Google Takeout: how to download your data and uploads

In 2017 I made music under the artist name LK24. Later I uploaded the songs from my Mac to my YouTube Music library. They're still there today, and I can listen to them any time.

Recently I wanted to pass one of them on. I no longer had the original files to hand. So I opened the YouTube Music app on my iPhone and looked for a way to download or share the song. For your own uploads, there's neither. You can listen offline, but the app won't give you a file you can send to someone.

The way back to my own songs led through a Google page I had never heard of until then: Google Takeout.

On YouTube Music you can only upload on a computer, at music.youtube.com. According to Google, uploads aren't possible in the phone app at all. What you upload, only you can hear. Others can't play your uploads, not even when they're in a playlist you share.

That's an advantage when uploading and a problem when you want things back. The library is private and convenient. But it isn't a folder you can take things out of.

Google Takeout is a page where you download a copy of your data from Google services. The address is takeout.google.com. You choose which services you need. Google packs the data into an archive and sends you a link.

One important thing first: downloading deletes nothing. Your data stays in your account; you just get a copy.

It's best to do this on a computer. Google explicitly recommends one for downloading and opening the archive, rather than a phone.

• Sign in to your Google account and open takeout.google.com.
• Google has already ticked every service you use. Choose "Deselect all" at the top.
• Scroll to "YouTube and YouTube Music" and tick it.
• Below it is a button that sets which data is included. Open it and leave only "music uploads" ticked.
• Click "Next step".

Why so little? According to Google, how long the export takes depends on the amount of data. If you select only your music uploads, the archive stays small.

Now you decide how the archive gets to you. For a single download, this is enough:

• Delivery: "Send download link via email". Google can also put the archive in Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box instead.
• Frequency: export once.
• File type: ZIP. Almost any computer can open a ZIP file. For TGZ you may need an extra program on Windows.
• Size: if the archive is bigger than the limit you choose, Google splits it into several files. At 50 GB that happens less often.

Then click "Create export". From here on, it's a matter of waiting. According to Google, the export takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Usually the link arrives the same day.

In the email, click "Download archive". Google may ask for your password once more. If you've turned on 2-Step Verification, there's a second step on top. That's how Google makes sure only you download your data.

There are two limits you should know about. The archive expires after about seven days. And you can download it at most five times. After that, simply request a new one. Only the link is gone then, not your data.

Once unzipped, the archive contains a file called archive_browser.html. Open it in your browser. It explains which files are in the archive and how to open them. You'll find your songs in the section for YouTube and YouTube Music, under music uploads.

I came across Takeout because of my old songs. But there are many reasons to have a copy of your own data. According to Google, it can include emails, documents, calendars, photos and YouTube videos, among other things.

• Back up your photos. Your pictures from Google Photos end up with you as files. If you want to switch to another service, Google can also transfer a copy directly there. Here too, everything stays in your account.
• Before deleting your account. Google's help page on deleting an account advises downloading what you want to keep first. If your archive is in Drive, you have to move it somewhere else before you delete the account.
• If an account sits unused for a long time. Google can delete a personal Google account that hasn't been used for two years. Before that, Google sends a warning to the account and to the recovery email address.
• As a backup. If for any reason you can no longer get into your account, you still have the copy.
• Gmail. According to Google, the download includes the content of your emails, their attachments and your labels.
• Chrome. Bookmarks, history, extensions, search engines and settings are part of the export. Passwords aren't. You export those as a CSV file in Google Password Manager. Delete that file afterwards, because anyone with access to your computer can open it.
• Contacts. Google exports them in vCard format, which many email providers support.

Location history is different. According to Google, your Google Maps Timeline comes straight from your device. You can manage it in Google Maps.

By the way, you don't have to do this by hand every time. If you choose a scheduled export instead of a one-off archive, Google automatically creates a new archive every two months for a year. The first archive is created straight away.

• You can't select a time period. You always get everything that's in the chosen service.
• Anything you change while the export is running may be missing from the archive.
• For a work or school account, the administrator decides whether you're allowed to download data.
• If the export doesn't work, select less and try again. Google recommends the same.

You can read up on all of this in Google's help: Download your data, Upload music to YouTube Music, Copy photos to another service, Delete your account, Inactive accounts, Data from Gmail, Data from Chrome and Export passwords.

My songs were in my account the whole time. Just behind an app that won't hand them over. Takeout is the detour Google itself offers for exactly that.

If you have something sitting with Google that you'd rather have yourself as well, it takes three steps: open takeout.google.com, deselect everything, tick only what you need.