Transfer Google Drive to Another or New Account in an Efficient Manner

On April 24, 2012, Google launched a file storage and synchronization service named Google Drive. This service makes it easy for users to store files or data in the cloud, edit documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, and share files with others. Its service is very convenient to use that’s why it has reached the height of popularity.

Google offers a total of 15 GB of online storage space to its users. This storage space is shared across its most used three services i.e. Google Drive, Photos, and Gmail. But, if Google Drive reaches its maximum limit, it becomes important for users to expand on a paid basis, or transfer Google Drive to another account.

However, if a user requires more space, then he or she can demand a payment of a monthly subscription. Google Drive is mainly used to take backups of important data in the cloud. Moreover, it also provides users easy access to the data anywhere without any issues. Now, the question arises, how to export data from Google Drive. Thus, in this blog, we have covered both the manual and automated solutions to do the same.

Need to Transfer Files From Google Drive To Another Account

• As discussed above, Google Drive provides a total of 15 GB of free space to its users. But, as the demand for more space increases, the number of accounts per user also increases to get more free space. Thus, if a user is having so many accounts in use, it is very common to transfer files from G Drive.
• If a user has an extra free space because of a monthly subscription, then he or she needs to create another G Drive account due to many reasons like a change in name after marriage. Then, a user needs to export Google Drive to new account, which will be written into a To-do list.
• Other possible reasons to move files from one G Drive account to another account are: graduated from university and want to transfer all important files to your account. Thus, in the below section of the blog, different methods to migrate Google Drive files from one account to another are discussed.

Traditional Way to Transfer Google Drive Files to New Account

Users who are looking for a solution to transfer Google Drive documents to another account, just have to follow the below-mentioned steps sequentially.

Method 1: Transfer Google Drive Data to Another Account Using Google Takeout

Step 1. Access Google Takeout

Go to [Google Takeout] (https://takeout.google.com/) and sign in with the Google account you want to transfer data from.

Step 2. Select Data to Transfer

Choose the services you want to include (in this case, Google Drive). Customize the settings for the Drive data export.

Step 3. Choose Delivery Method

Select how you want to receive the exported data (e.g., download link via email, directly to another cloud storage, etc.).

Step 4. Initiate Transfer

Click on “Create Export. Google will start preparing your data for transfer.

Step 5. Import Data to New Account

Once the export is ready, download the data or import it into the new Google account.

Method 2: Transfer Ownership

• Select a document/file/folder
• Click on the share icon.
• Tap the Search bar on the Share box.
• Type the destination Gmail ID or select a name from the list.
• 
• From the permissions dropdown select Editor. And Press Send.
• Repeat the first two steps again. This time the shared account will also appear alongsidethe owner.
• Expand the Editor box and select the Transfer Ownership option.
• 
• Press send an invitation.
• Login to the Gmail account of the destination Google Drive holder.
• Open the mail and Accept the invite.
  
• Now the document/file/folder becomes the part of destination account.

Method 3: Download and Upload Data

Perhaps the first option that came into the minds of users was to transfer Google Drive to another account by an manual export-import. For this, they can rely on the following steps.

• Go to the source Google Drive.
• Select One or more Files/Folders.
• Press the Download button and save the results.
• Open Destination Google Drive account.
• Click on the + New icon.
• Select the File upload/Folder upload option.
• Browse and pick the pre-downloaded data.
• Wait for the uploading operation to finish.

However, there are a couple of reasons to not use this method.
It is quite time-consuming and the total duration increases significantly with.
No default filtering option user has to select all the items manually.
It puts the bandwidth under lots of strain as it utilizes the download as well as upload.
Although it makes an offline copy simultaneously, this can be problematic if your local device lacks free space.

Method 4: Use Automated Tool To Transfer Google Drive Files To Another Account

There is always a solution to every problem only if you are curious enough to find it. If the manual solution of transferring Google Drive data to another account disappoints you then, don’t worry. Don’t waste your precious time on it rather choose a reliable third-party solution like the Google Drive Migrator.

This tool is completely safe and ensures secure data transfer between the Drives. It is developed with multiple prime functionalities like delta and concurrent migration, pause and stop options, help features, etc. Apart from this, it comes with an extremely simple GUI and a demo version for better understanding.

Software Steps to Transfer Google Drive Files To New Account 

Step 1. Begin by downloading and installing the tool onto your system.

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Step 2. Set both the Source and Destination accounts to “G Suite” for the migration of Google Drive content to another account.

Step 3. In the Workload Panel, select the “Document” category for the migration process.

Step 4. Input the Source Account Details and perform validation to ensure accuracy in moving Google Drive content to another account.

Step 5. Proceed by entering the Destination Account Details and authenticating the transfer process to relocate folders from one Google Drive to another.

Step 6. Utilize the provided options to appropriately map Source and Destination User IDs within the tool.

Step 7. Choose the specific account from the list for data migration and validate the selection by clicking the respective button.

Step 8. Lastly, initiate the migration process by clicking “Start Migration” to move content seamlessly from one Google Drive to another.

Also Read: Microsoft Office 365 Backup Best Practices- Complete Guide to Follow in 2023

Conclusion

Google Drive has become a boon for every cloud storage user to store useful data as it can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Due to the limitations offered by the manual methods, it is advisable to choose the Google Drive migration tool, which goes beyond all the manual restrictions that users encounter in a trouble-free manner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google Drive ownership transfer work in the case of nested folders?
No, it does not. Only the top-level folder on which the ownership transfer operation is done shifts its state. The rest of the subfolders and other content inside the main folder remain with the original owner account.
So to perform an actual transfer, you have to pull out all the items and transform the nested structure into a flat hierarchy. Then continue with the same steps as outlined in the ownership transfer section.

How long will it take to manually download all data from Google Drive?
There is no one simple equation that can predict the time of data download in advance. Even the time the Google Drive shows is an estimation. The main problem is that speed becomes an external factor outside of your direct control. So if your broadband is fast the process will end quicker. Even when the download completes this is just the halfway point from a data perspective. Moreover, if we measure according to time, the majority is still ahead of us, as uploading speeds are usually slower than downloading.

Who takes over the Shared Google Drive once the manager leaves or relinquishes control?
Another member with a Manager role can fulfill all the duties. If there is only one manager, then the Drive application will prompt the user to elevate any other existing member to the manager role. So there should be no change in access to content stored in a Shared Drive.

Is the Google Takeout feature reliable to transfer Google Drive to another account?
No there are quite a few drawbacks associated with Takeout service. From confusing selection screens, compressed output files, weekly request limits, unexpected failures, etc. So it’s better to use another method if Takeout fails once.