Unpack Google Takeout Zips in Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive

What is Google Takeout?

Google Takeout is Google's own export service at takeout.google.com. For Google Photos it produces a series of numbered archives — in .zip or .tgz, split into parts of 1, 2, 4, 10 or 50 GB — and can deliver them by email link or straight into Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box. Inside, the export has one Photos from YYYY folder per year holding every item, one folder per album holding copies of the album's photos, and a JSON file beside each photo with the capture time, location and description Google Photos stored for it. Since Google limited third-party access to Google Photos in 2025 — apps now see only the items a user picks in Google's Photo Picker, up to 2,000 per selection — Takeout is the only export that still contains a whole library together with its album structure.

The catch is that the four cloud destinations store the zips but none of them extracts them: Drive only lists what a zip contains, and OneDrive's advice is to sync the files to a PC and unzip them there. CloudsLinker's Google Takeout import removes that step. It reads the archives remotely from the Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box account that received them — fetching each photo out of its zip and checking it against the zip's CRC-32 checksum — and presents the unpacked folders as a read-only drive. From there the photos copy to any of the 50-plus services CloudsLinker connects, or to a different folder in the same account.

Key features of Google Takeout

Up to 500 zip parts per import

One Google Takeout can hold up to 500 archives from a single account. A 1 TB library exported in 2 GB parts is about 500 files; choose 10 GB parts for anything larger, or split it into several imports.

.zip only, not .tgz

Takeout offers .zip and .tgz. CloudsLinker reads standard .zip archives; .tgz parts and password-protected zips are listed as unreadable when you check the archives and are left out.

2 GB or 10 GB parts work best

Each photo is a separate read from inside its zip. A 50 GB part means tens of thousands of reads against one file, which Google Drive can throttle; smaller parts spread the load.

Album photos are stored twice

An album photo sits in its year folder and again in the album folder. In a small test export, 97 media files held 52 distinct photos and videos — copy years or albums, not both, unless you want the duplicates.

Dates live in the JSON files

Photo files are copied unchanged, so EXIF capture dates survive, but each file's modified date at the destination is the export date. Capture times for files without EXIF exist only in the supplemental-metadata.json files, which are copied but not applied.

A snapshot of the archives

The list of zips is fixed when you add the Takeout. Parts that arrive later need a second import; a zip that is deleted or replaced afterwards is reported as unreadable.

Why connect Google Takeout to CloudsLinker

A Google Takeout in CloudsLinker is not a separate login. You pick an account you have already connected — Google Drive or a Shared drive, Dropbox or Dropbox Business, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint, or Box — tick the Takeout folder or its .zip files, and check the archives. CloudsLinker lists the albums, file count and unpacked size, flags any zip it cannot read, and adds the export as a drive that can be browsed and copied from. Nothing is downloaded to your computer and the zips stay untouched.

What you can do with Google Takeout on CloudsLinker

Unpacks in place, from four delivery targets

Works on exports that Takeout added to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box — the four cloud destinations Takeout offers. Business and team accounts of the same services, Shared drives and SharePoint sites are accepted too.

Albums and years as real folders

Every part of the export is merged into one folder tree, so an album split across three zips appears as one folder. The outer Takeout and Google Photos folders are removed; everything below keeps Takeout's names.

Copy only what you need

Copy the year folders for a complete backup, a handful of albums for sharing, or single files. Rerunning a task skips files that are already at the destination with the same size.

Checksummed and read-only

Each file read from a zip is verified against the CRC-32 value recorded in the archive, so a damaged part fails loudly instead of producing a broken photo. A Takeout can only be copied from; nothing can be written into it.

Common Google Takeout transfer scenarios

Google Photos library to OneDrive, albums included

Microsoft 365 Family gives each of up to six people 1 TB of OneDrive. Have Takeout add the export to OneDrive itself, add it as a Google Takeout in CloudsLinker, and copy the album folders into OneDrive's Pictures folder — the zips become browsable folders in the same account, and can then be deleted.

