How to Back up Google Drive™: A Step-by-Step Guide

What Does It Mean to Back Up Google Drive™?

A backup is an independent, point-in-time copy of your data, kept somewhere separate from the original so that you can restore from it if something goes wrong with the source. 

That sounds obvious until you notice how loosely the word gets used. Cloud storage, sync, and archiving all get called backup at some point, and none of them really is one, because each was built to solve a different problem.

Google Drive™ itself is a storage. If a file gets deleted, corrupted, or encrypted by ransomware in Drive, that change tends to propagate to every place Drive is connected to, including Google Drive™ for Desktop on your laptop. 

Without a separate backup sitting outside that ecosystem, your only real recovery path is the 30-day Trash window, which isn’t something you want to depend on for business-critical data.

Google’s shared responsibility model catches a lot of teams off guard here. Google is responsible for keeping its infrastructure available and secure, and you are responsible for what happens to your data inside it. 

If a user empties their trash, an attacker encrypts a folder, or a departing employee deletes a year of work, the recovery problem is yours to solve, not Google’s.

Why Should I Backup Google Drive™?

Google Drive™ is a safe SaaS application that can store your business-critical data. However, there are several risks that can cause data loss in Google Drive™. 

Furthermore, Google Workspace™ doesn’t back up any files. That’s why if your data has been lost you will not be able to recover it.

The main data loss risks in Google Drive™ are:

1. Human errors (e.g., accidental file deletions)
2. Potential malicious intent of employees
3. Ransomware attack
4. Zero-day attack of an app with OAuth access to your data.

Data stored in Google Drive is susceptible to various risks such as accidental deletion, malicious insider actions, cyberattacks like ransomware, and even sophisticated zero-day exploits. 

These threats highlight the importance of adopting a proactive approach to data backup. Implementing a robust backup strategy ensures that critical business data is duplicated and stored securely, enabling quick recovery in the event of data loss. 

This practice not only safeguards valuable information but also fortifies business continuity strategies, ensuring that operations can swiftly resume with minimal downtime and loss.

With a shared responsibility model, Google leaves it up to the companies to secure their data.

Google Drive™ Backup vs. Google Drive Sync: What’s the Difference?

People use “sync” and “backup” interchangeably all the time, and most of the bad recovery stories you’ll hear come from that confusion.

Sync keeps two locations identical in real time. If you delete a file on your laptop, Drive for Desktop will dutifully delete it from Drive a few seconds later, because that’s exactly what sync is supposed to do. 

Backup goes the other way: it keeps an independent copy of your data that doesn’t move when the original moves, so you can wind the clock back to a known-good state.

The practical version of this matters most during a ransomware incident. If your laptop gets infected and starts encrypting files, a sync client will obediently push the encrypted versions up to Drive. 

A backup, sitting in a separate system with its own credentials, won’t be affected, and you can restore clean copies once the infection is contained.

If your goal is data protection, sync alone won’t get you there.

What Are Your Options For Backing Up Google Drive™?

There are several options for backing up Google Drive™.

1. Manual Backup

This means downloading a copy of your Drive contents to somewhere you control. The usual tools are a plain hard drive download, Google Drive™ for Desktop (the successor to Backup and Sync), or Google Takeout for one-off exports.

 2. Automated Cloud Backup Tools

This is where Google Vault and dedicated third-party tools like SpinBackup live. Vault is technically a Google product, although as we’ll get into shortly, it’s an archiver more than a backup. SpinBackup and similar tools are purpose-built for the job.

3. Should You Use a Third-Party Tool to Back Up Google Drive™?

For a serious business answer, yes. Google’s native tooling is good at storing and searching data, but it isn’t designed to restore lost files quickly or at scale, and it doesn’t really protect you from ransomware or insider threats. 

Once your team is more than a handful of people, a dedicated backup tool tends to pay for itself the first time you actually need it.If you want the broader picture, we offer a Google Workspace backup solution that covers Drive, Shared Drives, Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts in one place.

How to Back up Google Drive™ Manually

Google Drive™ App provides some in-built functionality to back up its data.  You must manually copy data from Google Drive™ because most methods don’t automate the process.

Google Backup should be part of the cybersecurity strategy of any business, regardless of its size. 

However, it’s worth noting that this method may not safeguard against file corruption caused by ransomware or viruses. The level of risk depends on the amount of data generated and stored on a regular basis.

For instance, this method is particularly suitable for entities with a relatively small amount of data. It works well for those who store their data in a single Google Drive™ folder and update it infrequently. Once per month or even less frequently.

