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Google Drive lacks comprehensive backup options, putting critical business data at risk of permanent loss.

Limited native backup options: Google Vault is designed for archiving, not backup; deleted user accounts result in permanent data loss.

Manual backups are unreliable: Methods like external hard drives, Google Drive for desktop, and Google Takeout require manual effort, have limited restoration options, and don't retain sharing permissions.

SysCloud offers automated, continuous backups for Google Drive, ensuring secure, hassle-free recovery of files, folders, and permissions, protecting against accidental deletions, data corruption, and compliance risks.

Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage services with over 3 billion monthly active users. Widespread adoption of Google Drive also means there is an increased risk of data loss due to various reasons. Approximately 77% of users have experienced data loss, with accidental file deletion and device failure being the most common causes. Despite this, only 48% of users back up all their data, highlighting a significant gap in comprehensive data protection.

Given that Google is not responsible for backing up your data (Google Workspace terms of service), it is your responsibility to ensure that Google Drive data is backed up regularly. 

This article will be your one-stop destination for the different ways in which you can back up Google Drive, along with the pros and cons associated with each method. Choose the one that’s most convenient for you! 

Here are two ways in which business users can back up their Google Drive data.

Back up Google Drive using third-party cloud backup tools

Google Vault is an archiving tool that retains user data stored in Google Workspace regardless of end-user actions, including permanent deletions.

Note: Google Vault is only available to those subscribed to Google Workspace Business or Enterprise plan.

Though Google Vault was not intended to be a backup solution, it can be used to retain your Drive files for an unlimited period. This will act as a backup in situations where you permanently lose data from the Drive. 

Retention holds organizational data stored in your Google Workspace apps, including Drive, for as long as necessary, even after a user permanently deletes it from their Google Workspace account. Therefore, this archived data serves the purpose of a backup. 

To know more about the differences between backup and archiving solutions, read this article. 

Step 1: Log in to Google Vault using Google Workspace admin credentials. Click on the “Retention” module at the top of the page to create a retention rule.


Step 2: Under “Default Rules,” click on the “Drive” option to edit its retention rule.

Step 3: Set the retention time as “Indefinitely” from the drop down, then click “Save.” 


Google Vault will now retain all your Google Drive data indefinitely and you can export the files whenever you need it.

Keeps data for a long time in an unlimited storage

Google Vault is designed to be an archiving tool, not a backup solution. You cannot use it to quickly restore your data in the event of a data loss.

If a Google account is deleted, then the data associated  with that account will also be permanently deleted.

Google Vault is available as part of Google Workspace's Business and Enterprise editions, which are more expensive than standard plans.

Note: Google Vault is not a traditional backup solution. According to Google's official support article, files deleted from Drive before being captured by a retention rule or hold may not be retained. Accidental deletions not covered by rules or holds are not protected by default.

Since Google Vault is not designed for the purpose of backup and restore, it has serious limitations as a backup tool. Whereas, third-party cloud backup applications which are tailor-made for backup and restore are reliable options when it comes to backing up your Google Drive data.

Instant backup: Take a backup in no time, even for large teams.

Automatic backup: Take regular backups at a set frequency, so that you don’t miss out any important files.

Incremental backup: Avoid duplication of data by taking a backup of only the changes made to a document since the last backup.

Better storage space management: Set retention periods and exclusions to avoid backing up unnecessary files.

Regular activity reports: Get granular reports of all admin and end-user activities.

Third-party cloud backup applications like SysCloud are reliable options to back up and restore your Google Drive data effortlessly. SysCloud uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide a fully automated cloud-to-cloud backup and restore.

Step 1: After logging into your SysCloud account, click on “Create new backup job" under the "Jobs" menu.

Step 2: Name the backup job and give it a description (optional). Click “Next.”

Step 3: To connect your Google Workspace account to SysCloud, navigate to “Google Workspace” and click “Connect.” (Click here for the detailed steps) You will then get a message saying it is connected. Click “Next.”

Step 4: Click “Select” under Scope. Here you can select the domains, OUs, and users to include in the backup job.

Step 5: In the next step "Select Apps” define the apps you want to back up. Select “Google Drive” from the list of Google apps. Click on “Confirm.”