Google Photos to a Synology or QNAP NAS

Self-hosting photo apps such as Synology Photos and Immich index by EXIF date, so the year folders are all they need. Export to Google Drive, then copy only the Photos from YYYY folders to the NAS share — every photo once, no album duplicates, no 300 GB download to a laptop first.

Leave Google for Proton Drive with an end-to-end encrypted copy

Proton Drive encrypts files on the way in, which is why many people move photos there when leaving Google. Copy the unpacked folders from the Takeout to Proton Drive, check the result, then delete the library in Google Photos and the zips in Drive.

Cold archive of the whole library in Backblaze B2 or Amazon S3

For an off-site archive, copy the complete Takeout — JSON files included, so dates and descriptions can be restored later — into a Backblaze B2 or Amazon S3 bucket. Object storage keeps the folder tree as prefixes and charges per GB, so excluding the album folders keeps the bill down.

Hand one album to a family member's Dropbox or pCloud

Not every move is a migration. Pick the one album folder — a wedding, a holiday — and copy it to a relative's Dropbox or pCloud account connected in CloudsLinker, without sharing your Google account or downloading the whole export.

How to add a Google Takeout to CloudsLinker

A Google Takeout has no credentials of its own. It reads archives from a Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box account that is already connected to CloudsLinker, so connect that account first through its normal sign-in page (accounts.google.com, www.dropbox.com, login.microsoftonline.com or account.box.com).

Before you start

Create the export. At takeout.google.com click Deselect all, tick Google Photos, choose file type .zip and a file size of 2 GB or 10 GB, and set the delivery method to Add to Drive, Add to Dropbox, Add to OneDrive or Add to Box.
Wait for every part. Takeout can take hours or days and emails you when the export is complete. Albums are split across parts, so a Takeout added before the last zip arrives has incomplete folders.
Check storage. An export added to Drive counts toward your Google storage; the other services need space for the full export too.

Steps

In CloudsLinker, open Add Cloud and choose Google Takeout (listed as Zip import).
Under Cloud with your export, select the account that holds the archives.
In Takeout archives, tick the Takeout folder, or individual .zip files. A ticked folder includes every .zip inside it, subfolders included.
Click Check archives. CloudsLinker reads the archives and shows the number of top-level folders (labelled Albums, year folders included), files and unpacked size, the folder list, and any zip it could not read.
Enter a Name and click Add Takeout. The Takeout opens as a drive and appears under your clouds.

CloudsLinker Add Google Takeout review step with 10 albums, 16,312 files and 10.38 GB, the folder list with file counts and sizes, a notice that the archives are fixed when the Takeout is added, and the Name field — The review step: folders, files and unpacked size before anything is added.

To copy, open Transfer, select folders of the Takeout as the source and a folder in another cloud as the target. Only Copy is available. To remove the import, delete the Google Takeout from your clouds; deleting the source account’s connection removes it automatically.

Google Takeout export limits you should know

Delivery methods: 5 — download link by email, Add to Drive, Add to Dropbox, Add to OneDrive, Add to Box. CloudsLinker works with the last four.
Archive file types: .zip and .tgz. CloudsLinker reads .zip only; password-protected zips are not supported.
Part sizes: 1, 2, 4, 10 or 50 GB per file; exports larger than the chosen size are split into several files.
Frequency: export once, or every 2 months for 1 year (6 exports).
Storage: archives added to Drive count toward your Google storage until you delete them.
CloudsLinker import: up to 500 .zip files per Google Takeout, all from one connected account; the archive list is fixed when the Takeout is added.
Google Photos layout: one Photos from YYYY folder per year, one folder per album (copies of album photos), and a .supplemental-metadata.json file per item with photoTakenTime, location and description.
Google Photos API (for comparison): since 2025, third-party apps get only the items a user picks in Google’s Photo Picker — up to 2,000 per selection — and no album structure. Picked photos download with EXIF but without location; videos download as a transcoded copy.

