Updated October 18, 2026: Replaced a one-workflow migration guide and obsolete Chrome flags with service-specific transfer and verification steps.
Google Accounts cannot simply be merged into one account. Move or copy the data service by service, and keep the old account available until you have verified the result. A Google Takeout download is an archive, not a button that imports everything into another Google Account.
Make an inventory before moving anything
List Drive files, Photos, Gmail, contacts, calendars, passwords and any YouTube channel or paid service you use. Check available storage in the destination and whether either account belongs to a workplace or school. Organization policies can change which transfers are permitted.
Export an independent backup through Google Takeout for the services you need. Store it securely and open representative files. Successful downloading does not prove that the new account can read every item or reproduce its sharing settings. Downloaded office documents can be checked in a suitable application such as LibreOffice.
Google Drive: sharing is not ownership
For eligible files you own, share with the destination account, then use the ownership-transfer option when Google offers it. A personal-account transfer remains pending until the recipient accepts. Transferring a folder does not automatically transfer ownership of every file inside.
Work/school accounts have organization restrictions, and personal-to-work/school transfers are not universally allowed. If ownership cannot be transferred, check supported download/copy options and the consequences for links, comments, history and permissions. Open important documents while signed into only the destination account to test access.
Google Photos: save, then verify
Partner sharing can make an eligible library available to another account. Accept the invitation from the intended destination and use the save-to-account option for the photos you need. Merely seeing another person’s shared photos is not the same as saving them into your library.
Check older and newer dates, videos and representative albums before changing sharing or deleting originals. For a separate local archive, digiKam can help organize photos by person. Storage treatment can depend on whether partner sharing continues; check Google’s current rules rather than assuming the new copy will always be storage-free.
Gmail and other services need their own plan
- Mail: retain an archive of historical messages and choose a currently supported migration method. Gmail’s older POP/Gmailify and import workflows are changing; an old Accounts and Import screenshot is not a dependable instruction for every account. Workspace users should involve their administrator.
- New messages: forwarding, where available and configured correctly, handles future delivery. It does not by itself copy all historical mail.
- Contacts and calendars: use each service’s export/import options, then check duplicates, time zones, recurring events and sharing.
- Passwords: Google Password Manager supports CSV import. Exported CSV files contain readable credentials, so protect them and remove unneeded copies after verification. Do not enable an obsolete experimental Chrome flag.
- YouTube and purchases: check the service’s ownership and transfer rules separately; do not assume subscriptions, comments or paid purchases migrate with your email address.
Do a final access check
Sign into the destination alone and open a sample from every service. On a shared Mac, separate macOS users and Apple Accounts are a different layer of account organization. Update recovery information and the email addresses used by important external accounts. Keep the old account until ownership, access and any ongoing delivery are confirmed.
Images from the original article
These original illustrations are retained for reference. Product examples and software screens may show older versions; use the model-specific instructions above.