If you want the items retained only for a certain period, uncheck the box under “Retention period” and specify the number of days, months or years for which you want the items retained.  

You can also choose to exclude certain file types or file sizes. Click the pencil icon beside the app name under “Exclusions” and specify the desired exclusions. 

Step 6: In the "Configure settings" step, you can configure domain-level settings such as enabling auto-backup, setting inactive user retention, and defining user archive storage limits before confirming your backup job.

Step 7: In the last step of setup, you can configure additional "Add-On" features such as archiver, data change insights, eDiscovery, ransomware protection, and security & compliance. These features enhance your Google Drive backup job with advanced monitoring, compliance support, and threat detection capabilities.
Click on “Start backup.” You can review the progress of the backup in the backup archives.

Effortless cloud backup: Automated backup for new users in the domain, back up multiple domains in the same account, run automated backup upto 3 times a day, initiate on-demand backup instantly

Easy recovery: Restore with folder-structure and sharing permissions intact, cross-user restore, export emails in .pst or MBox formats

Proactive security: Ransomware detection for data being backed up, secure cloud backup on AWS with 99.99% uptime guarantee, 256 bit AES encryption to guarantee data privacy and confidentiality, FERPA, HIPAA, and PCI compliant

Comprehensive admin controls: Real-time dashboard with insights into backup and restore health status, ransomware threats, and activity logs; configure backup settings at a domain-level, user-level, and organizational unit level; end-user self service; automatically exclude suspended and deleted user from billing

Here are four ways in which individual users can back up their Google Drive data.

Back up Google Drive to an external hard drive

Back up Google Drive to another Google Drive

This is a completely manual approach to backup. Just download your Google Drive files and copy it to an external hard drive.

Step 1: Login to your Google Workspace account and open Drive.

Step 2: Hold Ctrl+A to select all the files or select the ones you want to back up. Click “Download.”

The downloaded files will be in .zip format. Preserve this copy in a safe location (for instance, you can copy the files to an external drive) and extract the files whenever you need it.

Since it’s completely manual, there is a high possibility that you might forget to download new or updated files.

In case of a data loss incident, restoring files to the Drive is going to be a tedious process, since you have to manually upload all the files to the Drive.

One way to back up your Google Drive files to another Drive is to manually download the files (following the steps mentioned in the previous section) and upload them to the second Google Drive account to which you want to back up your data.

If you want to copy files from one Google Drive to another without downloading and re-uploading them, here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: Open the Google Drive account from which you want to copy files. Select all the files you want to back up. Right click and select the “Share” option.

Step 2: Add the second Google account to which you want to back up the files. Click "Send” or “Share” depending on whether “Notify people” checkbox is selected.

Step 3: Select the same files once again and click the “Share” option. Now, click on the drop-down arrow next to your second Google account and select “Transfer ownership.”  A pop-up box will appear asking for permission. Click “Yes.”

Step 4: Open the second Google Drive account and go to Gmail. You will find a new email with all the shared files attached. Click on the “Add all to Drive” option. You can view the newly added files in your second Google Drive account.

Since the backup is cloud-based, you can access your data from anywhere, on any device, as long as you have internet access.

Since it’s completely manual, one might forget to add new or updated files.

This method transfers the ownership of the files to the second Google account. You can still access the files unless the owner of the second account decides to remove you. 

Note: You can also use Google Takeout to transfer files from one Google Drive to another.

The desktop version of Google Drive lets users sync their desktop with their Google Drive. This way, all the data stored in the Drive will be available on the local desktop and vice versa. 

Using Drive for desktop, users can easily download Google Drive data to their desktop, rather than manually downloading each file. The Drive for desktop app downloads the Drive files and shared folders to your desktop without affecting the sharing permissions.

Step 1: Download the Drive for Desktop application. Click here to download the app.  

Step 2: Once the installation is done, launch the application and sign in using your Google account. 

Once you sign in, you will be taken to the section “Sync with Google Drive”. This section gives options to sync the files on your desktop to Google Drive. Since we are using the Drive for desktop app as a tool to easily download the files in Google Drive to the desktop, skip this section. The next section “Back up to Google Photos” can also be skipped.

Step 3: To set up the sync settings for the app, go to the hidden icons in the taskbar and select Drive for desktop, then select the settings icon and “Preferences.”  

