How to Organize and Back Up Your Google Takeout Photos

Published 2026-08-19

If you're leaving Google Photos — because of price increases, storage limits, or just wanting a copy you fully control — Google Takeout is the official way to get your entire library out. It's not a one-click process, though, so here's what to actually expect.

1. Start the export

Go to takeout.google.com while signed in to your Google account. Click "Deselect all", then select only Google Photos. You can choose to include all photos or filter by album.

2. Choose export settings

Pick a delivery method (a download link is simplest), file type (.zip is standard), and maximum file size per archive. Google splits large libraries into multiple zip files — a photo library of several hundred GB can easily become a dozen or more parts.

3. Wait for Google to prepare it

For large libraries, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days. You'll get an email when it's ready.

4. Download every part before the link expires

Google only keeps the download link active for a limited time (typically about a week), so download all parts promptly rather than assuming you can come back later.

5. Understand the folder structure

Once extracted, you'll find your photos organized roughly by album or by year, alongside a JSON file for every photo. These JSON sidecars contain metadata Google Photos tracked separately from the image file itself — things like the original timestamp, geodata, and any titles or descriptions you added. Some of this may not be embedded in the photo's own EXIF data, so it's worth keeping the JSON files if you want to preserve it.

6. Archive it somewhere durable

Once you have your library organized locally, the last step is making sure it doesn't just sit on a single laptop or external drive with no backup. This is the exact problem Archivios is built for — it automatically re-organizes your photos by date and location on import, then archives them to secure, permanent long-term storage, without the ongoing cost of a Google One or iCloud+ subscription.

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