MBOX Viewer by Read Mbox
leaving a job · closing an account · nothing is uploaded

Leaving a job or closing a Google Workspace account? Keep your email

Export the mailbox to MBOX before the account is closed, using Google Takeout or by asking your admin. Later, open the file at readmbox.com to read and search it in your browser, with no account and no upload.

Open your .mbox file
Free to read · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded

First: check what you're allowed to take

Work email usually belongs to the employer. Before exporting, check your contract and company policy, or ask IT or HR. Many people are allowed to keep personal correspondence, payslips and their own records, but not client data or confidential material. This page isn't legal advice.

Who this is for

  • Business owners closing a company or moving off Google Workspace, who need an archive of everything.
  • Employees leaving a job who are permitted to keep their own records.
  • IT admins who exported a departing user's mailbox and need a way for someone to read it without a Google account.
  • Families keeping the email of someone who has died, from an account that is about to close.

How to export before the account is closed

  1. Try Google Takeout. Signed in to the work account, go to takeout.google.com, choose only Mail, and create the export. Full Takeout guide.
  2. If Takeout is blocked, ask your admin. Workspace admins can turn Takeout off for their users, but they can also export a user's mailbox for you.
  3. Do it early. Big exports can take days, and once an account is deleted the mail is gone.
  4. Download and keep the file safe. Store the .mbox on an encrypted drive or in your own backup. It contains everything.

Reading it later

An MBOX file isn't tied to any account. Years later you can open it at readmbox.com in Chrome or Edge, search by sender or subject, filter by date, and export what you need, such as a reference, a payslip, or proof of a conversation, as PDF, CSV or EML. Nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded, so even sensitive old mail stays on your machine.

Video: export a Gmail or Workspace mailbox

How to back up all your Gmail emails with Google Takeout on YouTube

Common questions

Can I export my work Gmail before I leave?

Often, through Google Takeout, if your employer allows it and hasn't turned Takeout off. Check your policy first. Work email usually belongs to the employer.

Takeout says it's not available for my account. What now?

Your Workspace admin has disabled it. Ask them to export the mailbox for you. Admins can export a user's mail to MBOX.

Can I read the MBOX without a Google account?

Yes. An MBOX file is just a file. Open it at readmbox.com in Chrome or Edge, with no account and no upload.

What happens to the mail after the account is deleted?

It's gone from Google. That's why the export has to be made, downloaded and backed up before the account is closed.

I just downloaded Google Takeout. Now what?

Which file holds your mail, why it's one giant .mbox, and how to open and search it.

Export email for a DSAR or lawyer

Find the relevant messages and hand them over as a CSV log, a PDF or original EML files.

Convert MBOX to PDF

A printable archive with a cover sheet, one message per page and page numbers.

Open a large MBOX file (10 GB+)

Why big Takeout files crash other apps, and how to open one without importing anything.

Ready? Your file stays on your computer.

Open your .mbox file