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How to Download Google Photos to Your PC (Windows 10 and 11)

Download Google Photos to a Windows PC in bulk with Google Takeout, unzip the parts, fix the dates Windows gets wrong and put the photos in your Pictures folder.

To download Google Photos to a PC, open takeout.google.com in a browser on the PC, export only Google Photos as .zip files, download every part, unzip them into one folder, and then write the dates from the .json files into the photos so Windows sorts them correctly. Google Photos has no Windows app, so the browser is the only way in. This guide gives the steps for Windows 10 and 11.

For a handful of photos you do not need Takeout: select them on photos.google.com and press Shift + D to download them. Everything below is for the whole library.

Step 1: Make room

  1. Open Google Photos in the browser, click the gear (Settings) and look at how much storage your photos use. Or check one.google.com/storage.
  2. In File Explorer, open This PC and check the free space on the drive you will use.
  3. You need about twice the library size during the job: once for the zip files, once for the photos. If the PC is short, use an external drive formatted as NTFS or exFAT (not FAT32, which cannot hold files over 4 GB).

Step 2: Request the export

  1. Go to takeout.google.com and sign in.
  2. Click Deselect all, then tick Google Photos.
  3. Click Next step.
  4. Choose Send download link via email, Export once, .zip, and a file size of 10 GB. On Wi-Fi that drops out, choose 2 GB.
  5. Click Create export.

Google prepares the files in the background. It takes hours, and for a large library a day or two. Why Google Takeout takes so long explains why.

Step 3: Set where the browser saves

So the zip files do not fill your C: drive by accident:

  • Chrome: Settings, Downloads, then Change next to Location. Or turn on Ask where to save each file before downloading.
  • Edge: Settings, Downloads, then Change next to Location.

Pick one folder, for example D:\Takeout-zips.

Step 4: Download every part

  1. Open the email from Google and click Download your files.
  2. Click Download next to each part. Google may ask for your password first.
  3. If the browser asks whether the site may download multiple files, allow it.
  4. When all are done, check that the numbers run without gaps (-001, -002, -003 ...) and that no part except the last is much smaller than the rest.

You have 7 days before the links expire. See the Takeout download link has expired if you miss it.

Step 5: Unzip into one folder

  1. Select all zip files, right-click and choose Extract All (Windows 11 may show it under Show more options). 7-Zip is faster with many small files: select all, right-click, 7-Zip, Extract Here.
  2. Make sure every part ends up in the same Takeout folder. A photo and its .json file are often in different parts.

You can also skip this step: our app reads the zip files directly.

Step 6: Why File Explorer shows today's date

Open the Takeout\Google Photos folder and sort by date. Thousands of photos show today. File Explorer sorts by the file date by default, which was set when you unzipped. Many photos (screenshots, WhatsApp images, edited photos, anything you re-dated in Google Photos) also have no Date taken inside, so even the Date taken column is empty for them. The real date is in the .json file next to each photo, which Windows does not read. See why Google Takeout photos have the wrong date.

Step 7: Write the dates into the photos

With Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer for Windows, from the Microsoft Store or as an offline .exe installer:

  1. Choose Takeout .zip and add your zip files, or Any Folder if you already unzipped.
  2. Choose a destination folder, for example Pictures\Google Photos.
  3. Pick a folder layout, such as Year / Month.
  4. Turn on Dry run to preview, then turn it off and press start.

The app writes the date taken and the GPS position into each photo and sets the file's created and modified dates, so File Explorer, the Photos app and any other program sort by the real date. The first 500 photos are free. Premium is $19.99 once.

If you prefer free command-line tools, see ExifTool for Google Takeout.

Step 8: Check and keep a second copy

  1. In File Explorer, right-click a few photos from different years, choose Properties, Details, and check Date taken.
  2. Open the Windows Photos app and check that the timeline is in order.
  3. A PC is one copy. Put a second one on an external drive or a NAS. See Google Photos backup.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Google Photos app for Windows that downloads everything?

No. Google offers no Windows app for Google Photos, and Google Drive for desktop does not include it. Use Takeout in the browser.

Can I download Google Photos to my PC from my phone?

Not directly. Request the export on the phone if you like, but download the zip files on the PC.

Will the photos be in full quality?

They come back as Google stored them. If your backup setting was Original quality, you get the originals. See does Google Takeout give original quality.

On a Mac?

The same Takeout steps work in Safari or Chrome. Double-click each zip to unpack it. The app runs on Mac too. See Google Photos to Mac with dates.

The full guide, including what to do with albums and Live Photos, is how to download all your Google Photos.

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