For such purposes, you have three options, and each of them involves copying your data, albeit in slightly different ways. All have their pros and cons, so choose the one that is the most convenient for you!

Learn about email recovery in Gmail™ and Drive recovery.

Backing Up Google Drive™ to An External Hard Drive

The simplest possible backup is a download. It works well if you have a small amount of data, you don’t change it often, and you remember to do it on some kind of schedule. 

The trade-off is that everything is on you. There’s no automation, no version history beyond what Drive itself keeps, and no notification if you forget. If you go this route, set a calendar reminder.

To run a manual download:

1. Open Google Drive™ in your browser.
2. Hold Ctrl+A to select all files or manually choose those you want to copy.
3. Right-click and select Download. The files will be in a zip format.
4. Preserve this copy in a reliable place and extract files whenever needed.

Use Google Drive™ for Desktop

Google’s old “Backup and Sync” client has been retired, so the current option is Google Drive™ for Desktop. There’s more on that transition in the next section.

Drive for Desktop mirrors folders between your machine and Drive in either direction. It runs continuously, which can feel close to backup, but it’s still sync, so deletions and changes flow through automatically. You can treat it as a convenience tool rather than a safety net. 

The pattern that actually works is to combine Drive for Desktop with a separate laptop backup, either to an external drive or to a third-party tool. That way, if a bad change syncs down to your machine, you have somewhere clean to restore from.

To set it up:

1. Download Google Drive™ for Desktop from Google’s site and install it.
2. Sign in with your Google account when the app launches.
3. Choose what you want synced. You can mirror folders from your computer up to Drive, mirror Drive down to your computer, or both.
4. Save your preferences and let it run. The first sync can take a long time depending on how much data is involved, so it’s worth kicking off overnight. 

Using Google Takeout

Google Takeout is designed to make one-time copies of your Google account data. It includes Google Drive™, Gmail™, Photo, Contacts, and so on. In our case, you need to make a copy of your Google Drive™ data.

Pros:

1. Supports all Google services
2. Ability to send copied data directly to other clouds or download them on your desktop

Cons:

1. One-time save with no automatic backup options. It means you can lose files if you forgot to save them previously.

First, log in to your Google account and click on Download your data. There you will see all apps that contain your data. All are selected by default. To select specific files, uncheck all, then tick the desired field.

2. To download specific data, keep all selected and deselect unwanted files. Then press Next step.
3. Customize your archive by choosing the delivery method, type of export, type, and size of the file.

Done! Your archive will soon be delivered.

After that, it will start copying. It can take time depending on the amount of data, so be patient.

What Happened to Google Backup and Sync?

Google retired the Backup and Sync client back in 2021 and rolled its features into Google Drive™ for Desktop, which had been the enterprise sync client up to that point. 

The two clients had been doing the same job for years, so consolidating them made sense, and Drive for Desktop is now the only sync client Google supports.

If you’re reading older guides that still reference Backup and Sync, you can ignore those instructions. The download links don’t work, and even if you somehow got it installed, it wouldn’t authenticate against Drive anymore. 

We have a longer write-up of the migration in Google Backup and Sync Service Discontinued: What’s Next?, but the short version is that Drive for Desktop covers the same use cases with the same caveats, and it’s still a sync client rather than a backup tool.

Tips for Managing Your Google Drive™ Backup

While the basic workings of Google Drive™ are quite simple, there are also some additional ways you can use the software to streamline your work processes and save your time each day.

1. Sync Your Work Across Multiple Devices

If you commonly work from more than one computer, for example, a desktop computer at the office and your laptop at home, you’ll know how much of a pain it can be to transfer files back and forth. Luckily the days of emailing yourself files back and forth are over.

Now all you need to do is make sure that the Google Drive™ synchronization software is installed on all the computers you use and your files will be instantly and effortlessly kept up to date across all platforms (there’s even a Google Drive™ app for your phone so you can work on the go).

2. View and Restore Previous Versions of a File

Sometimes you may want access to an earlier version of a file, particularly if multiple users can edit it. Luckily this is very straightforward for those who use Google Drive™ as backup. All you need to do is click the “see revision history” option under the file menu.

This will bring up an additional panel with timestamps showing what revisions were made and which users made them. You can restore any previous version of your files without deleting the record of revisions.

File revisions are automatically deleted after 30 days or 100 revisions but you can set individual files to keep all revisions, which is helpful for documents such as spreadsheets that are updated frequently.

3. Save Files from the Internet Directly to Google Drive™

If you’re browsing on a friend’s computer or using your phone to check your email and you want to download a file quickly, you can download it directly to your Google Drive™ without saving it to the local machine first, helping you conserve bandwidth and time.