Sources: How to download your Google data — Google Account Help, Google Photos Picker API: sessions, Picker API: list and retrieve media items, Microsoft Q&A: unzipping files in OneDrive.

Google Takeout + CloudsLinker — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CloudsLinker Google Takeout import?

A way to use Google Takeout archives that are already in the cloud. You point CloudsLinker at the .zip files Takeout delivered to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box, and it shows their unpacked contents as a read-only drive. Folders and files from it can then be copied to any other cloud CloudsLinker supports.

Do I have to download or unzip the Takeout first?

No. CloudsLinker reads the files straight out of the zips in the account that holds them, on its own servers. Your computer is only used to click through the setup, and the archives are not modified.

Which Takeout settings should I choose?

Select only Google Photos, file type .zip, a file size of 2 GB or 10 GB, and Add to Drive, Add to Dropbox, Add to OneDrive or Add to Box as the delivery method. Takeout offers 1, 2, 4, 10 and 50 GB parts; very large parts mean many reads against one file, which Google Drive may throttle. Wait for the email saying every part has been delivered before adding the Takeout.

How many zip files can one Google Takeout include?

Up to 500 .zip files, all from the same connected account. Selecting a folder includes every .zip inside it, subfolders too. A library bigger than 500 parts can be exported with a larger part size or added as several Takeouts.

Why are some zip files listed as unreadable?

CloudsLinker reads standard .zip archives. A .tgz part, a password-protected zip, a file that is not really a zip, or one that was replaced after the Takeout was added is listed as unreadable and skipped; the other parts still work. If every selected file is unreadable, or the zips contain no files, the Takeout cannot be added.

Are albums and photo dates preserved?

Albums are preserved as folders, exactly as Takeout wrote them, alongside the Photos from YYYY year folders. Photo files are copied byte for byte, so dates embedded in the files (EXIF) are kept. The file modified date at the destination is the export date, and the capture time of files without EXIF is only in the JSON file next to them, which is copied but not applied.

Why do I see the same photo in two folders?

Takeout stores every album photo twice: in the year folder and in the album folder. Copying the whole Takeout therefore copies those photos twice and counts them twice toward transfer volume. Copy only the year folders for a complete set without duplicates, or only the albums for an organised subset.

Can I move, sync or upload into a Google Takeout?

No. A Google Takeout is read-only: it can be a source for copy tasks, including scheduled ones, but not a transfer target, and Move and Sync are not available. To delete the zips after copying, remove them in Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box directly.

What happens if I delete the zips or the account they are in?

Deleted or replaced zips are reported as unreadable the next time the Takeout is read. Removing the Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box connection from CloudsLinker also removes every Google Takeout added from it, together with their tasks.

Is a Google Takeout better than connecting Google Photos directly?

For a whole library, yes. Google's Photo Picker, which third-party apps must now use, returns only items you select by hand — up to 2,000 per selection — and no albums; photos arrive without their location data and videos as Google's transcoded copy. Takeout contains the original files, with album folders. The direct Google Photos connection is quicker for a few hundred pictures because there is no export to wait for.

Google Takeout transfer guides

Step-by-step walkthroughs for moving data to and from Google Takeout.

Unzip Google Takeout in the Cloud and Copy Your Albums Anywhere

Google Takeout puts Google Photos into zip files in Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box. Unpack them in the cloud, copy albums to any drive, and …

Conclusion

Google Takeout remains the only way to get an entire Google Photos library out with its albums, and the archives no longer have to pass through your computer. Export to Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box in .zip parts of 2 or 10 GB, add the archives as a Google Takeout in CloudsLinker, and copy the year or album folders to wherever the photos should live next. The step-by-step version, with what the files look like at the destination, is in Unzip Google Takeout in the Cloud.

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