If you ever bought ebooks from Google Play store, you will know that you can read Google play books both online and offline. For most users, reading books offline is always the first choice. But have you ever found your downloaded Google play books? Yes, I mean the Google play books offline storage location on your computer or mobile device. If not, here is the comprehensive guide on where Google Play Books are stored on computer and Android devices.
Where are Google Play Books Stored on Android Devices?
Besides the computer, most of the ebook lovers choose to read Google books on Android devices. But do you know where are Google Play books stored on Android devices? I also want know the answer for this question so I did some research but the result is not good for the common user.
Someone says, the default path for Google Play books on Android devices(external storage) is :
/mnt/Android/data/com.google.android.apps.books/files/volumes/
I checked my Android phone many times, but never find any folder like "com.google.android.apps.books", not to speak of the Google play books.
Someone says, the default path for “internal storage" is:
internal storage/data/data/com.google.android.apps.books/files/accounts/"your google account"/volumes
Then I dig it deeper, it seems if you want to access your content of your Google Play books on Android device, you need to root your Android device because the downloads are saved to a protected system directory. Here is where your Google Play books stored on Android device: /data/data/com.google.android.apps.books/files/accounts/"your google account"/volumes
Finally, I found the Google play books location on Android.
Where are Google Play Books Stored on My Computer (Win/Mac)?
To find the Google Play books offline storage, you need to download your Google play books to your computer. Have you downloaded your Google plays Books to your computer yet? If not, let’s download it now. Since there are two different cases after the Google play books have been downloaded, I want to spend a little time on explaining them because it will help you understand where Google Play are stored on your computer much more clearly.
Case 1 Download Google Play books directly.
There are some books, when you click on “Download to EPUB/PDF” button, they will be open automatically at your browser. In the reading mode, just click on “Download” button at the top right corner, Google play books will be downloaded to your computer. For these Kind of Google play books, you can choose where to store the downloaded files. You just need to remember the location.
Case 2 Download ACSM instead of real book.
Besides the above situation, when you click on “Download to EPUB/PDF”, you will get a .acsm file instead of the EPUB or PDF files you expected. This happens to most of your purchased Google Play books. If you have downloaded Google play books to .acsm file, you need to convert .acsm to PDF or EPUB at first.
- 1. Install Adobe Digital Editions (ADE)
- 2. Authorize with your Adobe ID
- 3. Open the .ACSM file via ADE
- 4. ADE would save the .acsm to .epub (or .pdf)
Where are Google Play books stored on Windows?
The above steps clearly highlight the close relationship between your downloaded Google Play Books and Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). This connection assist the process of locating your downloaded Google Play Books on your computer. To find each of your downloaded Google Play Books, right-click on the book cover in ADE and select 'Show File in Explorer.' This action will direct you to the location of the ebooks on your Windows computer.
If you want to find all your Google Play books folder on your computer, here is the default path:
C:\Users\Your User Name\Documents\My Digital Editions
Where are Google Play books stored on Mac?
There is a slightly difference on Mac computer if your original downloaded file is .acsm file. On mac, if you want to locate the Google play book in ADE, please right click and choose "Show File in Finder".
The location of Google Play books on Mac is:
/Users/user name/Documents/Digital Editions
Pro tip A much easier way to find Google Play books on Windows and Mac
Whether you're using Windows or Mac, if you prefer not to search for your Google Play Books manually, there's a much easier way to locate them on both Windows and Mac. Epubor Ultimate, the top ebook converter and decrypter, can assist you in automatically finding the location of your Google Play Books. Additionally, it has the capability to remove DRM from Google Play Books. To discover the default path of Google Play Books, simply launch Epubor Ultimate, navigate to the 'Adobe' tab, right-click on any book listed, and select 'Open' to reveal the folder where your Google Play Books are stored.
From the above information, you now know where Google Play books are stored on your computer. To be mentioned that all Google Play books are locked by Adobe DRM and cannot be opened anywhere except ADE. If you want to back up Google play books properly, you need to remove DRM from Google Play books with Epubor Ultimate.
1 Download and install Epubor Ultimate to your windows/Mac.
2 Run Epubor Ultimate. At the left column, click on "Adobe" tab, you will see all downloaded Google Play books under this tab. Just drag these books to the right column, all Google Play books will be decrypted.
3 Click on "output folder" at the bottom right to find all DRM-free Google Play books.
Now you have moved your Google Play books in your SD card or just read your DRM-free Google Play books on any compatiable reader.
Important notice:
1. To use this method, please download your google play books to your pc or mac as there is no way to find and decrypt Google play books on Android.
2. Removing drm from google play ebook will also make it easier for you to back up your google play books.
FAQs on where Google Play Books are stored
Frequently Asked QuestionsQ: Can I transfer Google Play books to an SD card?
A: Yes, you can save new downloads to an SD card. An SD card can be used to store Google Play books downloads.
Q: Does Google Play Book sync across devices?
A: Yes, Google Play books can be downloaded to different computers and mobile devices. Also, Google Play books can be synced accross different devices if you log into the same Google account.
Q: Is it possible to configure Google Play Books to store ebooks on external storage?
A: Yes, you can, but you must root your device and move the application to external storage because the application stores the E-books in the com.google.android.files. Unfortunately, your application won't work if you move that folder without rooting
I guess now you can find your Google Play books no matter on computer or on your android devices. To know more tips about Google Play books, please read Google Play Books 101: 16 Golden Tips & Tricks You Must Know.
Iris Yan has been a passionate member of Epubor since 2017. Her mission is to enhance your ebook reading experience by sharing insightful tips and tricks. Join her on a journey towards reading excellence today!
Is it possible to convert google books into pdf or epub if google books do not provide acsm files to download for those books? I have recently bought some books that when right clicking them in google books they do not have the option to download pdf or epub so I cannot get the acsm files to get into Adobe Digital Editions.
Can epubor do something with this?
Thank you for contacting us.
If there is no option for downloading epub or pdf, what's the download option? Can you please screenshot and send it to me via epubor.iris@gmail.com. Then we'll try our best to help you fix it.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.