Browser-Based Business Scraping: Storage, Access, and Backups
Where your collection lives, what your account stores, and how to keep a usable backup.
When choosing a business scraper, ask where the collected list lives and what happens if the browser or account changes. Those details affect whether a colleague can see the records, whether a second computer has the same collection, and what you need to back up.
GBP Sweep keeps collected business listings in local extension storage in your Chrome browser profile. Its server manages account access and subscriptions; it does not host your lead list. This guide explains the practical consequences, including the limits of local storage. It is a description of the product's behavior, not a claim that storing data locally removes every privacy or security concern.
Separate the collection from the account
The collection contains the businesses you saved from Google Maps and Google Search: names, available contact details, categories, source links, and other observed listing fields. These records remain in extension storage in the browser profile where collection happened.
Your GBP Sweep account has a different job. It supports sign-in, plan access, and subscription management. Signing in allows you to view and export the local results. It does not turn the account into a cloud drive for the business list.
This distinction explains a common surprise: signing into GBP Sweep on another computer does not fetch the collection from your first computer. The same account can have different locally saved records in different browser profiles. If you need to transfer a list for work in another tool, export it deliberately rather than expecting account sign-in to sync it.
Know what local browser storage means
Local storage here means Chrome's extension storage, not a folder of spreadsheets visible in Finder or File Explorer. GBP Sweep reads and maintains records through the extension. Chrome documents that its local extension storage is local to the machine and is cleared when the extension is removed.
Do not uninstall and reinstall the extension as a routine fix when you have an unexported collection. Export what you need first. Similarly, think before deleting a Chrome profile or clearing extension data. Those actions can affect the records the account server does not hold for you.
Keeping the extension's unpacked files in a stable folder also matters for installation. The current installation method uses Chrome's Load unpacked option. Moving the folder and loading a different installation is not a backup plan for the saved collection.
Understand the sign-in boundary
You can start collecting while signed out. When you want to view, filter, or export results, the extension asks you to sign in. This keeps the access and plan check at the point where you use the saved collection.
Signing in does not send the saved business rows to GBP Sweep's server. It also does not create a second copy of them. Treat authentication and backup as separate tasks: completing the first does not complete the second.
On a shared computer, use an appropriate Chrome profile and control access to the device. A product sign-in gate should not be mistaken for encryption of every local file or protection from someone who controls the operating system. Keep account links and license keys separate from exported research files.
Make a backup you can actually inspect
Export useful batches at sensible points: after finishing an area, after reviewing a category, or before changing the extension installation. Store an untouched file with a descriptive name and collection notes. Open it once to confirm that it contains the intended rows and fields.
CSV is a flat table for spreadsheets and many file importers. JSON preserves the exported record structure for scripts or inspection. Choose the format your next tool can read. Do not assume the extension can restore an exported file through an import feature; the current collection workflow does not provide a general restore-from-file tool.
| Item | Where it lives | What to keep separately |
|---|---|---|
| Saved collection | Current Chrome profile's extension storage | An exported copy of needed records |
| Account and plan | Account service | Your sign-in access |
| Downloaded CSV or JSON | The download location you choose | A dated, unchanged original |
| Manual review notes | Your spreadsheet or research system | Source links and verification dates |
| Shared spreadsheet | The service and account you upload it to | Sharing decisions and review ownership |
Keep exports accurate when moving between tools
An exported file is useful only if the destination preserves its values. Phone numbers, postal codes, and long listing identifiers should be imported as text. A spreadsheet that drops digits can make a backup look readable while changing the data inside it.
Use the CSV export guide to check the 23 columns and common import issues. After importing, compare a few identifiers, phone numbers, and addresses against the untouched original. Keep missing values blank rather than converting unknown details into invented defaults.
Manual notes deserve their own backup. If you spend an afternoon checking websites in a workbook, the extension's local collection will not contain those spreadsheet notes. Save the working file and keep the raw export separately so you retain both the collected observations and your later decisions.
Be deliberate when sharing a collection
Uploading a CSV to Google Sheets, a CRM, or another service creates a copy outside the extension's local storage. That can be appropriate for the work, but it is a separate action with separate access settings.
Before sharing, choose the rows and fields the recipient needs. A route planner may need names, addresses, and source links without every research note. A reviewer may need the complete record and a place to document checks. Keep credentials and unrelated personal information out of both files.
For collaborative review, the Google Sheets guide shows how to preserve a raw tab and keep decisions separate. Check the audience of a shared link rather than assuming that a file is private because the original collection was local.
Account for more than one browser profile
Chrome profiles have separate extension state. If you use a work profile and a personal profile, check which one holds the collection before concluding that records disappeared. Opening a different profile or computer can show a different local list even with the same GBP Sweep account.
A Pro license can be used across your own browsers, but plan access does not merge their collections. For projects that span machines, keep a clear convention for export filenames and batch notes. Compare identifiers before combining files so overlapping searches do not become duplicate rows in your external working list.
Avoid making several untracked copies of the same project. Decide which workbook is the current reviewed version and which files are raw evidence. That decision matters more for day-to-day usability than giving every copy a similar name ending in “final.”
Before changing the installation
If you are troubleshooting, updating, or moving computers, first check whether you can open the existing collection and export the records you need. Confirm the export scope and inspect the downloaded file. Keep a note of unfinished sweeps and any manual research stored elsewhere.
If the local data is already gone and you have no export, signing in cannot recover a server copy that GBP Sweep never stored. This is why a usable backup is a separate file you have checked, not merely an active account.
For the current handling of account and service data, read the privacy policy. For collecting your first list, start with the Google Maps collection guide. A clear storage plan lets you choose where the research belongs and keep the parts you would otherwise have to collect again.