Do you use all or most of Google’s services on a regular basis? If so, I’m sure you’ll find a backup service like CloudPull extremely helpful. CloudPull is a Mac app that can back up your Google account to your Mac, which conveniently makes your information available for offline use and access. Additionally, it supports multiple accounts.
CloudPull supports: Gmail (and Google Apps email), Google Contacts, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Reader. It will perform a backup every hour, and “maintain old point-in-time snapshots of your account for 90 days.”
The cool thing about using CloudPull to back up your Google account is that the backups are created in standard file formats. This means that your items can be easily imported into Apple programs. For instance, your email messages can be imported into Apple Mail. Likewise, your contacts can be imported into Apple Contacts, calendar events can be imported into iCal, etc.
If you’re ready to get started, here’s how to back up your Google account with CloudPull Free.
Setup and Usage
Install CloudPull from the Mac App Store and open it.
On the welcome screen, you can choose to subscribe to CloudPull news alerts and/or be added to their mailing list.
On the next screen, you can choose to run CloudPull automatically when you log into your Mac, or you can run it manually when you choose to.
On the next screen, you’ll need to enter your Google account email address and password. You will also need to select the services that you want backed up.
Note: You will need to have IMAP enabled in your account in order to back up your email. Your Inbox, Sent Mail, Drafts and All Mail system labels will also need to have the “show in IMAP” option selected.
Afer you click on “continue,” your username and password will be verified. You will then choose the labels from your Gmail or Google Apps email account that you want CloudPull to back up.
Finally, CloudPull will begin to pull in your data. If you have a large amount of data, this could take awhile. If you’re like me and have a really slow Internet connection at home, then of course it can take hours for your initial backup to finish.
Your items can be accessed and organized via CloudPull’s email-like interface. Each item type will have its own set of options. All items can also be opened in their respective Apple applications (i.e. email in Apple Mail, contacts in Google Contacts, etc).
Final Thoughts
CloudPull is an awesome way to back up your Google account and organize it in a user-friendly interface, but there are a few cons to the service. For starters, this is the free version. If you want to upgrade to the Premium version, it will cost you $10.
The free version of CloudPull only allows you to back up one Google account. So power users like me (with 4 different Google accounts), will not benefit much from the free version. The Premium version supports up to 10 different Google accounts.
The Premium version also has the option to run CloudPull as a background application; meaning it can run without appearing in the Dock or Force Quit window. Whatever you decide, you can’t deny that this is a handy app with a lot of benefits.
How do you backup your Google data?
Charnita has been a Freelance Writer & Professional Blogger since 2008. As an early adopter she loves trying out new apps and services. As a Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS user, she has a great love for bleeding edge technology. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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