How to Open Google Takeout Files Using a Trouble-Free Solution

Mark Weins ~ Modified: August 1st, 2022 ~ Google ~ 3 Minutes Reading

Google Takeout is a convenient service by Google that permits users to download all the Google data in a backup file. Many users use this service to download their Gmail emails to computers. However, Google Takeout downloads all the emails in MBOX file format which makes it quite challenging for users to open Google Takeout files.

If you don’t know, let me tell you that Google does not offer any solution to open Google Takeout files on your system. You have to download an application that will help you access those files. Thus, in this write-up, we will offer you a detailed guide on how you can get the job done in a hassle-free manner.

How to Open Google Takeout Files on Desktop in a Free Way

As we know now that we need a third-party application using which we can open our Google Takeout Files. So, we first need to download Thunderbird on our system. It is an open-source email application that we can download for free and open MBOX files.

Important Note: Once you have downloaded and installed Thunderbird, configure any account in the email account to import the MBOX file into it.

Free Step by Step Guide

  • Open Thunderbird and click on the 3 horizontal lines.

Horizontal Lines

  • Following that, choose the Add-ons option.

Add-ons option

  • Then go to the search bar adjacent to Find more add-ons and search for ImportExportTools NG.

Search Add-on

  • You will now see the option to add the add-on to Thunderbird. Click on Add to Thunderbird button.

Add to Thunderbird

  • Finally, click on the Add button.

Add button

These steps will successfully install the add-on in Thunderbird. Now, you can open Google Takeout files on your system following the below steps.

  • Now go to the home screen of Thunderbird and right-click on the ID in which you want to import your data.
  • Click on ImportExportTool NG > Import mbox file.

Open Google Takeout Files

  • Here, choose Import directly one or more mbox files option and click on the OK button.

Import File

  • Now locate the MBOX file on your system and open it.
  • Finally, your Google Takeout file will be open in your system.

One of the major benefits of using this solution is that it is completely free to use and can be used on both Windows and Mac OS. It is because Thunderbird is available for both operating systems.

However, there are some major issues associated with the procedure discussed in this article. Moreover, the entire process is quite lengthy and might feel complex for some non-technical users. So, the users who want to save their precious time and want to go for a quick solution can opt for some third-party free viewers.

These Google Takeout Viewers can help you open MBOX files for free. Some of the top choices by experts to open these Google Takeout files are providers like:

  • SysTools
  • Shoviv
  • Kernel
  • BitRecover

You can also try any of these applications and access your important data seamlessly.