Moving Google Photos to an external hard drive means downloading your photos and videos from Google's servers to a physical drive you own
Google Photos stores your pictures in the cloud, which means they live on Google's computers, not yours. If you want a copy on an external hard drive — a separate device you plug into your computer — you need to download them first. Google gives you a tool called Google Takeout that packages all your photos and videos into files you can save anywhere, including an external drive.
The process takes three main steps: set up your external drive, use Google Takeout to download your photos, and move those files to the drive. Depending on how many photos you have, the download can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. Your internet speed and the total size of your library are the biggest factors.
Key Takeaways
- Google Takeout is Google's official tool for downloading all your photos and videos at once, and it is free to use.
- You need an external hard drive with enough empty space — check your Google Photos storage size before you start.
- Google Takeout sends your download as a compressed file (a .zip file), which you must extract before you can see your individual photos.
- The download happens in the background, and Google emails you a link when it is ready — you do not have to stay at your computer the whole time.
- Once your photos are on the external drive, you can delete them from Google Photos if you want to free up space in your Google account.
Check how much space you need before you start
Open Google Photos on your computer and look at your storage meter. On the left side of the screen, you will see a bar showing how much space you are using. Click on it to see the exact number in gigabytes (GB). Write this number down — it tells you the minimum size your external drive needs to be.
External hard drives come in different sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB (1,000 GB), 2 TB, and larger. If your Google Photos library is 50 GB, a 500 GB drive gives you plenty of room. If it is 800 GB, you need at least a 1 TB drive. Buy a drive that is larger than your current library size so you have room to add more backups later.
Check that your external drive is actually empty or that you have backed up anything on it already. Plugging in the drive and formatting it (erasing it completely) is the safest way to start fresh, though this deletes everything on it. If you are not sure how to format a drive, most come with instructions, or you can search for "how to format external hard drive" for your specific computer type.
Download your photos using Google Takeout
Go to takeout.google.com in your web browser and sign in with the Google account that holds your photos. You will see a list of all the Google services connected to your account — Gmail, Drive, Photos, and others.
Scroll down until you find Google Photos and make sure the checkbox next to it is checked. Uncheck everything else so you are only downloading photos, not your email or other data. Then scroll to the bottom and click the blue Next step button.
On the next screen, you will choose how you want to receive your download. Leave the settings as they are — Google will send you a download link by email. The file size and format are already set correctly. Click the blue Create export button at the bottom.
Google will start preparing your download in the background. You will see a message saying it is processing. Depending on your library size, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to a day or more. Google will send you an email with a download link when it is ready. Check your email (including spam and promotions folders) for a message from Google Takeout.
Download the file and extract it to your external drive
When you get the email from Google Takeout, open it and click the download link. Your browser will download a compressed file (usually named something like takeout-20240115T120000Z-001.zip). This file is smaller than your actual photos because it is compressed — like a suitcase that squeezes everything down to fit.
The download goes to your computer's Downloads folder by default. Once it finishes, plug in your external hard drive and make sure it shows up on your desktop or in your file explorer. On Windows, it usually appears as a new drive letter (like D: or E:). On Mac, it shows up as a new folder on your desktop.
Right-click the downloaded .zip file and select Extract All (Windows) or just double-click it (Mac). This unpacks all your photos from the compressed file. Choose your external drive as the destination — this tells your computer to put the extracted photos directly on the drive instead of your computer's hard drive. The extraction process can take a while depending on how many photos you have.
Verify your photos are on the external drive
Once extraction finishes, open your external drive in your file explorer or Finder. You should see a folder called Takeout. Open it, then open the Google Photos folder inside. You will see all your photos and videos organized by the year and month you took them.
Click on a few folders and make sure you can see your actual photos. If you see image files (usually ending in .jpg or .png) and video files (usually ending in .mp4), the backup worked. This is your proof that the download and extraction went correctly.
Once you confirm your photos are there, you can safely delete the original .zip file from your computer's Downloads folder. It is no longer needed since you have extracted everything to the external drive.
Safely disconnect your external drive
Before you unplug your external drive, you need to tell your computer you are done using it. On Windows, right-click the drive in File Explorer and select Eject. On Mac, click the eject icon next to the drive name in Finder, or drag the drive icon to the trash (this ejects it instead of deleting it).
Wait for your computer to confirm the drive is safe to remove — you will see a message or the drive icon will disappear. Only then should you unplug the cable. Unplugging without ejecting can corrupt your files, especially if your computer was still writing data to the drive.
Label your external drive clearly with a permanent marker so you know what is on it and when you backed it up. Something like "Google Photos Backup — January 2024" helps you keep track if you have multiple drives.
What to do if your download fails or times out
If Google Takeout shows an error or your download link expires before you use it, go back to takeout.google.com and start over. You can request a new export at any time — there is no limit to how many times you can use Google Takeout. The system will not create a duplicate; it will just prepare a fresh download.
If your internet connection drops during the download, your browser will usually let you resume where it left off. If not, the file is corrupted and you should delete it and download again. A slow or unstable connection is the most common reason downloads fail, so try again at a time when your internet is faster or more stable.
If your external drive runs out of space during extraction, the process will stop and you will see an error. You will need a larger drive or a second drive to complete the backup. Delete the incomplete extracted folder from the drive and start over with a bigger drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I lose my photos from Google Photos when I download them?
No. Downloading to an external drive creates a copy of your photos. Your originals stay in Google Photos unless you delete them yourself. Many people keep photos in both places — in Google Photos for easy access on their phone, and on an external drive as a backup.
Can I download only some of my photos instead of everything?
Google Takeout downloads your entire Google Photos library. If you want only certain photos, you can manually select and download them one at a time through the Google Photos app, but this is much slower for large collections. For most people, downloading everything and then deleting unwanted folders from the external drive is faster.
How long does the whole process take?
Preparing your export in Google Takeout usually takes a few minutes to several hours depending on your library size. The actual download to your computer takes as long as your internet speed allows — a 100 GB library might take 1 to 3 hours on a typical home internet connection. Extraction to the external drive adds another 30 minutes to a few hours.
What if I want to back up my photos again in the future?
You can use Google Takeout as many times as you want. Just go back to takeout.google.com, request a new export, and download it to a different external drive or a different folder on the same drive. Label each backup with the date so you know which one is most recent.
Is my external drive safe to store long-term?
External hard drives can last many years if stored in a cool, dry place away from extreme heat or humidity. However, no storage device lasts forever. For photos you want to keep permanently, consider making multiple backups on different drives and storing them in different locations. This protects against drive failure or accidental damage.