Google Photos Adds Incremental Exports to Takeout

Google is adding incremental export support to the Takeout tool for Google Photos. This feature allows users to schedule future exports that include only the photos and videos added or edited since the last export.

After completing an initial full export, scheduled exports will skip content that has already been downloaded, so there’s no need to re-download an entire library just to get the latest items.

This change addresses a long-standing limitation where exporting from Google Photos required downloading the entire library each time, even if only a few new items had been added.

How Incremental Google Photos Exports Work in Takeout

The initial scheduled export includes all selected photos and albums. The following scheduled exports are incremental, containing only items uploaded or edited since the last export.

Users can set up exports to run automatically every two months for a period of up to a year. This allows for up to six exports, each occurring every second month and including only content added since the previous export. Two months is the maximum frequency supported. After a year, users need to re-run the Takeout process to create a new schedule.

The remaining Takeout options remain unchanged:

• ZIP files can be created up to 50GB in size.
• Users can receive a download link via email.
• Files can also be added directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Box.

Where to Find the New Takeout Option and Why Incremental Exports Matter

The new scheduled export option only shows up in Google Takeout when Google Photos is selected during the export process. Users setting up an export should look for the scheduling option after choosing Google Photos as the data source.

The incremental export option is especially helpful for users who keep local backups or use self-hosted photo management tools like Immich. In the past, maintaining an up-to-date local backup often meant repeatedly downloading the entire cloud library, which could drain bandwidth and take a lot of time for larger collections.

This change makes Google Photos a more viable choice for users who want to keep a synchronized local or third-party copy of their library, or for those considering a move away from Google’s cloud while still accessing their photos.

Google has not announced whether the two-month maximum frequency or the one-year scheduling limit will be increased. The feature is currently rolling out through Google Takeout.