starting the download.

Method 3: Save Individual Gmail Emails and Drag & Drop to Google Drive

1. Sign in to the Gmail account.
2. Use the search bar to locate specific emails or folders.
3. Create a label and add the desired emails to the folder as required.
4. Go to each email and select “Print“.
5. Repeat the steps to export each email from the account.
6. Now, go to Drive and create a folder.
7. Now drag and drop the files into the Google Drive folder.

Limitations of using the manual method: You can move a single email or a few emails from Gmail to Google Drive using this method. But when you want to move batches of data from Gmail, you need a tool that can handle bulk emails all at once.

You can also get the solution from: Migrate Emails from Gmail to iCloud

How to Export Gmail Emails to Google Drive?

Note: Ensure you create an app password for Gmail for smooth authentication and to access the files effortlessly.

1. Launch the tool to export Gmail emails to Google Drive.
2. Start entering the Gmail account credentials into the desired field. Press the Login button.
3. From the tab, under Select Saving Option, choose Google Drive.
4. Click on the Filter option to selectively extract the emails.
5. Press the Start Backup button to start the migration of Gmail to Google Drive.

Benefits of Automated Methods to Move Gmail Emails to Google Drive

Now we need to know which one is applicable as per the current necessity. From the above steps, it is clear that we cannot batch migrate with the manual method. However, let’s see what the professional approach offers.

• Batch Migration: As discussed, the tool has the option to fetch the emails directly from the Gmail account and transfer them to any desired file format or email client. All you need to do is select the folder or apply the filter and perform the migration.
• Filter and Save Gmail emails to Google Drive: With the filter option, the user can select a specific email address and date range to migrate only emails from that particular filter.
• Instant Solution: With the batch migration, the result will be instant. There is no need to repeat any steps to complete the task.
• No Need to Wait for Takeout: With this Google Drive, there is no need to wait to prepare an export archive, which can take hours or days for a large mailbox.
• Reduce Human Error: As the whole procedure is done within the software itself, there are fewer chances of error. Human error is a common drawback of using the manual approach.

FAQs

Q) Can I import all my Gmail to Google Drive?

A) It is possible to move all the Gmail emails to Google Drive, but it takes time to complete the task with the manual approach. But if you use the software, you can import all the emails to Google Drive.

Q) Can I move a specific folder or label from Gmail to Google Drive?

A) Yes. Create a label in Gmail for the emails you want to export, then use the label filter in Google Takeout. If you are using the tool, simply select the specific folder from the tool.

Q) Is it safe to use the software to save Gmail emails to Google Drive?

A) Yes, it is. The software mentioned here offers a direct method to move emails from the Gmail account to Google Drive. Ensure you create an App password, as it is the only way to get authenticated outside Gmail.

Q) Can I save all the Gmail emails to an external hard drive?

A) Yes. Export the emails via Google Takeout, select any Delivery method, and save the emails to the computer instead of Drive. Or use the simple and direct approach using the tool mentioned here. For more details, check out: Save Gmail emails to an external hard drive.

Q) Can I automatically save Gmail attachments to Google Drive?

A) In Gmail, you can manually save individual attachments by clicking the ‘Add To Drive’ button. However, you cannot set up a rule to automatically save them. You will have to use Google Apps Script, a Google Workspace add-on, or a third-party tool.

Q) Will this free up space in my Gmail account?

A) No. As both Gmail and Google Drive use the same Google storage space, this will not free up any space. You’ll only be able to free up space by deleting the original emails and then emptying your Trash.

Conclusion

Now you know how to move Gmail emails to Google Drive. We have covered both the manual and the automated approach to migrating email data from Gmail accounts. Try any of the methods mentioned in the article as per your requirements. With the advanced features offered by the automated process, we recommend trying batch migration with it.