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Merge Two Google Drive Accounts with Ease –  Simple Steps

Admin ~ Modified: July 5th, 2024 ~ G Suite ~ 10 Minutes Reading

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If you have two or more Google Drive accounts, you may need to merge all your files and data into one single account to conveniently access them without frequently switching from one account to the other. There are many different reasons why a user would want to merge two Google Drive accounts: Either to Expand the storage space in one of the accounts since there is limited storage offered by Google (15GBs), Due to changing of Domains as a result of change of organization or company or Simply to save the effort of switching between accounts to find the needed files. 

In this guide, we explain the step-by-step process of how to merge two Google Drive accounts. So, read on to find the solution to this issue.

Why do Users Need to Merge Google Drive Accounts?

It is important for users to understand why would they need to merge Google Drive Accounts in the first place. There are many benefits involved in merging these accounts as are discussed below:

  1. To improve the organisation of files: It is very important to have all the important files in one place as it makes it very simple to find the documents and organise them according to your needs. This helps improve the productivity of the users.
  2. Access to the files is streamlined: When users have a single account, the hassle of trying to find the correct file and switching between different files gets eliminated. This saves a lot of time of the users and helps them be productive for their organisation.
  3. Good for collaboration: When all the files are in one place, the collaboration between several users become much better.
  4. Management of space becomes simpler: Merging different accounts can help users manage space more efficiently that helps them in maximising the storage space in Google Drive.

How to Combine Two Google Drive Accounts Manually?

Unfortunately, there is no automatic method on how to merge two Google Drive accounts. If you wish to combine two Google Drive accounts, it needs to be done manually out of and into every Google app you use.

Here are the methods by which you can combine two Google Drive accounts manually:

  1. Using the “Shared with me” tab in order to link Google Drive accounts.
  2. Using Google Takeout in order to transfer files between Google accounts.
  3. Use Drive for desktop for linking Google Drive folders.
  4. Transferring ownership of files between Google Drive accounts.
  5. Download files to the desktop and then upload them to the destination Google Drive account

Method 1: Using the “Shared With Me” Tab to Link Google Drive Accounts

There is a great online file sharing features provided by Google called “Shared with me” for users. This improves the collaboration of the users with the other team members. This function can also help users to merge two Google drive accounts to their personal account. Follow the steps given below:

  1. Login to your Google Drive account in the browser.
  2. Choose the files that you want to move. Right-click on those files and select the Share option.
  3. Enter the email address of the destination Google account in the blank.
  4. Click on the send option and the file will now appear in the “Shared with me” folder of the new Google Drive account.

Method 2: Using Google Takeout in order to transfer files between Google accounts

You can use alternatively use Google takeout to merge two Google Drive accounts. Follow the steps given below to use google takeout:

Step 1. Exporting the data from the secondary account:

  1. Login to the secondary account.
  2. Go to the Google Takeout link.
  3. In the create a new export option, choose the deselect all checkbox.
  4. Select the Drive option to include all the files that you want to merge.
  5. Click on Next step and choose the delivery method that you prefer.
  6. Choose the type of file (zip) and click on create export option.

Step 2. Downloading and uploading of files

  1. Once the process of exporting of files is complete, you can click on the link that you have received in the email and download the zip file.
  2. In order to extract all the files and folders, you need to click on the zip file.
  3. Login to the primary Drive account.
  4. Upload all the extracted files to the primary account either by dragging and dropping, or following the path: New > File/Folder Upload.

Method 3: Use Drive for desktop for linking Google Drive folders

Because of the ability to login multiple accounts in Google Drive, you can merge two Google Drive accounts without moving any of your files and other important data. All there is to do is to download the Drive application for desktop and login with your Google accounts. Then find the files that are stored in the accounts directly from the file explorer application on your computer. Follow the steps to do so:

  1. Install the Google Drive application for Desktop on your device.
  2. Add the Google Drive accounts to the application.
  3. Choose the preferences option.
  4. Choose the mirror files option.
  5. You can now find all the Google drive files from the “Devices and Drives” tab of the PC.

Method 4: Transferring ownership of files between Google Drive accounts

follow the steps given below to transfer the ownership of your files and merge two Google Drive accounts from the source account to the destination account.

