How To Get Photos From Google Photos

How to download all photos and videos from Google Photos

Here's how to batch download all of your images and videos from Google Photos straight to your computer's hard drive

Here's how you can download everything on Google Photos (including videos) in one go straight to your PC.

By | 01 Jun 2021

If you're panicking about how to save those photos you've stacked up since 2012, fear not. There is a way to save them all in one go. Unfortunately, Google doesn't make it entirely obvious how to do this, which is where we come in.

Whether you want to back up all your images, or migrate to another cloud storage service, here's how to batch download all your photos and videos from Google.

In this article, we'll look at how to download multiple photos or videos from Google Photos as well as how to download everything from Google Photos, straight to your PC hard drive.

Though Google's unlimited photo storage has now ended, it's worth noting that Google won't have deleted your photos and videos after 1 June. They'll still be there and available to view. The change is simply that any photos and videos you upload after that date will count against your quota, even in High Quality.

You can also check out how to upload your entire photo collection to Google Photos.

How to download multiple photos from Google Photos

This is the simpler task of the two, and the process is the same whether you're downloading photos or videos from Google Photos.

First head to Google Photos and click on the tick mark on top left corner on the photos or videos you want to download. Hold down Shift and click further down in the photo roll if you want to select multiple photos at once.
Click on the three dots at the top right and click Download (or use Shift + D).
Your download should begin.

Google Photos Download multiple images

Here's how to stop automatically backing up photos to Google Photos. You can also read about what to do with Google Photos now that free storage has ended.

How to download all Google Photos at once to PC or hard drive

Downloading all your photos from Google Drive is a lot less straightforward.

If you tried to download all your images using the method above, you'd have noticed there's no way to batch download everything directly within Google Phones (we don't know why either). Instead, you'll have to head to Google Takeout.

Google Takeout lets you download any data from your Google account – whether that's your Chrome history, Google Play activity, Google Play Books, Hangouts history, or Google Photos.

Head to Google Takeout and clickDeselect all – this ensures you're not downloading your entire Google history

Google Takeout Deselect All

Scroll down the list and select Google Photos.
Click on "All photo albums included" to download only specific albums from Google Photos.

Google Takeout Select Google Photos

Note: If you haven't separated all your pictures into albums (because who has time for that?), Google will automatically separate them by year.

Once you're happy with your selections click OK.

Google Takeout Select Albums

Scroll to the bottom of all the services and select Next Step.

Google Takeout Next Step

In the export settings that follow, you can choose how often you want to download all your Google Photo content.

Google Takeout Export Settings

You can also specify whether you want the final exported zipped file to be emailed to you, or sent to another cloud storage option. We'll stick to an email link in this case.

Google Takeout Export Setting delivery method

Also see: Best cloud storage services of the year

At this stage, you can also select how large you want each exported zip file to be. The default setting is 2GB, and the maximum size is 50GB. Keep in mind, exports larger than 2GB will be compressed in zip64 files. Google warns this may not be supported by older systems, so you may need additional file compression software to unzip your exports.
Click Create Exportwhen you're ready.

Google Takout Export Size Selection

Your files will now begin exporting. You may need to wait a few minutes depending on how large your whole collection is. You can also choose to cancel at this point.

Google Takeout Exporting

Once the export is complete, you'll be able to download your photos by clicking onShow Exports.

. Google Takeout Show Export

You can now download each exported zip folder to your hard drive.Note: the download link expires after one week.

GoogleTakeout Downloading Export

If you opted for an email notification, you can also download the exports directly from your Gmail inbox.

Google Takeout Export Email Confirmation

Also note, you should get a security authorization email from Google to confirm it's you requesting to export your photos and not someone else. You may need to authorize it before you're able to download your photos and videos.

Gmail Security Check

Also see: How to clear out Google Drive and free up space for new files

Author: Somrata Sarkar, Senior Staff Writer

Somrata Sarkar

Somrata researches the best tech deals to help you make informed buying decisions. She's an expert on accessories and reviews all kinds of tech.