Here’s How to Open Google MBOX File using Google Takeout

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Written By Mohit Jha
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh
Published On March 11th, 2024
Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading

I have a Gmail account, which I am using for both personal and business usage. However, my system keeps on hanging after launching the Gmail program. As of now, all of my emails are pretty important hence, I’ve decided to backup all of my emails along with the attachments. Now, I’ve used Google Takeout to do so, which resulted in an MBOX file.

Due to the changing organizational needs, I also have to work on different email programs in different places. Hence, it will be difficult for me to view the MBOX Gmail data. So, is there any reliable approach, which will allow me to open and view this Google MBOX file without installing the supported MBOX email application? Earnestly waiting for a timely response to open Google MBOX file.”

Google Takeout can backup emails and all other Google Workspace data into ZIP or TGZ format. The compressed file folder contains Gmail emails in MBOX format such as Inbox.mbox, Sent.mbox, Trash.mbox, Spam.mbox, etc. When you export Gmail data without selecting labels, Google Takeout creates a single file, named All Mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox. Google Takeout saves all the G Suite data into a local hard drive partition with a unique folder name, for example, takeout-20181216T162405Z-001.zip.

You can set Archive Size options such as 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 10GB, or 50 GB. If you select the 2GB option, all G Suite data will be saved in a 2GB compressed file folder. If your G Suite data is more than 2GB, then Google Takeout will create multiple folders such as takeout-datetime-001.zip, takeout-datetime-002.zip, etc. each folder containing 2 GB of backup data.

It is pretty obvious that email applications play a remarkable role in everyone’s life and it acts as a backbone for easy communication and better data management process. As Gmail is a freeware web-based email program, it is one of the widely used applications across the globe. Gmail is also prone to several catastrophes like hacker attacks, virus intrusion, and many more. Because of which, it is advised to immediately backup Gmail emails to avoid such mind-scratching and disastrous instances in the future.

Once the Gmail data is archived in MBOX format using Google Takeout, oftentimes there arises a need to open and read the MBOX file without installing any MBOX-supported email programs. Undoubtedly, it is a genuine requirement among Gmail users to open Google MBOX files without installing any MBOX-supported email clients. Therefore, in this write-up, we will introduce a smart solution to seamlessly implement this need.

Curious enough to know the possible reasons for backing up the Gmail data? Keep reading further and make the best use of this blog!

Top Reasons to Backup Your Crucial Gmail Data

  • Gmail data corruption by any means like abrupt system termination, faulty networking device, etc can lead to data inaccessibility
  • Prevent the effects of accidental deletion of Gmail emails by backup all the sensitive data beforehand
  • Intrusion of unknown viruses can attack the crucial Gmail data thereby leading to data loss issue
  • Hackers who always target valuable data can also misuse Gmail data in different ways

Have you created the Gmail backup in MBOX format? What’s Next? Wondering how to open the Google MBOX file without configuring any MBOX-supported email clients?

How to Open Google Takeout MBOX File? Use this Expert Recommendation

To be frank, there is no such manual solution available till now to open Google Takeout MBOX files independently without configuring any MBOX-supported email programs. This means the only option available is to switch to some reliable third-party tool to analyze and open Google MBOX files instantly.

The Freeware MBOX Viewer tool by SysTools is one of the best software to wisely view and investigate the MBOX file. This utility is efficient enough to open an MBOX file of any file size wherein it generates a preview of complete MBOX data in different preview modes.

It is capable of supporting MBOX files, which are created in Gmail, Thunderbird, Google Takeout, Mac Mail, etc. The best feature of this utility is the ability to open and examine the MBOX file without installing any MBOX-supported email clients on the system.

Download Now

The Viewer allows users to preview all the Google emails in different view modes. It keeps the formatting of the Takeout file and opens the Google MBOX file to display data from all downloaded folders. While the Pro version brings the Search capability to fruition. Using this version, users can search for search within the Gmail MBOX file using multiple criteria as well as export the emails to PDF documents.

Also Read: How to Print MBOX Files in Bulk?

Steps to Open Google MBOX File

  • Launch the Gmail MBOX Viewer on your system to view the Google MBOX file
    Open Tool
  • Once the user uploads the MBOX file, it displays the preview of MBOX data in different preview modes like Normal Mail, Hex, Message Headers, and various other view modes
    Open Google MBOX File/li>

  • With the help of the Pro version, users can easily export MBOX file to PDF format or Print emails
    Save Google MBOX File
  • One can also make use of different naming patterns to save the resultant file using the Pro version
    File Naming Option/li>

So now, the process of viewing Google MBOX files is made easy with the suggested tool!

Also Read: How to Print Thunderbird Email without Headers?

Time to Sum Up

To open the Google MBOX file in a standalone way, it is suggested to avail of the most trusted yet reliable viewer software as discussed above. Besides opening the Google MBOX file, it is also capable of analyzing the MBOX file in different preview modes for instant investigation of the email headers. Apart from these mesmerizing features, one can also export the file to a Portable document format, utilize advanced searching features, and much more using the Pro version.

Frequently Asked Queries

Q1. How can I obtain a Google Takeout MBOX file?

You can visit the Google Takeout page (takeout.google.com) and select “Mail”, then initiate the export process. Google will provide you with the Gmail data in compressed format. Once you extract the contents from the compressed file, you will get MBOX file within the “Mail” folder.

Q2. Is there any other way to open Google MBOX file?

You can use certain email applications to view Gmail MBOX emails such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc.

Q3. How do I open a Google Takeout MBOX file?

There are several ways you can do so. The primary solutions include using the Thunderbird email client. However, technical professionals suggest users go for the above-mentioned Gmail MBOX viewer to open Google Takeout MBOX files without Thunderbird. The latter solution majorly help in avoiding the complications and drawbacks that come with the manual approach.

  author

By Mohit Jha

Mohit is a writer, researcher, and editor. Cyber ​​security and digital forensics are the two subjects that keep Mohit out of his seat. In addition, he hopes that the well-researched and thought-out articles he finds will help people learn.

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