Is Google Takeout a real alternative?

It's a real export tool — but it only exports Google Workspace data. If your school is on Microsoft 365, Google Takeout doesn't see any of it. If your school is on Google Workspace, Takeout is the right answer and mydocs.school doesn't apply.

What if my school uses both?

Some schools run a hybrid: Google Workspace for Drive / Docs, Microsoft 365 for Outlook / OneNote / Teams. In that case, you need both tools — Takeout for the Google side, mydocs.school for the Microsoft side.

Can Google Takeout be used to transfer school data to a personal account?

Google explicitly tells school administrators that student data should not be transferred into personal accounts via Takeout, because the school may be the data controller. The same logical question applies to mydocs.school: in our case, we operate as a processor for the school under a DPA, and the workflow is a download to the student's own machine — not an account-to-account transfer.

Comparison · Google Takeout vs mydocs.school

Different clouds, same need.

Google Takeout is for Google Workspace data. mydocs.school is for Microsoft 365 data. Pick the one that matches your school's cloud — or use both if you're on a hybrid setup.

	Google Takeout	mydocs.school
Cloud	Google Workspace	Microsoft 365
What it exports	Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Classroom (where allowed)	OneDrive, personal OneNote, class OneNote (own section)
Who runs it	The user (with school admin policy permitting)	The student themselves
Cost	Free	Free for the student (school pays £1.20 per leaver / 60-day window)
Delivery	Email link to download a multi-part archive	Direct browser download of a zip
School admin policy	Schools can restrict Takeout for under-18s	School onboards once via tenant-wide consent

Pick the tool that matches your cloud

Your school is on one of three configurations:

Google Workspace only. Use Google Takeout from takeout.google.com. mydocs.school doesn't apply.
Microsoft 365 only. Use mydocs.school (and the email-export guide for the email piece). Google Takeout doesn't apply.
Hybrid (both). Run both tools. They cover different surfaces and don't overlap.

A note on school policy

Both Google and Microsoft give schools the ability to restrict what students can export. With Google Takeout, schools can disable the service for under-18 accounts. With Microsoft 365, schools control whether multi-tenant apps like mydocs.school are allowed to ask for tenant-wide consent. If a student finds the tool doesn't work for them, it's usually a school policy decision, not a technical limit.

Common questions

Is Google Takeout a real alternative?: It's a real export tool — but it only exports Google Workspace data. If your school is on Microsoft 365, Google Takeout doesn't see any of it. If your school is on Google Workspace, Takeout is the right answer and mydocs.school doesn't apply.
What if my school uses both?: Some schools run a hybrid: Google Workspace for Drive / Docs, Microsoft 365 for Outlook / OneNote / Teams. In that case, you need both tools — Takeout for the Google side, mydocs.school for the Microsoft side.
Can Google Takeout be used to transfer school data to a personal account?: Google explicitly tells school administrators that student data should not be transferred into personal accounts via Takeout, because the school may be the data controller. The same logical question applies to mydocs.school: in our case, we operate as a processor for the school under a DPA, and the workflow is a download to the student's own machine — not an account-to-account transfer.