You can also attach files to emails you send through Gmail™ directly without uploading them first, which is very helpful for large files and eliminates the file size limit on Gmail™. 

Gmail™ comes with a built-in option to save files to Google Drive™ and there is also a Chrome plugin to save images, text, and screenshots directly from your browser.

Backup Google Drive™: Automatic Backup Tools for Businesses

The previous manual options come in handy for individual users. But they won’t be helpful to small-to-medium and enterprise-sized organizations to prevent data loss.

However, these alternatives are a better choice for backing up and recovering large amounts of important business data. They consist of automatic third-party Google Workspace™ data backup services and native Google features accessible to business users only.

Those tools are different in their usability, features, price, and reliability.

Backing Up Google Drive™ Using Google Vault

Google Vault is a web-based archive and eDiscovery service that helps IT administrators keep all Google Workspace™ users’ data. It backs up and saves files regardless of any subsequent modifications.

This tool stores data needed for legal proceedings to meet industrial and regional compliance requirements. This lets companies preserve some valuable information from data loss even if this data is not subject to legal restrictions.

To archive data with Google Vault you need to set up retention policies. These policies will specify what data to preserve and for what period of time.

To gain access to this functionality, you need to buy a Business Plus subscription for $18/month per user.

But here is the important information: Vault is not a backup, but an archiver. And this makes a big difference when it comes to Vault’s data recovery features.

Pros:

1. Requires no installation
2. Keeps data for a long time in an unlimited storage
3. Lets you to easily search for data you need
4. Back up Google Drive™ automatically.

Cons:

1. Can restore data only by one piece at a time. The main goal of the tool is to keep data for possible legal reference, not to quickly restore it. So you can’t restore files quickly.
2. You can’t use Vault if you aren’t a Google Workspace™ Business Plus, Enterprise, or Education package subscriber.
3. It is quite expensive: for a 50-person organization, it will cost $10,800/year.

Related Link: How to Upgrade From Google Workspace™ Basic to Business

If you want to know how to save up to 64% on Google Workspace™ licenses, check out this article→

If you are still interested in Vault as a solution for your business, here is what you should do:

1. Sign in using the Google Workspace™ admin account and land on the Google Vault homepage.
2. Go to the Retention pitch left.
3. Choose Drive and edit the retention policy.

4. Mark the field named Set a default retention rule for Drive.
5. Choose the radio button “Indefinitely” and save it.

Using Third-Party Backup Software to Back Up Your Google Drive™

Google Vault and other built-in Google features are not designed to restore and protect your data. 

It leaves your data insecure and makes it problematic to access and restore your records if they were deleted or stolen. You can’t be sure if your files won’t be leaked to competitors or corrupted by ransomware.

In other words, you pay for unlimited cloud data storage, not for data protection. That’s why knowing how secure Google Drive™ is and using third-party backup solutions are essential for your data’s safety.

Third-party Google Drive™ online backup solves all these problems, usually for a very modest price. 

For this money, you get over-the-top functionality, security, unlimited storage, and recovery quality.  It’s cheaper than paying for Google Vault and definitely beats the damage of not having backups at all.

Benefits of Third-Party Backups:

1. Automation: Never forget to back up everything.
2. Scalability: Increase the number of users as your company’s needs increase.
3. Data management: Get better control of your Google Drive™ data.
4. Expansive: Backup Google Shared Drive™ too. 

SpinOne is one such backup provider. We will guide you through the process of easily backing up Google Drive™ and other data using SpinOne. It can be done with just a few clicks.

Ransomware Protection: Best Practices

To protect Google Drive™ from ransomware attacks, it’s essential to implement a multi-layered security approach that combines good cyber hygiene with advanced protection solutions like SpinOne. 

As ransomware can easily compromise files synced with cloud storage, organizations must be proactive in safeguarding their data. 

SpinOne offers a comprehensive ransomware protection solution specifically designed for Google Drive™, utilizing AI-powered algorithms for real-time monitoring and rapid response to threats. 

By leveraging SpinOne’s capabilities, businesses can ensure that their critical data remains secure and recoverable, even in the event of an attack.

Key Features of SpinOnefor Google Drive™ Ransomware Protection:

1. Real-Time Detection: AI algorithms continuously monitor Google Drive™ for anomalies that may indicate a ransomware attack.
2. Immediate Response: Quick identification and blockage of ransomware processes to stop the infection in its tracks.
3. Damage Assessment: Identification of files affected by the ransomware attack, allowing for targeted remediation.
4. Automated Recovery: Swift restoration of compromised files to ensure minimal disruption to business operations.

