How to back up your photos and files
Devices break, get lost, and get stolen, and ransomware can lock files. A backup is a second copy kept somewhere else. A good rule: keep your important files in at least two places, and one of them away from your computer.
Steps last reviewed October 2026. Menu names can differ a little between versions and brands.
Photos on your phone
- iPhone: turn on iCloud Photos (Settings, tap your name, iCloud, Photos). Free storage is small, so you may need a paid plan; check the price first.
- Android: open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture, and turn on Backup.
- Whichever you use, check that it finished: look at the number of photos in the cloud (on photos.google.com or icloud.com) and compare with what’s on your phone.
Files on your computer
- Easiest: use cloud storage such as OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, or Dropbox. Save your Documents and Desktop folders there so changes are copied automatically.
- External drive: buy a drive larger than your computer’s storage. On Windows, use File History (search for it in Settings). On a Mac, use Time Machine (System Settings, General, Time Machine).
- Best of both: a cloud copy plus an external drive.
Test it
A backup you’ve never opened is a guess. Once in a while, try opening a few files from the backup on a different device, such as your phone or another computer.
Good to know: If you’re about to have your computer repaired or reset, back up first. Technicians, including me, can’t always recover files afterward.
Careful: Watch for fake “your storage is full” emails and texts. Check your storage in the app’s own settings, never through a link in a message.
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