Your work, yours
Export your journal
Export keeps the photographs and the structure around them portable. The resulting archive can be understood and stored without depending on Moments remaining online.
What the archive contains
The export is one ZIP archive. Inside, original full-resolution photographs are grouped by moment, README.txt explains the package, and journal.json records the journal details and moment data in a structured, readable form.
That metadata includes the titles, field notes, dates, tags, and EXIF Moments has for the work. For HEIC, HEIF, or HIF uploads, export keeps the untouched original rather than offering only the JPEG made for browsers.
- One portable ZIP file
- Original photographs at full resolution
- A folder for each moment
- Journal identity and moment structure in journal.json
- A plain-text README describing the archive
- Moment writing, dates, tags, and stored EXIF metadata
Prepare and download
Open Settings, then Export, and choose Download export. Moments assembles the archive when requested. Large journals can take a while to package, so leave the tab open until the browser begins the download and make sure the destination has enough free space.
- 01
Start the export
Request it from the Export settings while signed in to the journal owner account.
- 02
Keep the tab open
The archive is streamed after it is prepared; a large original library may need patience.
- 03
Open and inspect it
Check several moment folders, original file types, and journal.json before treating it as a backup.
- 04
Keep another copy
Store it somewhere independent of both Moments and the device holding your only originals.
Export is portable; your backup still matters
A downloaded export is a point-in-time copy. The current archive covers journal details, moments, original photos, tags, and stored EXIF. It does not currently reproduce pages, collections, theme and navigation settings, or per-photo captions and alt text. It does not update when the journal changes and is not automatically stored in a second location. Make a fresh export after substantial work and keep ordinary backups of irreplaceable source photographs as well.
A custom domain complements export: the archive makes the content portable, while an address you own makes the public links more portable.
Export before account deletion
Deleting the account permanently removes the journal, moments, photographs, pages, and collections and releases the subdomain. Download and verify an export first if there is any chance you will want the work later.
Do not wait until the only copy of a photograph lives in a hosted product. Moments preserves originals, but a resilient personal archive always has more than one home.
Keep reading
Related guide
Photos, originals, and metadata
What happens during upload, which camera details Moments reads, and what is preserved for export.
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Use a domain you own
Connect a domain or subdomain, complete DNS verification, and understand what happens to existing links.
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Billing and account basics
Manage a Supporter subscription, understand trials and plan status, protect sign-in access, and delete the account safely.