Manual method
- Open Claude on the web or Desktop and go to Settings > Privacy.
- Choose Export data.
- Open the ready email while signed in to the relevant account and download.
- Keep the original package and check representative conversations; save important source files separately.
Coverage and limitations: Mobile apps cannot initiate this export. Team/Enterprise members need owner-enabled export; Primary Owners use organization export. Team/Enterprise personal exports exclude uploaded file contents. A package is not a supported import into another personal Claude account.
Size and time to allow
Illustrative planning size: 0.2 GB; scenario range 0.005–5 GB. This is a storage-planning example, not a measured average. Your archive may be smaller or larger. Thousands of text conversations with metadata; original uploads are a separate collection.
Preparation and hands-on time: Processing can be delayed; Claude specifies that the emailed link expires after 24 hours.
For the 0.2 GB example, network transfer alone is approximately:
| Connection download speed | Transfer estimate |
|---|---|
| 10 Mbit/s | 4 min |
| 50 Mbit/s | 46 sec |
| 100 Mbit/s | 23 sec |
These calculations use decimal GB and 70% of the advertised speed. Tiny transfers can take longer because of startup overhead. Local exports do not need an internet download; use these numbers only for a network transfer. Preparation, retries, extraction, checking and a cloud upload are additional; use upload speed for the latter.
Where and how to keep it
An encrypted USB key can hold this example, but keep another independent copy on an external drive or in private encrypted cloud storage. A USB key alone is easily lost and is not a complete preservation plan.
Create a dated claude_archives/YYYY-MM-DD/ folder. Keep received originals unchanged, use a separate working copy, and note the account/profile, selected dates, formats and known gaps in a private README. Compare file sizes, check any supplied checksums, and open sample files from the backup before considering the task finished. Repeat after meaningful additions. Follow the storage, archive-checking and large-file guide.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.