Does Google Takeout Reduce Photo Quality? No, With One Catch
Does Google Takeout reduce photo quality? No. It returns the files Google stored. If you used Storage saver, those copies were already compressed.
No, Google Takeout does not reduce photo quality. It returns exactly the files Google Photos has stored, with no new compression. The catch is what Google stored: if your photos were backed up in Original quality, you get the originals. If they were backed up in Storage saver (called High quality before 2021), Google compressed them at upload, and the compressed copy is the only one it has.
So the question to ask is not "does Takeout compress?" but "which quality did I back up in?"
What each backup quality means for your export
| Backup quality | What Google stored | What Takeout gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Original quality | The file as it came from the phone or camera | The same file, same size, same resolution |
| Storage saver (formerly High quality) | Photos larger than 16 megapixels reduced to 16 MP; videos above 1080p reduced to 1080p; photos recompressed | The reduced copy |
| Express (offered only in some countries) | Photos reduced further, videos to standard definition | The reduced copy |
A photo from a 12 MP phone camera backed up in Storage saver keeps its resolution but is recompressed, so its file is smaller than the original. A 50 MP photo becomes 16 MP. No tool can bring the lost detail back, and Google has no hidden original.
How to check which quality you used
In the Google Photos app: tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup, then Backup quality. The setting applies to photos backed up while it was active, so a library can mix both: older photos in High quality, newer ones in Original quality.
For one photo: open it on photos.google.com and click the info button. The panel shows the resolution and file size. Compare it with what your camera produces.
In the export, on Windows: right-click a photo, choose Properties, then Details, and read Dimensions and Size. On a Mac: open the photo in Preview and press Command-I, or select it in Finder and choose Get Info.
If a photo from your 48 MP phone shows 16 MP in the export, it was stored in Storage saver.
What Takeout keeps the same
- File format. HEIC stays HEIC, JPEG stays JPEG, RAW files stay RAW. Takeout does not convert anything.
- The camera's EXIF data, as it was in the file at upload: camera model, exposure, and usually the date and GPS.
- Videos in the format and resolution Google stored.
- Live Photos and Motion Photos, as a still plus a separate video file. Takeout Live Photos explains the pairs.
What Takeout changes, and why it looks like lower quality
People often think quality was lost because of these, which are not about image quality:
- Dates. Many photos show the day of the download, because Google put the real date into a
.jsonfile beside each photo instead of into the photo. Google Takeout photos show the wrong date explains it. - Edits. A photo you edited in Google Photos comes out twice: the original and a
-editedcopy. The edited copy is a new file that Google rendered. - Locations and captions you added in Google Photos are in the
.jsonfile, not in the photo. - HEIC files that do not open on Windows without an extension. The quality is fine; Windows lacks the codec. See why HEIC photos do not open on Windows.
Is downloading from photos.google.com better than Takeout?
No, for quality it is the same. Downloading a photo from the Google Photos website gives the stored file, just like Takeout. The website is fine for a few photos. For a whole library, Takeout is the only practical way, and it also gives you the .json files with the dates. The best way to export Google Photos compares the methods.
Before you delete anything from Google Photos
Check a sample from each year of the export: resolution, file size, and that the photo opens. If your originals are still on an old phone, a camera card or a computer, and Google holds only Storage saver copies, keep those originals. They are better than anything Google can return.
Does fixing the dates reduce quality?
Not if the tool writes only metadata. Writing a date or GPS location changes a small block of data inside the file and leaves the image data untouched. Only a format conversion, such as HEIC to JPG, creates new image data. Does fixing photo metadata reduce quality? has the details.
Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer writes the real dates and places from the .json files into the photos without re-encoding them. HEIC to JPG conversion is optional and off by default.
It runs offline on Windows and Mac. The first 500 photos are free, and Premium is $19.99 once.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Takeout compress photos?
No. It packs them into zip or tgz archives, and unpacking restores the same files, byte for byte.
Does Google Takeout give original quality videos?
It gives the videos Google stored. In Original quality, those are the originals. In Storage saver, videos above 1080p were reduced to 1080p.
Why are my Takeout photos smaller than on my phone?
They were backed up in Storage saver or High quality, or they are -edited copies that Google saved again.
Can I get the original quality back from Google?
No. If Google stored only the compressed copy, the original exists only where you had it before the upload.