  1. After you have shared all the files you have chosen, open the settings to share these files in Google Drive.
  2. Click on the Transfer Ownership option in the list beside the shared Google account option.
  3. Click on the “Send invitation” option and then login to the other Google Drive account in order to accept the invitation.

Method 5: Download Files to the Desktop and then Upload Them to the Destination Google Drive Account

In this method, you will have to download your files and data from the menu in Google Drive on a browser or use Google Takeout. Once they have been downloaded successfully, you need to upload these files and data to the other account.

Before starting this process, here are some points to consider:

  1. If you use Google Takeout, the “Shared with Me” items will not be exported. You would need to manually download the items and then calculate the space used up by the folded yourself.
  2. The process of downloading and uploading is very slow. Depending on the size of the data, It can take days and even sometimes weeks to merge two Google Drive accounts.
  3. When you download multiple files and data, google archives them. To recreate the structure of the original folder, you need to first unzip the files and rearrange them in the order you want before you upload them. 
  4. If you have an account that is over 10GB, your archive will be split into several parts. If some of these parts do not generate properly, you will have to perform the entire process again.

Follow the steps to learn how to connect two Google Drive accounts:

  1. Go to the secondary Google Drive account that you want to empty and download all the folders and files to your PC. You can select all the folders and files and then download them using the download button. If you are using Google Takeout, you can download an archive of all your files.
  2. Go to the primary account where you want all your folders and files to be, and upload them there. Click on the ‘+’ icon and select upload files or upload folder.

Also Read: How to Merge Two Google Workspace Accounts – A DIY Guide

Tips to Merge Two Google Drive Accounts with ease

  1. Backup the important files and folders: Before you start with the merging process, make sure that you have your files and folders backed up to avoid any accidental loss.
  2. Organise the files according to your needs: You should make a folder structure in the primary account that keeps all the files organised.
  3. Check the settings for sharing of files: Review the settings of your files that ensure the proper access and permissions after the process of transfer is complete.
  4. Monitor the OneDrive storage space: You should keep the storage space in check during the transfer to prevent the space from running out.

How To Migrate a Google Drive Account Using an Automated Tool?

Luckily, there is an automated way of migrating a Google account to another account or service. Just like merging two Google Drive accounts is a tedious task, so is migrating Google accounts. If a user performs this process manually, it may prove to be time-consuming and also lead to data loss. So using this software makes sure that your data is safe, the migration is done quickly and is in the correct order. 

Using software like Migrator Wizard G Suite Migration Tool has a lot of benefits.

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Some of its benefits are:

  1. It seamlessly migrates email, contacts, calendars, and other data.
  2. It selectively moves data to the new Google Workspace domain with the help of data-range filters.
  3. It requires the credentials of the admin for both source and destination domains.
  4. It allows prioritizing users while performing the migration.
  5. Offers delta migration option for new data.
  6. The tool migrates data at a speed of 40GB per hour.
  7. Allows transferring of Google Workspace attachments.
  8. Includes an intuitive dashboard for tracking the process.

Here are the Steps to Perform the Migration:

  1. Download the tool and launch it.
  2. Select the source and destination as G Suite.
  3. Select the category of the data items that needs to be migrated from source to destination.
  4. Now, provide the service account ID and certificate file of the source as well as destination platform and validate it.
  5. Fetch the user user account from the user window. You can also import users through a CSV file.
  6. Now, click on start migration.
  7. The progress can easily be tracked through the dashboard.
  8. After completion, click on Download Report.

Also Read: How to Migrate Google Drive to Another Account – Top 4 Methods Explained

Conclusion

If you have two or more accounts, there will be a need to merge the google drive accounts. This may be due to various reasons such as changing of domains or increasing the storage space of one account or simply to save the effort of switching between accounts frequently. Unfortunately, there is no automated process of doing this process, so users have to perform this manually. The manual method proves to be quite complex and there are a lot of limitations. Luckily, this is not the case for migrating between accounts or services as it is a seamless process which is time-efficient. In this article, we have provided the ways in which you can manually merge two google drive accounts.