Allow or block Google Takeout

Instructions for Google Workspace administrators

This article is for Google Workspace administrators. For help with your Google Account, go to How to download your Google data

With Google Takeout, your users can download a copy of data contained in their Google Workspace account. The data is from core and additional services, such as Drive and YouTube, that are integrated with Takeout. For example, a user can download Drive files from their Google Workspace account and upload them to another Google Account.

As a Google Workspace admin, you can control who uses Google Takeout in your organization. If you don’t allow Takeout for a service, the user’s view of Takeout doesn’t include the service nor the option to export data from the service. Learn how users can export a copy of their content.

In this article

Services available for Google Takeout
Set up services with a shared Takeout control
Set up services with an individual Takeout control
Managing Takeout for your account

Services available for Google Takeout

Services with a shared Takeout control: Most Google services, like Drive or Classroom, don't have their own Takeout control. Instead, you allow or don’t allow Takeout for all of these services.

Services with an individual Takeout control: Choose the Takeout setting for each of these services. For example, allow users to use Takeout for Google Photos and YouTube, but not for Google Pay.

Services with a shared Takeout control	Services with an individual Takeout control
Allow or don't allow Takeout for Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and other Google services. You can't limit Takeout to a specific service or group of services. Tip: For an example of the services available for Takeout, sign in to your Google Workspace admin account and go to takeout.google.com	Allow or don't allow Takeout for each service: Blogger * Google Books Google Maps Google Pay * Google Photos Google Play * Google Play Console * Location History * YouTube

Services with a shared Takeout control

Services with an individual Takeout control

Allow or don't allow Takeout for Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and other Google services.

You can't limit Takeout to a specific service or group of services.

Tip: For an example of the services available for Takeout, sign in to your Google Workspace admin account and go to takeout.google.com

Allow or don't allow Takeout for each service:

Blogger *
Google Books
Google Maps
Google Pay *
Google Photos
Google Play *
Google Play Console *
Location History *
YouTube

* Note: Users under the age of 18 will be restricted from using this service with their Google Workspace for Education accounts, even if the service is turned On in the Admin console. Learn more

Default Takeout settings

For Google Workspace, the Takeout controls are set to Allowed.
For Google Workspace for Education K-12, the shared Takeout control is set to Not Allowed, and the individual Takeout control is set to Allowed.

Set up services with a shared Takeout control

Set the Data export permission to allow or not allow Takeout for Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and other Google services that don't have their own Takeout setting.

Allow or don't allow Takeout

For this step, you need admin privileges for Groups, Organizational Units (top-level), and Service Settings.

Before you begin: To allow or not allow Takeout for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).

Sign in with an administrator account to the Google Admin console.
If you aren’t using an administrator account, you can’t access the Admin console.
Go to Menu Data Data import & export Google Takeout.
Requires having the Service Settings administrator privilege.

Click User access to Takeout for Google services.
In the section, Services without an individual admin control, click Edit.
Set the Data export permission to Allow for everyone or Don’t allow for everyone.
Click Save.
(Optional) Set permissions for an organizational unit.
Note: There’s no gray dot next to organizational units that override the top-level organization’s setting.
1. At the left, select the organizational unit.
2. Set the Data export permission to allow or not allow Takeout:
  - If the setting is currently Inherited: Click Allow or Don’t allow, and then click Override to override the parent setting.
  - If the setting is currently Overridden: Click Allow or Don’t allow, and click Save to keep the new setting for the organizational unit. Or click Inherit to always use the setting of the parent organizational unit.
(Optional) Set permission for a group:
1. At the left, select the group.
2. Set the Data export permission to allow Takeout:
  - To allow for the group, check Allow and click Save.
  - To remove the group setting, click Unset. Now, users get the access setting of their organization. However, if the users belong to any other access group with the service turned on, they continue to have access to the service.

Changes can take up to 24 hours but typically happen more quickly. Learn more

Set up services with an individual Takeout control

You can allow or not allow Takeout for a service that has an individual Takeout control. For example, let a group use Takeout for their Google Photos and YouTube videos, but not Google Pay. If you don’t allow Takeout for a service, the service isn’t shown on the user’s Takeout page.

Choose Takeout settings for an organizational unit or service

Customize Takeout services for a group

For this step, you need admin privileges for Groups, Organizational Units (top-level), and Service Settings.

You can allow or not allow Takeout for a group of users rather than an entire organizational unit. This lets you control Takeout for specific users without changing your organizational structure.

Before you start: Choose your group. You can use an existing group or create a group.

Only user groups created in the Admin console, Google Groups for Business, Directory API, or Google Cloud Directory Sync can be used as configuration groups. You can't use groups created in Google Groups.

Sign in with an administrator account to the Google Admin console.
If you aren’t using an administrator account, you can’t access the Admin console.
Go to Menu Data Data import & export Google Takeout.
Requires having the Service Settings administrator privilege.
Click User access to Takeout for Google services.
At the left, click Groups and select a group.
By default, a new group has the settings of your top-level organizational unit. If you don’t find your group, it might be a group created in Google Groups, which can't be used as a configuration group.
Click the checkbox next to one or more services in the Takeout list.
Note: The "Add a filter" button isn't active. At this time, only certain Additional Services have their own Takeout settings.
Choose the Google Takeout settings for the group. By default, a new group has the settings of your top-level organizational unit.
- Click Allow or Don't Allow. To close the panel, click Cancel.
- Click Unset to remove the configuration group. Now, users get the setting of their organization. However, if the users belong to any other configuration group with Takeout settings, those settings apply.
(Optional) If a service has multiple configuration groups, you can set which group has priority. Learn more about configuration groups.

Click the name of the service (such as Blogger).

On the left click Search for a group. Any existing configuration groups are listed in order of priority.

Adjust the priority of the group by dragging the group up or down.

Click Save.

Changes can take up to 24 hours but typically happen more quickly. Learn more

View Takeout settings for a user