Set Up Google Drive and Dropbox Backup

Backing Up to Storage You Already Own

Most tools that back up your data do it to their own servers, which means your backup depends on their company staying in business. YoTrackr's Google Drive and Dropbox backup works differently: a backup file goes from your browser straight to your own Google Drive or Dropbox, through an app that you register yourself. We never receive the file. If YoTrackr disappeared tomorrow, your backups would still be in your own account.

Drive and Dropbox backup is included in the Pro and Team plans. This guide walks through setup for both providers, explains what a backup contains, and lists the limits you should know about, including the fact that the backup file is not encrypted.

How Drive and Dropbox Backup Differs From Your Account Copy

These are two different tools. Your account copy (every plan) keeps your list in your YoTrackr account so every device shows the same items, and it runs by itself in the background. Drive and Dropbox backup (Pro and Team) is a file you create on demand and keep in your own storage, as a safety net. Your account copy protects you from switching devices or losing the browser. A backup protects you from a mistake or a bad import. Many people use both. Our post on how YoTrackr stores your data explains where each copy lives.

What a Backup Contains

A backup is a single JSON file with all your items: each subscription or domain with its name, provider, cost, currency, billing cycle, dates, status, priority, tags, notes and custom fields. It does not contain your wishlist, your account, your license, your settings or your alert channel details. The file is named YoTrackr_backup_ followed by the date, for example YoTrackr_backup_2026-11-02.json.

Set Up Google Drive

Google requires you to create an OAuth client for any app that reads or writes Drive, which is why you paste a client ID into YoTrackr. It takes about ten minutes once.

Open the Google Cloud console and create a project (or use one you already have).
Enable the Google Drive API for that project.
Set up the OAuth consent screen. For personal use choose External, give the app a name, and add your own Google account as a test user.
Under Credentials, create an OAuth client ID of type Web application. Add the exact address you use YoTrackr on (including https and the final slash) as an authorized redirect URI, and the same address without the path as an authorized JavaScript origin.
Copy the client ID. In YoTrackr, open Settings, then Integrations, find Backup to Google Drive or Dropbox, paste it into the Google OAuth client ID box and choose Connect.
A window opens. Sign in and allow access. YoTrackr asks only for access to files that it creates itself in your Drive, not to the rest of your files. The status changes to Connected.

Set Up Dropbox

Open the Dropbox developer console and create an app with Scoped access. Choosing App folder keeps everything in one folder.
In Permissions, turn on files.content.write and files.content.read, and save.
In Settings, add the address you use YoTrackr on as a redirect URI.
Copy the app key, paste it into the Dropbox app key box in YoTrackr and choose Connect. Approve access in the window.

Backups go into a folder called YoTrackr in that Dropbox app folder.

Back Up and Restore

Choose Back up now to create the file. A second backup on the same day replaces the first.
Backups are not automatic. Press the button when you want a copy, for example before a big import or a bulk delete.
Restore today's backup looks for today's file only. To restore an older day, download that file from Drive or Dropbox and use Choose file under Settings, then Data.
Restoring shows how many items it will restore and asks you to confirm, because it overwrites what is in the app.

Limits You Should Know

The backup is not encrypted. It is a plain JSON file, readable by anyone who can open that folder. Protect the Google or Dropbox account itself with a strong password and two-step sign-in.
The connection lasts about an hour for Google. If Back up now fails with an access error, connect again.
The connection lives in one browser. On another browser or device, connect there. Disconnect removes it from the browser but leaves your backup files where they are.
Pop-ups must be allowed. If nothing opens, allow pop-ups for YoTrackr. The sign-in window has about 30 seconds before it times out.
Google errors. A redirect_uri_mismatch message means the redirect address in your Google credentials does not exactly match the address you use YoTrackr on. The help article on Drive and Dropbox backup lists every message you may see and what to do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can YoTrackr read my other Drive files? No. The access it asks for covers only files that YoTrackr itself creates.

Is Drive and Dropbox backup included on the Free and Starter plans? No, it is Pro and Team. On other plans you can still download a backup file from Settings, under Data.

How often should I back up? Before any big change, and on a routine you will keep: monthly for most people. Settings also has an automatic local backup that keeps the last ten snapshots in your browser.

What if I lose the browser? Sign in on another one, connect the same Drive or Dropbox, and use the file to restore, or just sign in: your list comes back from your account.