Additional Recommendations for Google Drive™ Ransomware Protection:

1. Practice good cyber hygiene by being cautious with email attachments and links.
2. Regularly back up files to separate storage locations to ensure recoverability.
3. Utilize strong password policies and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
4. Regularly update software to address vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of ransomware exploits.

How Often Should You Back Up Google Drive™?

Daily is the floor for almost any business use case. Most teams generate enough new and edited content in a single day that anything less starts to feel like an unacceptable amount of potential loss the moment something actually goes wrong. 

A reasonable cadence by team size:

• Personal use, light activity: a Google Takeout export every month or two, plus an occasional manual download.
• Personal use, heavier activity: a daily automated backup with a third-party tool, since it’s genuinely cheap at one-user pricing.
• Small business: daily automated backups with at least 90 days of version history.
• Mid-market and enterprise: multiple automated snapshots per day, long-term retention, audit logging, and ransomware monitoring.

The underlying question is your Recovery Point Objective, or RPO: how much data are you willing to lose if everything goes wrong right now? 

If the answer is “up to a day,” daily is fine. If the answer is “a few hours at most,” you need a tool that can take more frequent snapshots than Drive’s native tooling will give you.

Backing Up Google Drive™ for Business vs. Personal Use

The right backup approach changes a lot depending on who you are and what you’re protecting.

Personal use is forgiving. Most individuals are dealing with a few gigabytes of data, the main risk is accidental deletion, and a free Google Takeout export every month or so will cover most realistic problems. If you want a small upgrade, a manual download to an external drive once a quarter gives you a clean offline copy.

Business use is a different story. 

Even a small company can easily have hundreds of gigabytes spread across Drive and Shared Drives, and the risk profile is broader: accidental deletion, departing employees, ransomware, OAuth-related zero-day attacks, and compliance obligations that may require you to prove you can produce specific files on demand. 

Manual approaches don’t realistically work at this scale, partly because nobody is going to remember to run them and partly because the recovery experience is too slow when something goes wrong.

The cost of a dedicated backup tool tends to land in the range of a few dollars per user per month, which is almost always less than the cost of a single bad data-loss incident.

SpinBackup – the best Automated Google Drive™ Backup Tool

Native Google Workspace™ tools for Google Drive™ data backup do not meet the needs of the modern business. 

Companies generate data on a daily basis, and losing this data can have a detrimental effect on their performance and can have legal implications. The tool guarantees fast daily automated backup with the opportunity for manual backups. 

SpinBackup supports flexible data residency options by allowing organizations to store snapshots in Amazon Web Services™ (AWS), Google Cloud Platform™ (GCP), Azure™, or the client’s own data center. 

It provides strong data security with role-based access control, encryption in transit, at rest, and in use.

SpinBackup is ransomware proof, as well, and maintains numerous security and compliance attestations, including PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance, SOC 2 Type II audits, and more.

Here is how to back up data with SpinBackup: 

Go to spin.ai and create an account. Automatic backup of your Drive will start the day after you sign up.

To start the backup of your Google Drive™ manually, you need to:

1. Tap the Log in as Google Workspace™ / Google Apps Administrator button in the upper right corner.
2. Use your credentials to log in or sign in with Google.
3. Click Users on the left dashboard.

4. You will see a list of all your domain users subscribed to SpinOne. To back up a user’s Google Drive™ account, follow these steps:
   a) Select the user’s name.
   b) Expand it by clicking the +/- button.
   c) Click the Google Drive™ button below the user’s name.
   d) Press Backup.

5. After the backup is done, you will see that all your Google Drive™ files are saved in your SpinOne account. Furthermore, the folder hierarchy of your files will be preserved, allowing for easy organization and access.

Related Link: How to Transfer Data From One Google Account to Another

And that concludes our “How to Back up Google Drive™” guide.

How To Restore A Google Drive™ Backup

Restoration of a Google Drive™ backup depends on the method of backup that you’ve chosen.

If you choose to backup to an external hard drive or using Google Takeout, you need to unzip the files or folders on your computer and then upload them to your Google Drive™.

If you backed up data using Vault, you need to create a matter in Vault, search for the data entries you want to recover, and then choose the export option. Once you’ve exported the data you need to upload it back to Google Drive™.

To restore a backup with SpinOne, you need to go to the user’s account in the app and click on the Drive icon. Then choose the point in time from which you want to recover the file. Next, you need to click on the file and then click Restore. You can choose to which account your file will be restored.

Learn how to recover deleted files from Google Drive™.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was this helpful?

Yes No