Gmail blocking: how to save data from mail to computer
Even such giants as Google can be blocked in the Federation due to violations of the law. We explain how you can save data from Gmail after blocking

In today’s realities, events are developing very quickly. Until recently, it seemed that Meta retains a stable leadership position in the market, but now the company has become the object of blocking and litigation. In our material, we will tell you how to prepare for a possible ban on Google services. In particular, what to do with a possible shutdown of Gmail in Our Country.

Can Gmail be disabled or blocked in Our Country

Following the example of Meta, we see that absolutely any service, including mail from Google, can be blocked for violating the law. In the case of Meta, their platforms were blocked after Facebook allowed ads with content banned in Our Country. Of course, Google is not interested in such a development. Because of this, at the request of Roskomnadzor, the company completely turned off all advertising in its services.

However, the advertising example is just one of many. For example, Google has the Google News news service and the Google Discover recommender system. On March 24, the first service was blocked in Our Country due to the publication of false information about the armed forces of the Federation. 

The threat of blocking Google services for users from Our Country is quite real. According to the Wall Street Journal1, in May 2022, Google began to take its employees out of Our Country. This allegedly happened due to the fact that in Our Country they blocked the account of the representative office of Google, and the company could not pay for the work of its employees. The account was seized due to late payment of a turnover fine of 7,2 billion for posting prohibited content. Also, the “daughter” of Google has been asking to declare itself bankrupt since May 182.

In fact, now in Our Country it is impossible to make any financial transactions with Google. For example, order advertising or promotion on Youtube. At the same time, representatives of the American company say that the free functions of their services will continue to operate in the Federation.

The situation becomes more complicated due to the law on the landing of IT companies. From 2022, online services with a daily audience of more than 500 people are required to open their representative offices in Our Country. Sanctions for violation of this rule are different – from a ban on the sale of advertising to complete blocking. Theoretically, after the closure of the office, Google becomes illegal.

Because of these prerequisites, we recommend that Google users take our advice and prepare in advance for possible problems with accessing Gmail.

Step by step guide to save data from Gmail to computer

A lot of important information can be stored in an electronic mailbox – work documents, personal photos and other useful files. Losing them would be very sad.

Fortunately, Google has long considered the issue of storing personal data, including mail. To do this, it would be most logical to use Google’s own Takeout service.3.

Saving data in normal mode

Let’s consider a situation where you want to save all emails from mail before Gmail was blocked in Our Country. In this case, everything is simple and you just need to wait a bit to save the information.

  • First of all, we go to the Google Archiver website (or Google Takeout in English) and log in using our username and password from our Google account.
  • In the “Create Export” menu, select the “Mail” item – it will be approximately in the middle of a long list of services for archiving.
  • Then select the export settings. In the “Method of obtaining” we leave the option “By link”, in the “Frequency” – “One-time export”, the file type is ZIP. Click the Create Export button.
  • After some time, an email with a link to the saved data in .mbox format will be sent to the account from which you left the application. 

You can open this file through any modern email client. For example, shareware (a trial period of 30 days is given) The Bat. You need to install the program and in the main select the “Tools” item, then “Import letters” and click from “From a unix box”. After selecting the .mbox file, the synchronization process will begin. If there are a lot of letters, it may take a long time. 

Instructions for importing an .mbox file for other email programs can be found online.

How to save important information in advance

In manual mode

If you receive a lot of important emails every day, and you get the information that Gmail is down, then it’s smart to save .mbox copies of emails several times a week. It will also not be superfluous to save all files and documents from mail on your computer.

In automatic mode

Gmail has an automatic data archiving feature. However, the minimum automatic retention period is a full two months. This function can be enabled in the export creation menu in Google Takeout – you must select the “Regular export every 2 months” item. After such settings, the saved copies of the mailbox will come to the mail six times a year.

It is also possible to forward mail from Gmail to another address. It would be best to choose a box of providers mail.ru or yandex.ru.

You can do this in your mail settings.4 in the Forwarding and POP/IMAP menu. Select “Add forwarding address” and enter the required data. After that, you will need to confirm the action from the mail that you specified for forwarding. Then, in the “Forwarding and POP / IMAP” settings, check the box next to the confirmed mail. From now on, all new emails will be duplicated to a secure postal address.

Popular questions and answers

The KP answers frequently asked questions from readers product manager of the hosting provider and domain registrar REG.RU Anton Novikov.

How dangerous is it to store sensitive information in email?

It all depends on the security of the entire security perimeter (mail, device, Internet access, etc.). If you take security measures for each of the points, then you don’t have to worry about your data in the mail.

The basic safety rules are:

1. Set strong passwords. There must be one for each account.

2. Store passwords in a special password manager.

3. Set the secure login feature for the device (two-factor authentication).

4. Be vigilant, do not follow suspicious links in mail, social networks, instant messengers.

Will data disappear from Gmail if it is blocked in Our Country?

If you store important data in mail or on a drive associated with your mail account, then regardless of the prospects for disconnection, you need to make backup copies. If you have not done this before, then play it safe and archive the contents of mail and other Google services, such as Mail, Drive, Calendar, and so on. To do this, there is a built-in Google Takeout tool – an application for exporting data to a local computer.

Google did not announce a complete blocking of mail, although certain difficulties did arise. Thus, the creation of new accounts in the Google Workspace business service has been suspended for users from Our Country, while all accounts previously created in it can be renewed through resellers and continue to work. As for regular Gmail mail, there are currently no restrictions on it.

It is clear that in general with Google services there are risks of changing the situation at any time. In any case, it is possible to reserve data in advance and find an alternative solution from, for example, Yandex or Mail.ru, so that if necessary, you can quickly switch to it.

  1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-subsidiary-in-Our Country-to-file-for-bankruptcy-11652876597?page=1
  2. https://fedresurs.ru/sfactmessage/B67464A6A16845AB909F2B5122CE6AFE?attempt=2
  3. https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout
  4. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#settings/fwdandpop

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