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Transferring Google Drive files to another account can be complex without the right tools.

Manually sharing and copying files between accounts can be time-consuming and prone to errors. 

Google Takeout allows data to be exported but re-importing to another account is not automated. 

SysCloud provides seamless data transfer, ensuring all Google Drive files are securely transferred and accessible in the new account.

Over 6 million businesses currently use Google Workspace and rely on Google Drive for secure storage. While Google Drive supports easy collaboration and file-sharing within a domain, instances like employee exits or insufficient storage may require administrators to transfer Drive files and folders to another account.  

There are five different methods through which you can transfer your Google Drive files to another account:

Using a third-party cloud backup tool like SysCloud

Step 1: Log in to the account from which you want to transfer the files. 

Step 2: Locate the file/folder that you want to transfer.

Step 3: Right-click on the file/folder and click on the option “Download." 

Step 4: Log in to the account into which you want to transfer the downloaded files.

Step 5: Navigate to “My Drive” and click the “File upload” or “Folder upload” option depending on what you have downloaded. 

Step 6: Upload the downloaded file/folder to this user account accordingly. 

Note: Depending on the size of the files/folders, the time taken to download will vary. 

You can use this method when you want to transfer only a few files to another account within your domain.

Step 1: Log in to the account from which you want to transfer the files.

Step 3: Right-click on the file/folder and click on the option ‘Share’.

Step 4: Enter the email id of the user account to which you want to transfer the file and click “Done”.

Step 5: Once the new user is added, click on the drop-down button next to their user account, and select the “Transfer ownership” option. A pop-up appears asking for confirmation. Click “Yes.” 

You will find the file under “My Drive” in the second account.  

Once you transfer the ownership, you will no longer be the owner of the file.

Ownership can only be transferred to another user in the same organization/domain as the current owner. 

If you want to transfer an entire “My Drive” to another account, then Google Takeout is the best option.

Step 2: Under the “CREATE A NEW EXPORT” section, click “Deselect all,” then click on the box against the option “Drive,” and click “Next step”.

If you want to transfer only specific folders in My Drive to another account, click on ‘”All Drive data included” to select the required folders. 

Google Takeout doesn’t allow you to transfer “Shared with me” files or files in shared drives. 

Step 3: Customize your archive format by selecting the Destination, Frequency of the export, and File type & size, then click “Create Export”.

The time taken to complete the export depends on the amount of data you are trying to export.

Step 4: Once the export is completed, you will receive an email notification. Click the “Download your files” button in the email. 

Step 5: Alternatively, you can check the status on the “Manage your exports” page and click the “Download” button next to your export. 

Step 6: Once you download the exported file, you can upload it to the user account to which you wanted to transfer these files.

To get more insights on how to use Google Takeout, refer to our in-depth article: How to Use Google Takeout for Business: A Complete Guide 

A Google Workspace administrator can transfer the ownership of all the Drive files of a user account to another account. 

Step 1: Log in to Google Admin Console with your admin credentials.

Step 2: Navigate to Apps> Google Workspace> Drive and Docs.

Step 4: Enter the current owner’s email address in the “From user” field and the new owner’s email address in the “To user” field. Click “TRANSFER FILES”. 

Once the files are transferred, the new owner, the previous owner, and the admin who started the transfer will get a confirmation email.  A transfer folder will be created in the new owner’s Drive containing the transferred files.  

Google Takeout only exports files that you have created or uploaded. Files shared with you by others are not included, so you’ll need to manually download those from the “Shared with me” section. 

The download and upload process can be very slow, potentially taking several days or weeks, depending on the number and size of your files. 

When downloading multiple files, whether manually or using Google Takeout, Google compresses them into archives. To recreate your original Drive structure in the new account, you will need to extract these archives and manually reorganize the files before uploading them. 

The admin console method is restricted to transfers within the same Google Workspace domain. 

SysCloud offers automated backup for all Google Workspace applications. With SysCloud, you can transfer your entire Google Drive (along with shared drive) data to another user account in the same domain.

Step 2: Click on Archives from the top navigation menu bar.

Step 3: Click on the user account whose data you want to transfer to another account. This will take you to the user archives of that account. 

Step 4: Click on “Google Drive” from the app list.

Step 5: On the left-hand side, select “My Drive”. If you want to transfer your shared drive files, select “Shared Drive.” Click “Restore”.

Step 6: Enter the user email id to whose account you want to transfer the files. If you want to transfer the files with sharing permissions, select the checkbox next to “Restore all share permissions”. Click “Restore”.

Step 7: You can check the status of your file transfer on the “Restore Report” page. The file transfer process will take a few minutes to complete depending on the number of files that need to be transferred.  

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How to Transfer Your Google Drive Files to Another Account

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Learn how to transfer Google Drive to another account using manual methods, Admin Console, Takeout, and third-party backup tools.

How to Transfer Google Drive to Another Account

An in-depth guide on how to transfer Google Drive to another account using manual methods, Admin Console, Takeout, and third-party backup tools.

How to Transfer Your Google Drive Files to Another Account

1. Download and upload

How to transfer Google Drive to another account using the download and upload method

2. Sharing

How to transfer Google Drive to another account using sharing feature

3. Using Google Takeout

How to transfer Google Drive to another account using Google Takeout

4. Using the Google admin console

How to transfer Google Drive to another account from the Google admin console

Limitations of using native methods to transfer Google Drive Files

5. Using SysCloud

How to transfer Google Drive to another account using SysCloud