That gets the messages trickling into your system without slowing your browsing down.Īnother option: We covered GoodSync before and that program also supports local backups of Google data. I recommend setting the Message throttling level to Conservative and Backup every hour until the initial backup is complete. That can take time and hog your bandwidth. The first time you run the program, it tries to download all the new messages. If you want to tweak some of the backup options, CloudPull gives a few extra features once you register. You can also tell it to backup other Google data like contacts, calendar, and drive. It backs up your email in the background. Then it starts downloading all your Gmail messages.
Then give CloudPull permission to access your Gmail account. If you have two-factor authentication on, you’ll need to verify your account. Then you’ll enter your name and password. After you launch the program, you’ll add your Gmail address. It’s $24.99, but they offer a 30-day free trial. I’ve used CloudPull for years and it works flawlessly. What is the difference between POP and IMAP? Read our guide explaining the differences. One benefit of this strategy is it lets you use multiple Gmail accounts and messages show up in Spotlight searches. I turn off notifications on new emails since my goal isn’t to read the email in the client, just to back it up. Then click on Configure your email client to find out how to enable support for your POP client. Go to Forwarding and Pop Access and pick Enable POP for all mail. To enable POP access, click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of your Gmail page in your browser. It also gives you offline access to your email. When you download your emails to a mail client, it will get backed up along with other data on your Mac. Using an email client to backup your email seems counterintuitive, but it’s an easy and free way to backup your Gmail. This is cheap and it works, but it requires too much manual labor each time you want a backup. If you have more than one Gmail account, you’ll need to do Takeout for each one. That strategy only protects against accidental deletion of email. I recommend against that because it won’t protect you if you get locked out of your account. Optionally, you can add the files to your Google Drive.
When your files are ready to be downloaded, Google will send you a link. TGZ file? You’ll need an archiving program.
If your data takes up more than 2 Gig, Google splits it into multiple files. Head on over to the Download Your Data page and select your Mail account. If you use an email client on your Mac, that email is already backed up. If you use Gmail in your school or work, you may lose access to the account if you graduate or change jobs. Other times, you might have accidentally deleted some stuff and later regret it. Two-factor authentication tools like Google Authenticator help prevent the problem, but they aren’t foolproof.ĭon’t skip the second factor! Check out our guide for setting up 2-Factor authentication and some tips on setting up Google Authenticator or using an alternative like Authy. Sometimes it’s because you used the same password in more than one place. That could be through phishing or social engineering. The obvious problem is if someone gets your password. Don’t lose Gmail data on your Mac | Alexey Boldin / What Could Go Wrong? That’s why you need to periodically back your Gmail up. However, that also means it’s at risk for hacking or otherwise losing access. At first glance, the whole point of using Gmail is so all your email is safe in the cloud.