There are several reasons why you should backup your Gmail emails locally.

To protect your data from loss or corruption. If Gmail experiences an outage or your account is hacked, your emails could be lost or corrupted. By backing up your emails locally, you can ensure that you always have a copy of your important data, even if something goes wrong with Gmail.

To be able to access your emails offline. If you need to access your emails when you're not connected to the internet, you can do so by using your local backup.

To be able to migrate your emails to another email service. If you decide to switch to a different email service, you can easily import your Gmail emails from your local backup.

It's a good idea to backup your Gmail emails regularly, especially if you have a lot of important emails. However, there are a few specific times when you should definitely backup your emails:

Before making any major changes to your Gmail account. This includes changing your password, enabling two-factor authentication, or forwarding your emails to another account.

After a major Gmail outage. If Gmail experiences an outage, your emails could be lost or corrupted. By backing up your emails before the outage, you can ensure that you have a copy of your data.

Before switching to a different email service. If you're planning to switch to a different email service, you'll need to backup your Gmail emails so that you can import them into your new account.

There are two main ways to backup your Gmail emails locally: manually and using a professional backup tool.

Manual backup

Method 1:

To manually save a single Gmail email, you can use the following steps:

1. Go to Gmail and select the emails that you want to save.

2. Click on the More button and select Download message.

3. You can download your email in EML file format

4. Save the downloaded file to your computer.

Method 2:

To backup Gmail emails using Google Takeout:

Go to Google Takeout.

1. Click Select data to export.

2. Expand the Mail section and select All mail and attachments.

3. Click Next step.

4. Choose a file format for your backup (e.g., MBOX, EML, or PDF).

5. Click Create export.

6. Google will send you an email when your backup is ready.

7. Download the backup file to your computer.

   
   

Pros:

1. Free

2. Easy to use

3. Allows you to back up all of your Gmail emails, including attachments

Cons:

• Can be time-consuming, especially if you have a large number of emails to backup

• Not as efficient as a professional backup too

• Can be time-consuming for large email accounts

• There is no way to schedule automatic backups

There are a number of professional backup tools that can be used to backup Gmail emails locally. These tools typically offer a number of features that make the backup process easier and more efficient, such as the ability to schedule automatic backups and the ability to back up specific folders or labels.

Pros:

1. Easy to use

2. Can be scheduled to run automatically

3. Can back up specific folders or labels

Cons:

• Can be expensive if you have lots of mailboxes

• Free trial backup only 50 email Items

If you have a small number of emails to backup and don't mind spending some time doing it manually, then manual backup may be a good option for you. However, if you have a large number of emails to backup or want to schedule automatic backups, then a professional backup tool may be a better choice.

Here are a few popular professional backup tools that you can use to backup your Gmail emails locally:

1. Shoviv Gmail Backup Tool

2. SystoolsGroup Gmail Backup

3. Weeom Backup for Gmail