What Are the Limitations of Google Takeout?
What are the limitations of Google Takeout? Metadata in .json files, split archives, 7-day links, slow exports, duplicates and missing data. The full list.
The main limitations of Google Takeout are that photo dates and places come in separate .json files, large exports are split into many archives, the download links expire after 7 days, exports can take days, and some data is not included at all. There is also no incremental export: each export is a complete new copy.
Takeout is still the only way to get a whole Google Photos library out in one step. This list shows what to plan for, and what fixes each limitation.
1. Dates and places are in .json files, not in the photos
This is the limitation that affects most people. Google Photos keeps the date taken, the GPS location and your captions in its own database. Takeout puts this information into a small .json file next to each photo, a "sidecar", instead of into the photo.
Photos from a camera often still have their original date inside. But screenshots, images from WhatsApp and other chat apps, scanned photos and photos you edited in Google Photos often do not. Apple Photos, Windows Photos, Immich and other apps then show these photos with the download date, and your library appears in the wrong order.
No photo app reads Google's .json format directly. The information must be written into the photos. supplemental-metadata.json explained shows what each file holds.
2. Sidecar names are cut at 46 characters
Google cuts the part of the sidecar name before .json at 46 characters. From 2024 sidecars have the long suffix .supplemental-metadata.json, so many sidecars get names like PXL_20230721_092530123.jpg.supplemental-metada.json. When two photos have the same name, the (1) counter goes in a different place on the sidecar than on the photo. Simple scripts that look for photo name + .json miss these files. Why do my Google Takeout files have such strange names? explains the rules.
3. Large exports are split into parts
Takeout splits an export into parts of 1, 2, 4, 10 or 50 GB, as zip or tgz files. A 300 GB library with 2 GB parts gives 150 files to download. A photo and its .json file can be in two different parts, so all parts must be unzipped into one folder. A drive formatted as FAT32 cannot hold a part larger than 4 GB. Google Takeout file size helps you pick the part size and the format.
4. Download links expire after 7 days
The links work for 7 days after the export is ready, and each part can only be downloaded a limited number of times. After that, you must request a new export and wait again. Why did my Google Takeout download link expire? has the options.
5. Exports are slow
Google prepares the archive before you can download anything. A small export takes a few hours, a large one can take several days, and you cannot make it faster. The download afterwards takes more time again. How long does Google Takeout take? explains the wait.
6. There is no incremental export
Each export is a complete copy of what you selected. Takeout cannot give you "only the photos since my last export". Scheduled exports (every 2 months for one year) are also complete copies each time. To keep a backup up to date, you either export everything again or select only the newest year folders, for example "Photos from 2026".
7. Duplicates
The export often has more files than your library:
- Edited photos come twice: the original and a copy with
-editedin the name. Google Takeout duplicates and "-edited" files shows what to keep. - Album folders repeat photos. A photo that is in an album can also be in its year folder, and a photo in three albums can appear three times.
- Live Photos and Motion Photos come as two separate files, a still image and a short video.
8. Some data is not included
- Face groups. The names you gave people are in the
.jsonfiles, but the face recognition itself does not export. Why are my people and face tags missing? explains this. - Photos from other people. In shared albums, your export contains the photos you added yourself. Photos that others added, and photos from partner sharing that you did not save, are usually missing.
- Some comments and likes on shared albums.
- Google's own edits and creations. Some effects, animations and collages made by Google Photos do not come back as you saw them in the app.
- Original quality you no longer have. If you uploaded in "Storage saver" quality, Takeout gives you that reduced version. The export cannot restore the original.
9. The archive is not encrypted
The download uses HTTPS, but the zip or tgz file itself has no password. Anyone with access to the disk can open it. Keep it on a disk that only you use.
10. No control over structure or names
You cannot choose the folder structure, the file names, or the date format. You get Google's folders ("Photos from 2019", album folders) and the file names from your devices. Sorting by year and month, or renaming by date, is a separate step.
How to work around the main limitations
Most of these limitations affect the files after the download, not the download itself. One tool on your own computer can handle them.
Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer reads the zip files or the unzipped folders, matches each photo with its .json sidecar (including the 46-character names and the (1) counters), and writes the real date taken, the GPS location and the captions into the photo. It sets the file dates, can rename the photos and sort them into year and month folders, and lists every file it could not match. It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, with no upload. The first 500 photos are free; Premium is a one-time payment of $19.99.
For the rest: request the export when you can download within 7 days, choose large parts or tgz for a big library, and save shared-album photos to your own library before you export.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a size limit for Google Takeout?
There is no limit for the whole export. Takeout splits it into parts of 1, 2, 4, 10 or 50 GB. A large library just gives more parts.
Why does my Takeout show the wrong dates?
The dates are in the .json files, not in many of the photos. Your computer shows the download date instead. Write the dates from the .json files into the photos to fix it.
Can Takeout export only new photos?
No. There is no incremental export. You can select only some albums or year folders, but each export is a complete copy of what you select.
Does Google Takeout keep albums?
Yes, as folders. But a photo in several albums is copied into each folder, and shared albums contain only the photos you added.
Can I delete the .json files?
Only after their information is in the photos. Can I delete JSON files from Google Takeout? shows how to check.