1. Emerson College Technology & Media
  2. Applications and Software
  3. Google Drive and Gmail

Exporting Google Drive and Gmail

When you leave Emerson, your Emerson Google Account (including Emerson Gmail, Emerson Google Drive data, Contacts, YouTube content, etc.) will eventually be deactivated. You should take steps to export or transfer any data you would like to keep before that happens. Don't wait until the last minute—some export processes can take time, and access will be permanently lost once your account is deactivated.

  • Graduating students retain access to their Emerson Gmail and Emerson Google Drive data for one year after graduation.
  • Withdrawing or transferring students retain access for 30 days from their inactive date.
  • Faculty and staff lose access after their employment ends, following the timing on their official inactive date and time.

For more details, see the following articles:

Just Moving Some Emerson Google Drive Files?

If you're mostly interested in keeping select files from your Emerson Google Drive data and not your email, there's a fast and simple option:

  1. Share the files or folders with your personal Google Account.
  2. Log into your personal Google Account and open Google Drive.
  3. Right-click each file or folder and select Make a copy.
  4. Move the copies into My Drive so that you fully own them.
  5. Optionally, delete the shared files in your Emerson Google Drive once you're done.

Important: Google does not allow transferring ownership to accounts outside of emerson.edu. Making a copy is the only way to retain ownership of these files. Additionally, if you have shared files with others, their access will break once your Emerson account is deactivated. To avoid disruptions, consider re-sharing important documents from your personal account after making copies.

This guide also covers additional methods for transferring or backing up your full Emerson Google Account data, including mail, calendar content, and YouTube videos if applicable.

Option 1: Transfer Your Content (Best for Transfers to Personal Google Accounts)

If you are moving your Emerson Google Account data to a personal Google Account, this is the easiest option.

Steps:

  1. Open Chrome in Incognito Mode:
  2. Log in as your Emerson Google Account:
    • Ensure you are not logged into a personal Google Account. If you are, you will see an error that Transfer Your Content is only available to authorized accounts.
  3. Enter your personal Google Account email address and follow the steps:
    • A verification code will be sent to your personal Gmail. Enter that code back in the Emerson Google Account session.
  4. Select the Emerson Gmail and Emerson Google Drive data you wish to transfer.
  5. Click Start Transfer.

Transfers may take several hours or longer depending on how much data you have. You will receive an email when the process is complete.

What Happens on the Destination Side?

  • Your Emerson Gmail will appear under a label like your_emerson_username@emerson.edu inside your personal Gmail account.
  • Transferred Google Drive files that you owned will appear in a folder named after your Emerson account inside your personal Google Drive.
  • Transferred files are copies—changes made to them in your personal Google Account will not affect the originals, and vice versa. Any existing sharing settings remain intact—so if files were previously shared with others, they’ll remain shared from your Emerson account until that account is deactivated. Be sure to re-share important files now from your personal account.

Important: YouTube content (videos, playlists, subscriptions) tied to your Emerson Google Account will not automatically transfer and will be permanently lost when your account is deactivated. To preserve your YouTube data, use Google Takeout to download your content.

Additionally, you can simply transfer your YouTube channel to a new Brand Account.

Important Notes:

  • Only Emerson Google Drive data that you own will transfer. Shared files will not automatically copy over. Use the "Make a Copy" technique to transfer these, detailed at the top of this article.
  • This feature only works for transfers to personal Google Accounts. It will not transfer data to other domains such as Outlook or Yahoo.

Option 2: Export Your Data with Google Takeout

Use Google Takeout if you want to download a local copy of your Emerson Google Account data or if you are migrating to a non-Google service.

Steps:

  1. Go to https://takeout.google.com.
  2. Use Incognito Mode and log in as your Emerson Google Account.
  3. Click Deselect All, then select only the services you want to export (such as Emerson Gmail and Emerson Google Drive data).
  4. Click Next Step.
  5. Choose a delivery method, file type (.zip is recommended), and export size.
  6. Click Create Export.

Google will bundle your data and send you a link when it is ready for download.

Importing Emerson Gmail (MBOX File)

If you export Emerson Gmail, it will download as an MBOX file. To view your emails, you can import the MBOX file into a mail application.

For Mac Users (Apple Mail)

  1. Open Apple Mail.
  2. Go to File > Import Mailboxes.
  3. Select Files in MBOX format and choose your downloaded MBOX file.
  4. The imported emails will appear in a folder called Import in the sidebar. You can move them to other mailboxes as needed.

For Windows Users (Mozilla Thunderbird)

  1. Install Mozilla Thunderbird and set up your destination account.
  2. Install the ImportExportTools NG add-on.
  3. Restart Thunderbird after installation.
  4. Select Local Folders in the sidebar.
  5. Go to Tools > ImportExportTools NG > Import mbox files > Import directly one or more mbox files.
  6. Choose your MBOX file and import it.
  7. You can move imported messages to your destination account as needed.

Option 3: Use POP to Import Emerson Gmail into a Non-Google Account

If your destination email provider is not a personal Google Account and supports POP imports, you can use this method to migrate Emerson Gmail messages. This option requires a password that works outside of Duo single sign-on. The best and most secure way to do this is by generating an App Password.

Using an App Password

  1. Enable 2-Step Verification on your Emerson Google Account by visiting https://myaccount.google.com/security.
  2. Once 2-Step Verification is enabled, go to https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
  3. Generate a new App Password for POP access. Save the 16-character password temporarily (you will not be able to view it again).

POP Setup Instructions

  1. Log into your Emerson Gmail at https://gmail.emerson.edu.
  2. Go to Settings > See All Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
  3. Check Enable POP for all mail and click Save Changes.
  4. Log into your destination email account (non-Google).
  5. Follow that provider’s instructions to add a POP account.
  6. Use your full Emerson Gmail address and the App Password as your email password.
  7. For POP server, enter pop.gmail.com, port 995, and enable SSL.

What Happens After POP Setup?

  • Your destination account will begin retrieving messages from Emerson Gmail. This process may take several minutes to hours depending on your email volume.
  • Messages typically appear in a dedicated folder or label (e.g., "Imported Mail").
  • The destination account may check periodically (e.g., hourly) for new mail until the import is complete or manually stopped.
  • Only the message content and attachments will transfer—labels, categories, and folder structures will not carry over.
  • Emails are usually not deleted from Emerson Gmail unless your destination account’s POP settings specifically remove them. (We recommend keeping the “Leave a copy on the server” option enabled.)
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