How to Backup Contacts on Gmail (Top 2 Ways)

Concerned about how to backup contacts on Gmail? Keep scrolling down to find a step-by-step guide on it, as well as the best email backup software to protect your Gmail data.

By @Miya Last Updated October 29, 2024

Why do you need to backup contacts on Gmail?

There are several reasons why you need to backup your contacts on Gmail:

  • Accidental Deletion: You may accidentally delete essential contacts from your Gmail account. Having a backup of your contacts ensures that you can restore them if this happens.
  • Security: A backup of your contacts protects you against the risk of data loss, such as Gmail folders missing due to hacking or cyber-attacks.
  • Device Failure: If your device crashes or gets lost, having a backup of your contacts ensures that you can still access them from another device.
  • Migration: If you switch to a new device or email service, having a backup of your contacts makes it easy to transfer them to the new device or service.
  • Syncing: If you have multiple devices synced to your Gmail account, having a backup of your contacts ensures that they are consistent across all devices.

How to backup contacts on Gmail with top 2 solutions

Maybe you're wondering about the question “How to back up my contacts on Gmail?”, so we're going to introduce you to two ways to let you know how to backup contacts on Gmail.

Solution 1. Export Contacts from Gmail for backup

Step 1. To access your Gmail, log in to your Gmail account, and click on the Google App icon located at the top right-hand corner of your screen. From the drop-down list, select Contacts.

Step 2. Locate the Export button on the left-hand side of the page. Click on it to proceed with the export process.

Step 3. Choose the desired file format.

Tip:

  • Google CSV (google.csv): This option enables you to import the contacts into another Gmail account.
  • Outlook CSV (Gmail-to-outlook.csv): This option allows you to import the contacts into Microsoft Outlook.
  • VCard Format (contacts.vcf): This format permits you to import your contacts to Apple Address Book, OS X Mail, or any other compatible application.

Step 4. After selecting the desired file format and clicking Export, a Save As box will appear. Choose the location where you want to save the exported contacts file, give it a name, and then click the Save button. Please note that your browser might automatically download the file to the default download folder, depending on your browser and download settings.

How to Import Outlook contacts to Gmail

Step 1. Access Google Contacts and select the Import option from the left-side panel.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, click on Select file, browse and locate the exported file saved on your computer, and then click Open.

Step 3. To import the contact information into Gmail, click on the Import button.

Step 4. Once the Outlook contacts have been successfully imported, you will be able to view the contact information under the Gmail Contacts list. A new label named Imported on (month/day) will also be automatically created. You can either rename this label or delete it based on your preference.

Now that you know how to save your contacts on Gmail by exporting and importing contacts, let's take a look at how to use third-party software for Gmail backup with ease!

Solution 2. Backup Gmail data with professional email backup software

Backing up contacts on Gmail is essential to protect your data in case of all kinds of errors. However, there are other important Gmail data, such as emails, calendars, notes, and tasks that you should also back up. The best way to set up comprehensive data protection for Gmail is by using AOMEI Backupper Professional.

☋ With this software, you can easily backup all your Gmail data, including emails, contacts, notes, calendars, and tasks. ☋ You can choose different devices as the backup location, such as backup Gmail emails to external hard drives, local disks, USB flash drives, and NAS devices. ☋ You can schedule your backups to run daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers, or USB plug in using the Schedule Backup feature. ☋ It supports various versions of Windows, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Gmail, Outlook Mail, Yahoo! Mail, iCloud Mail, Zoho Mail, Hush Mail, GMX Mail, Hot Mail, etc.

Download AOMEI Backupper now to experience its comprehensive and user-friendly backup features.

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Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper and select the Backup option on the left tab page, and then choose Email Backup.

Step 2. Assign a name for the backup in the Task Name box, for example, Email Backup (1), to differentiate the new backup from any previous backups.

Step 3. Click on Add Email Data, which will display all the directories of your mailbox, such as Inbox, Starred, Sent Mail, Trash, and others, arranged in the same structure as your mailbox.  Choose the directories you want to backup, either in part or as a whole mailbox, and then click OK.

Tip: If you have added multiple mailboxes, it is possible to select and backup them simultaneously.

Step 4. Choose or manually enter the destination path where you want to save the backup image file.

Step 5. Select the Start Backup button. Once the process is complete, click on Finish. Now you must know how to save all contacts in Gmail, try it now!

Note: Once the backup process has started, you can click on the icon located in the lower-left corner to check the backup integrity or set the computer to shut down, restart, hibernate, or sleep after the backup is complete. Please note that backup operations can only be performed when the system is logged in. Any missed backup schedules will execute once the system is logged in.

Summary

By following the export and import method outlined above, you now understand how to backup contacts on Gmail. However, for comprehensive data protection of your Gmail account, you can try using the best email backup software - AOMEI Backupper. This software is capable of backing up not only your contacts but backup all your Gmail emails as well. Why not give it a try now and discover more of its beneficial features?