You will land on the section “Google Drive”. This is where you choose the Google Drive folders that need to be synced.

Step 4: Navigate to “Google Drive” and select the sync option you want. “Stream files” will keep your Google Drive’s “My Drive” files in the cloud, but you can choose which data you want to be made available offline. “Mirror files” will have copies of your file both in Google Drive and take up space in your computer. 

Now all your Google Drive files will be available in the "My Drive” folder on your desktop. But this is not enough. The files are in sync with the Drive, therefore, any deletion in the Drive will reflect on the desktop too.

Step 5: Copy all the files from “My Drive” and save them in another folder or another device.

Note: Activating the Drive for desktop application will create a newly formed Google Drive in your computer (which is virtual or takes space on your computer depending on what option you choose in Step 4) and will have your Drive data in a file called “My Drive.”

Fully automated: Any new file added to the Drive will be automatically saved on your desktop as well. Similarly, any edits made in the Drive files will be reflected in the files on your desktop.

Double-sided backup: You can not only save your cloud data on your desktop but also customize it to automatically save your desktop data on the cloud, making it available from any device. (For this, you need to navigate to “My Laptop” in step 4.)

Google Drive for desktop is primarily a synchronization tool, not a dedicated backup solution. It mirrors the contents of your Google Drive to your local machine, meaning if files are deleted from the cloud, they will also be deleted from the local sync folder. Therefore, you still need to save important files somewhere else.

If the system crashes or if there is a malware attack, the backup is lost forever.

You can back up Google Drive by exporting your Drive files using Google Takeout and storing it on your computer or any other external device. 

To learn more about Google Takeout, read our in-depth article, How to Use Google Takeout for Business: A Complete Guide. 

Follow these steps to back up Google Drive using Google Takeout. 

Step 1: Log in to Google Takeout using your Google credentials.

Step 2: Choose Drive from the list of all Google products, and click “Next step.”

Step 3:  Choose the file type you would like the data to be sent as, the frequency you would like this action to happen (for example, if you would like your Google Drive data to be exported every two months), and the destination you would like your data to be sent to. 

When choosing a delivery method for your data, you can choose from having the files emailed to you or sent to a sync service (if you use one) like Dropbox or OneDrive.

Depending on the size of your data, Google may send you multiple emails with different sizes of files. You can choose to have these files sent as a .zip file or a .tgz (tar) file. The main difference between the two options is that a .zip file compresses every file independently in the archive, but a .tgz file compresses the archive as a whole.

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A Complete Guide to Google Drive Backup

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Learn effective methods to back up your Google Drive data, including manual techniques and third-party tools, ensuring your files are protected against accidental loss and cyber threats.

An in-depth article on how to back up your Google Drive data, including manual techniques and third-party tools, ensuring your files are protected against accidental loss and cyber threats.

A Complete Guide to Google Drive Backup

I. Google Drive backup tools for business users

1. How to backup Google Drive data using Google Vault

1.1. What is Google Vault?

1.2. How to set a retention rule for your Google Drive files using Google Vault

1.3. Pros of backing up Google Drive data using Google Vault

1.4. Cons of backing up Google Drive data using Google Vault

2. How to backup Google Drive using a third-party cloud backup tool

2.1. Why you should back up Google Drive using third-party cloud backup tools

2.2. How to back up Google Drive using SysCloud

2.3 Pros of backing up Google Drive using SysCloud

II. Google Drive backup for individual users

3. How to backup Google Drive to an external hard drive

3.1. Pros of backing up Google Drive to an external hard drive

3.2. Cons of backing up Google Drive to an external hard drive

4. How to back up Google Drive to another Google Drive

4.1. Pros of backing up Google Drive to another Google Drive

4.2. Cons of backing up Google Drive to another Google Drive

5. How to backup Google Drive data using Google Drive for desktop

5.1. What is Google Drive for desktop?

5.2. Pros of backing up Google Drive using Drive for desktop

5.3. Cons of backing up Google Drive using Drive for desktop

6. How to back up Google Drive using Google Takeout

6.1. Pros of backing up Google Drive files using Google Takeout

6.2. Cons of backing up Google Drive files using Google Takeout

7. Frequently asked questions on Google Drive backup