Harding has always valued community, and one way we have been able to stay connected is by offering free email accounts to all alumni. However, Google has changed their policies regarding security and storage, and like many other institutions across the country, Harding’s accounts have been directly impacted.
Google account storage
Currently, all Harding accounts have unlimited storage space for Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. However, after June 15, 2024, all employee accounts, including retirees, will have a 100 GB limit. If your account currently exceeds 100 GB of storage used, we ask that you begin the process of migrating your data (including Google Drive and Google Photos) to alternative storage providers. Visit drive.google.com/settings/storage to see your current usage. Be sure you are logged into your harding.edu account.
Please see the information below (provided by Google) on how to move your data out of your Harding account.
Google Takeout Transfer -- This option "transfers" or "copies" your drive and email data from your @harding.edu account to a personal @gmail.com account. Things to know about this option:
- You can only transfer email and drive files. This does NOT include photos, contacts, chats or tasks
- This option transfers ALL email and/or ALL drive files -- you cannot choose which ones to transfer
- You must transfer your data to a @gmail.com account only
- A personal @gmail.com account has a storage limit of 15 GB for all applications. If your @harding.edu data is more than 15 GB, you will need to buy more storage on your @gmail.com account
- To see how much storage you are currently using, just go to https://drive.google.com/drive/quota while logged into your @harding.edu account. You will see your total storage used as well as the breakdown for Drive, GMail and Photos
- See this link for instructions on how to use Google Takeout Transfer
- Be sure to review the information in the "My Drive files that aren't copied" section in this help section
- It is best to use an Incognito window in your browser before beginning the transfer
- It can help to empty the trash for Google Drive and GMail before the transfer
Google Takeout -- This option allows you to "takeout" all of your data from your @harding.edu account to a personal account (does not have to be a @gmail.com account). Things to know about this option:
- You can choose which content to move. You can move some or all of your data
- Your data will be uploaded into different formats, depending on the data
- While this option provides more flexibility, it creates a "zipped archive" of your data and you will need to "unzip" your data, upload it and process it, depending on the application. It will be in different formats
- See this link for instructions on how to use Google Takeout
- There are check boxes in Google Takeout for each service -- it is recommended that you click "Deselect all" and then only check one service to "takeout" at a time -- large files can sometimes cause problems when the data is moved
- Sharing permissions do not migrate
- This process will make a copy of your data, not move it, so there is no risk of data loss in the process
Moving Photos
If you need to move photos from your @harding.edu account to a personal GMail account, there are a few different ways to do this.
- Partner Sharing -- follow these instructions provided by Google to set up partner sharing between your @harding.edu account and your personal GMail account. A few things to note:
- Remember to "Save your partner's photos" to permanently add your photos to your personal GMail account so you will not lose them when they are deleted from your @harding.edu account
- When the process has fully completed (it could take some time), remove the partner sharing from your @harding.edu account and make sure that your photos have been saved in your personal GMail account before deleting them from your @harding.edu account
- This method does not allow you to move photos in albums you may have already set up. They are transferred by date
- Download/Upload Photos from Computer -- you can download your photos from your @harding.edu account and save them locally on your computer. You can then upload them into your photos in your personal GMail account.
- This method does allow you to move photo albums you may have already set up
- Google Takeout -- you can use Google Takeout to download your photos from your @harding.edu account. It will give you a .zip file that you will then need to "unzip" and then upload the photos into your personal GMail account.
Moving Contacts
If you need to move Contacts from your @harding.edu account to a personal GMail account, please use these instructions provided by Google.
Third-Party Tools
DISCLAIMER: Harding is aware of the following third parties’ tools that could help you move content out of the Harding account. We are not recommending these tools, other tools may be available, and whether you move content out of the Harding account before the content is deleted is your decision. Also, there may be a cost associated with these third parties’ tools. Use at your discretion. The University is not liable for any cost, loss of data, or damage you may incur in moving content from the Harding account.