Back Up Google & Outlook Contacts With Photos (and Restore Them)

To back up Google contacts with their photos, use ContactSwap: choose From "Google" and To "Backup file", and it saves every contact, photo and label in one zip file on your computer. To restore them, choose From "Backup file" and To "Google", and they come back exactly as they were.

Export your Google contacts and import them elsewhere, and their photos are left behind:

Five contacts in Outlook showing initials instead of photos

ContactSwap brings them across with their photos, between Google, Outlook and a backup file:

The same five contacts in Outlook, each with its photo

1. Add your Google account

In ContactSwap, click "Add Google account".

ContactSwap's Accounts list, with Add Google account

Pick your account in the browser and sign in with "Continue". Your account then appears under Accounts.

Sign in to ContactSwap by GCalTools, with the Continue button

2. Choose From "Google" and To "Backup file"

Under "New transfer", choose From "Google" and To "Backup file", and click "Continue".

New transfer from Google to Backup file

3. Pick the contacts

Every contact is ticked. To back up only some, search for a name or email, or filter by a label such as Family, Friends or Work. Then click "Continue".

Choose contacts with the label filters Family, Friends and Work

4. Save the zip file

ContactSwap copies the contacts and their photos, then asks where to keep the file. Choose a folder and click "Save".

The save dialog with Where set to Desktop and the Save button

When it's done, it shows how many contacts and photos the backup holds.

Finished: 10 new contacts and 10 photos copied into the zip

5. Restore: choose From "Backup file" and To "Google"

To restore your contacts, for example after deleting them by mistake, choose From "Backup file" and To "Google", click "Continue", and open your backup file.

New transfer from Backup file to Google

6. Check for duplicates and start

Select the contacts you want back. ContactSwap checks the account for duplicates first, so a contact you still have isn't added twice. Then click "Start".

Review: No duplicates found, every contact will be added as new, with Start

ContactSwap creates the contacts, then adds their photos. In Google Contacts they're all back, each with its photo and labels.

Google Contacts with all ten contacts back, with their photos, and the labels Family, Friends and Work

Copy your contacts to Outlook

The same screen moves contacts between Google and Outlook. Click "Add Outlook account" and sign in with your Microsoft account.

ContactSwap's Accounts list with an Outlook account and a Google account

Choose From "Google" and To "Outlook", click "Continue", and "Start" after the review.

New transfer from Google to Outlook

Waiting to add photos, 59 seconds left

The contacts arrive in Outlook with their photos.

Contacts in Outlook, each with its photo

Watch the full playlist on YouTube

Get ContactSwap

ContactSwap backs up, restores and moves your contacts between Google, Outlook and backup files, photos included, on Mac and Windows.