Be Smart and Back Up Your iPhone to Save Your Digital Life

Your iPhone is so much more than just a screen for texting. Smartphones are how we get work done, stay on top of the crazy news cycle, rock out, keep in touch with friends and family, and capture life’s most important moments. Carrying all of that information in our pockets is incredibly powerful, and it makes getting through our days a little easier. It also means that your most important data can get lost when you forget your phone on the train or have an unfortunate spat with the sidewalk. If you want to avoid frantically trying to recover the best shots from a friend’s wedding, you should back up your iPhone. It’s also a great idea if you plan on updating to a new iPhone . There are a few ways to do this, depending on your needs and habits. After you’re all backed up, check out our guide to choosing the best iPhone . We also have a guide to backing up an Android phone . Updated March 2026: We added information on Apple’s subscriptions, Advanced Data Protection, new sections on local backup options, backing up within apps, and 2FA codes and passkeys. Jump To: Backing Up to iCloud Backing Up to Your Mac Backing Up to MacOS Catalina 10.15 or Later Backing Up to MacOS Mojave 10.14 or Earlier Backing Up to a Windows PC How to Turn On Wi-Fi Syncing Backing Up to Other Cloud Services Backing Up Locally Backing Up Within Apps Don’t Forget 2FA Codes and Passkeys Backing Up to iCloud 1 / 4 Your easiest option, and Apple’s first recommendation, is to back up your iPhone to iCloud. Make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi, and the process is pretty simple: Open Settings . You can scroll down to select iCloud , or tap [Your Name] at the top and then iCloud . On the iCloud page, scroll down and tap on iCloud Backup . Make sure the switch is toggled on so you’ll get automatic backups every 24 hours when your iPhone is charging, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. Then tap Back Up Now to force a backup. Check whatever you want iCloud to back up (you can uncheck other categories). Apple gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but that’s not nearly enough to cover all of your data. You can always buy more iCloud storage. Apple’s iCloud+ offers 50 GB for $1 a month, 200 GB for $3.50 a month, 2 TB for $10 a month, 6 TB for $30 a month, or 12 TB for $60 a month. Folks who like to use multiple Apple services may prefer an Apple One subscription. Luckily, in iOS 15, Apple introduced a temporary method to back up your data to iCloud, even if you are out of storage, to allow you to switch iPhones . When you buy a new iPhone, Apple gives you unlimited iCloud storage for 21 days. By default, Apple holds the keys to your iCloud backups unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection , which you'll find on the iCloud settings page. If you decide to use end-to-end encryption, you must set up an alternative recovery method, just in case your iPhone ever goes missing. If you prefer not to use the cloud, there is another way. Backing Up to Your Mac If your phone is loaded with pictures, songs, apps, and years of text messages, you might want to make a local backup. If you have a computer with some gigs to spare, you can plug in your iPhone and click a few buttons to make sure all your phone's data is safely tucked away. But the exact method depends on your version of macOS. If you're not sure which Apple operating system you have, click the little Apple icon in the top left corner of your Mac desktop and select About This Mac . Another window will pop up, telling you what version you're running. Backing Up to MacOS Catalina 10.15 or Later The upgrade to macOS Catalina (2019) did away with iTunes, replacing it with three separate apps for music, podcasts, and TV. The backup option is now located in Finder, where you can search folders and other drives. The steps to back up your iPhone are almost the same as with iTunes: Connect your iPhone to your computer with a cable . Open Finder and select your iPhone under Locations in the sidebar. Click on General and choose Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac . If you want to encrypt your data and password-protect it, select Encrypt local backup . Click Back Up Now . You can also manage previous backups from here and choose to sync different types of media with your computer while you’re at it. Backing Up to MacOS Mojave 10.14 or Earlier iTunes is not dead yet. The service is still available on older OS versions, so you can still back up everything there. Here's how: Once your phone is plugged into your Mac, open iTunes and click the Device button at the top left of the iTunes window. Click Summary below your iPhone. Select Back Up Now under Backups. This creates a backup of everything on your iPhone, including all your app data, so you don't have to log in to all your accounts again. It also saves your home screen arrangement, so you don't have to drag a bunch of icons around. If you want to encrypt your backups, click on Encrypt iPhone backup and type a password, then click Set Password . Pro tip: New backups now overwrite the old ones, but if you click Manage Backups , right-click on a backup, and select Archive , you can save multiple backups over time. Just dive into iTunes Preferences , click on Devices , and click Summary for your iPhone to see a list of every backup. As long as the one you need is there, you can hit Restore Backup . Backing Up to a Windows PC You can also back up your iPhone on your Windows PC using iTunes . Here's how: Connect your iPhone to your Windows computer. Open iTunes and click the iPhone button at the top left of the iTunes window. Click Summary . Select Back Up Now under Backups. If you want to encrypt your backups, click on Encrypt local backup and type a password, then click Set Password . How to Turn On Wi-Fi Syncing You probably don't want to have to plug in every time you back up files. Luckily, you can turn on Wi-Fi syncing between your iPhone and computer with these steps: Connect your iPhone to your computer. On a Mac, open Finder and select your iPhone in the sidebar. Click General at the top, and choose Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi . On a Windows PC, open iTunes , click the iPhone button near the top left, then Summary , and choose Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi in Options . Click Apply . Backing Up to Other Cloud Services We all take a bunch of pictures with our phones, and we want to be able to look back on those moments at a later time. Backing up to iCloud or your computer will get the job done, but it doesn't hurt to save all your family photos and vacation pictures in a second spot. The Google Photos app is a great way to make sure your photos stay safe, since you get 15 GB of storage for free . As a bonus, the app lets you clear your iPhone's camera roll once all your photos are backed up—nice if your phone is low on storage. If you'd rather avoid Google, we've rounded up several alternatives here , and there are many other cloud storage services to choose from. Backing Up Locally Maybe you’d prefer not to use the cloud or Apple’s services for your backup. You can always use the methods listed above for Mac or Windows to download files, then manually move them onto a portable hard drive or USB flash drive , though it’s a bit of hassle. If you have network attached storage (NAS), there’s likely an app that can automatically back up some of your files when you are connected to home Wi-Fi. Synology, Asustor, and most other NAS makers have apps for photo and video backup and general files. You may also consider something like iMazing or PhotoSync , though you may need to pay to access all features. Backing Up Within Apps Some apps, mostly messaging apps, have their own backup systems built-in. Here are a couple of examples, but check on your favorites. WhatsApp has a built-in backup. Go to Settings , Chats , Chat backup , and choose the frequency you want. I also recommend toggling on End-to-end encrypted backup , so that only you can access those backups. Signal doesn’t back up to the cloud, so you have to create a local backup file and then move it off your phone. You can get started in Settings , Backups , On-device backups , Turn on . Don’t Forget 2FA Codes and Passkeys What happens if you lose your phone or it is stolen and you have two-factor authentication (2FA) set up on your Apple account? There’s a danger you could be locked out. There is an account recovery process, but it takes a while, so it’s smart to have more than one trusted device associated with your account. You can also add additional trusted phone numbers . For folks who use Google Authenticator, it now has an encrypted cloud sync feature. You’ll be prompted to set it up if you update the app and open it, but you can check by tapping your profile picture at the top right. You’ll see a cloud icon with a tick when you’re backed up. For passkeys, which are often stored locally on the device, you might consider backing up in more than one place. They are automatically backed up in your iCloud Keychain, but you could also use one of the best cross-platform password managers , like Bitwarden , or a physical device, like YubiKey ($58) . Power up with unlimited access to WIRED . Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that's too important to ignore. Subscribe Today . Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Apple iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro