Backups: a copy you have tested

Turn on a backup for each device, check what it covers against your free storage, and prove it works by restoring one file.

1. Sync is not a backup Understand

Phones and computers lose files in a few ordinary ways. The device is lost, stolen or broken. You delete something by mistake, or save over it. Or harmful software scrambles the files on purpose. A backup is the plan for all three. This chapter sets up one for each device and then proves it works.

A backup is a separate copy of your files, kept somewhere other than the device, that you can get back after the original is lost, broken or changed. To restore is to get a file, or a whole device, back from that copy. A backup you have not restored from yet is a copy you hope is there. The test at the end of this chapter turns hope into a date on a sheet.

What sync does

To sync is to keep the same files the same on every device and in the cloud. When you add a photo on your phone, it shows up on your tablet. When you delete it, it disappears from both. Sync is useful: if the phone is lost, the photos are still in the account. But sync copies mistakes as faithfully as it copies photos.

The three big platforms say so in their own help pages:

• Google says that a photo you delete in Google Photos is also removed from phones and tablets that have backup on, from shared albums, and from the files downloaded to an iPhone, an iPad and some Android phones (Google Photos Help, Delete photos and videos). Product-specific
• Apple says that when you use iCloud Photos and delete a photo on one device, it is deleted on every other device signed in to the same Apple Account (Apple Support, Manage your iCloud storage). Product-specific
• Microsoft says that backing up folders with Windows Backup "syncs the folders you specify to your OneDrive account" (Microsoft Support, Back up and restore with Windows Backup). Product-specific

Apple's page on iCloud Backup describes two ways iCloud keeps data, "syncing and backing up", and says that anything already synced (iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, Notes, and Messages in iCloud) is not copied into the backup (Apple Support, What does iCloud back up?). The same page says that between the two, all of your data is kept safe in the cloud. That holds for a lost phone. It does not hold for a photo you deleted on purpose two months ago, because the deletion synced too.

The trash is a short grace period

Most deletions wait in a trash before they are final. Google Photos keeps deleted items in its trash for 30 days, and says that items permanently deleted after that "can't be restored". Apple's Recently Deleted album keeps photos for 30 days. A Chromebook's Files app keeps items in its Trash for 30 days (Chromebook Help, Open, save, or delete files). Product-specific

Three exceptions matter. Emptying a trash makes its contents final. Apple says that when your iCloud storage is over its limit, photos you delete are removed right away and do not wait in Recently Deleted. And Google says that deleting a file in a Chromebook's Downloads folder is permanent and "can't be undone" (Chromebook Help, Keep your downloaded files from being deleted). Treat a trash as a few weeks to change your mind, not as a backup.

Four kinds of copy, and what each one covers

Every tool in this chapter is one of four kinds. The table says what each kind does after the two common accidents. A versioned backup keeps older copies of a file from earlier dates, so you can go back to the file as it was last week, not only as it is now.

The rest of the chapter gives one default per device: a cloud backup for a phone or tablet, and a versioned backup to a drive for a Windows computer or a Mac. On a Chromebook, the default is to save files to My Drive. Where you keep more than one copy, the backup sheet has a column for each.

2. Turn on a backup on each device

Each heading below is one kind of device. Read the ones you have. The steps are written out one tap at a time, then repeated as a short path. If you have not opened these settings before, the long form is the one to follow. The Where the settings are table holds the same paths for every device.

iPhone and iPad: iCloud Backup

Apple's steps for iCloud Backup, from Apple Support, How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud (page dated September 24, 2026):

1. Connect the iPhone or iPad to Wi-Fi.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Tap your name at the top.
4. Tap iCloud.
5. Tap iCloud Backup.
6. Check that Back Up This iPhone (Back Up This iPad on an iPad) is on. If it is off, turn it on.
7. Tap Back Up Now, and stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes.
8. Read the line under Back Up Now. It shows the date and time of the last backup.

In short: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now.

After that, the device backs itself up when three things are true at once: it is connected to power, it is on Wi-Fi, and its screen is locked. For many people that is overnight, while it charges. If an alert says there is not enough iCloud storage, read how much room the backup needs before you decide anything. Product-specific

What the date tells you: if it is today or yesterday, the backup is running. If it is weeks old, or there is no date, the backup has stopped or has not run. One reason Apple names is iCloud storage that is full.

What iCloud Backup leaves out. Apple's page on backup methods lists what an iCloud backup does not include: notes already synced to iCloud; photos, if iCloud Photos is on; messages, if Messages in iCloud is on; mail in other services, such as Gmail; Apple Mail data; Apple Pay information; Face ID or Touch ID settings; and music and apps from Apple's stores, which download again (Apple Support, Backup methods for iPhone or iPad). What it does include: the device's settings, the Home Screen layout, app data, purchased ringtones, the Visual Voicemail password, and an Apple Watch backup. Product-specific

Where your photos are. To see whether your photos are synced (and so not in the backup), check the iCloud Photos switch:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap your name at the top.
3. Tap iCloud.
4. Under Saved to iCloud, tap Photos.
5. Read whether Sync this device is on.

In short: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos > Sync this device. If it is on, your photos live in iCloud Photos and on the phone, and the restore test uses iCloud Photos. If it is off, your photos are inside the iCloud backup instead. Either answer goes on the backup sheet.

If you ever turn iCloud Backup off, Apple keeps the backups already in iCloud for 180 days before deleting them. Product-specific

Android phone and tablet: backup to your Google Account

Google's steps, from Android Help, Back up or restore data on your Android device. Pixel menus are shown; other makers' menus differ, and some phones say Google services where a Pixel says Google.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Google.
3. Tap All services.
4. Under Backup and restore, tap Backup.
5. Turn on Backup by Google One, and choose Photos and videos, Device data, or both.
6. Tap Back up now.
7. Under Backup details, read what is backed up.

In short: Settings > Google > All services > Backup > Back up now.

Google says the first backup can take up to 24 hours, and that "On" appears under each kind of data once it is saved. Google's page does not say that the screen shows a date. If yours shows the time of the last backup, write that down. If it does not, write the date on which you saw "On" under each item. Product-specific

What it covers. Google lists apps and app data, call history, contacts, device settings, and text and picture messages (SMS and MMS). Photos and videos are included only when Google Photos backup is on. Not every app backs up all of its data. Product-specific

Two cautions from the same page. First, Google says a backup does not restore onto a phone running an older version of Android than the one it came from; the same page says such a transfer can come out incomplete. Second, Google encrypts part of the backup with your screen lock, so it asks for a PIN, pattern or password rather than a swipe. Photos and videos in Google Photos are not encrypted by the screen lock. Your phone and tablet covers the screen lock.

Computers: a backup to a drive you control

For a Windows computer or a Mac, the default in this manual is a versioned backup to an external drive: a storage device that plugs into the computer with a cable, such as a USB drive. The drive is yours, it keeps older versions, and it can be unplugged. A cloud folder can sit beside it. A Chromebook works differently, and has its own heading below.

Windows: File History to an external drive

Microsoft's steps, from Microsoft Support, Backup and restore with File History (applies to Windows 11 and Windows 10):

1. Plug the external drive into the computer.
2. Select Start.
3. Type Control Panel, and open it.
4. Under System and Security, select Save backup copies of your files with File History.
5. Select Turn on.
6. If no drive is chosen, select Select drive, choose the external drive, and select OK.

In short: Control Panel > System and Security > Save backup copies of your files with File History > Turn on.

File History copies your libraries (Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music) and the Desktop, and keeps earlier versions you can go back to. Microsoft describes it as making regular backups once it is on. Product-specific

Windows Backup, and why it is not the drive copy. Windows also has an app called Windows Backup (Start, type backup, open Windows Backup; or Settings > Accounts > Windows backup). It needs a personal Microsoft account, and it syncs your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music folders to OneDrive, which comes with 5 GB free. It also saves settings, a list of your apps and your Wi-Fi networks, and Microsoft says getting them back on a new PC is a matter of signing in with the same account (Microsoft Support, Getting the most out of your PC backup). That makes it a good way to move to a new computer. Because its folders sync, a file deleted on the PC is deleted in OneDrive too. Use it beside File History, not in place of it. Product-specific

Mac: Time Machine to an external drive

Apple's steps for macOS Ventura 13 or later, from Apple Support, Back up your Mac with Time Machine (page dated October 16, 2026):

1. Plug the external drive into the Mac.
2. Open the Apple menu in the corner of the screen.
3. Choose System Settings.
4. Click General in the sidebar.
5. Click Time Machine.
6. Click Add Backup Disk.
7. Select the drive, then click Set Up Disk. The Mac may offer to erase the drive for Time Machine.

In short: Apple menu > System Settings > General > Time Machine > Add Backup Disk.

Apple asks for a drive with at least twice the storage capacity of the Mac (its example: a 1 TB Mac, a drive of at least 2 TB), used only for Time Machine. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month and weekly backups for all earlier months, and deletes the oldest when the drive is full. The first backup can take a long time; later ones copy only what changed. The Time Machine menu in the menu bar shows the date and time of the latest backup. Before you unplug the drive, eject it or shut down the Mac. Product-specific

Apple also offers Encrypt Backup during setup, which asks you to create a backup password. You need that password to restore files later. Do not write the password on the backup sheet. Write where it is kept.

Chromebook: save to My Drive

A Chromebook keeps your work in your Google Account rather than on the device. The risk is the Downloads folder. Google calls it "a temporary folder" and says the Chromebook "will sometimes delete downloaded files to clean up space" (Chromebook Help). To move files you want to keep:

1. Select the Launcher in the corner of the screen.
2. Open Files.
3. On the left, select Downloads.
4. Drag each file you want to keep to My Drive.

In short: Launcher > Files > Downloads > drag to My Drive. To save new downloads somewhere permanent, open Chrome, select More, then Settings, then Downloads, and select Change next to the folder (Chrome > More > Settings > Downloads > Change). My Drive counts toward your Google Account's 15 GB. It holds the file in your account, not a second copy of it: delete it there and the file you would restore from is gone. Product-specific

3. How much room the backup needs

A cloud backup lives in your account's storage, and each account comes with a free amount. When the storage is full, the backup stops, usually without much warning. So the second check is how much you use against how much you have.

One point people miss: these are separate accounts. A Gmail address with an iPhone means two free amounts. The iPhone's backup and iCloud Photos use iCloud's 5 GB. Gmail uses Google's 15 GB. Neither borrows from the other.

Read the two numbers

The first number is how much the device stores. On an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage (iPad Storage on an iPad).
4. Read the amount used at the top. The list below it shows what uses the most: Apps, Photos, Messages and so on.

In short: Settings > General > iPhone Storage (iPhone User Guide, Manage storage on iPhone). On an Android phone, open the Settings app and tap Storage (Settings > Storage; Pixel shown, other makers' menus differ) (Android Help, Free up storage).

The second number is how much of the cloud account is already in use. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud: the bar at the top shows how much of your iCloud storage is used (Settings > [your name] > iCloud). Google says its storage figures can take 48 to 72 hours to catch up after you delete a lot of files.

Use the calculator

The backup space calculator adds the storage used on each device, plus anything already in the same account, and sets the total against the free amount you choose. Pick the account the backup actually goes to: iCloud for an iPhone or iPad, Google for an Android phone, OneDrive for Windows Backup. For a Mac, the same page gives the smallest Time Machine drive Apple suggests: twice the Mac's storage.

The total is an upper bound. A phone's backup is usually smaller than its storage used, because apps download again from the store and synced data is not copied twice (Apple and Google both list what their backups leave out). The calculator tells you whether the backup could fit at the worst. The backup date tells you whether it did fit: a backup that finished last night had room. Test it

What happens when the storage is full

Apple says that when iCloud storage runs out, the device stops backing up to iCloud, new photos stop uploading to iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive stops staying up to date, and an iCloud email address cannot send or receive mail. It also says photos you delete while over the limit are removed right away and skip Recently Deleted. Google says that over its limit, Google Photos stops backing up, you cannot add files to Drive, and Gmail is affected. Product-specific

When the numbers do not fit, there are three kinds of answer, and the choice is yours: back up less (Apple lets you turn off backup for apps you do not use, under Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Storage > Backups, then the device), move some files elsewhere (photos to a computer or a drive), or pay the company for more storage. Before you delete anything to make room, Apple's advice is to make sure the photos and files you want to keep have a copy somewhere else.

4. Restore one file

The test is small on purpose: get one file back from the backup, open it, and check that it is the file you expected. CISA, the federal agency for cybersecurity, puts it in one line on its ransomware page: "Maintain offline, encrypted backups of data and regularly test your backups" (CISA, StopRansomware). None of the sources we read, CISA included, says how often.

Our suggestion is once a season, and again after you get a new device or change a backup setting. That interval is ours, not a rule from any agency or company. Our convention

Test one file, not the whole device

A phone's own backup restores a whole phone. Apple describes restoring from iCloud Backup when you get a new device. Google describes restoring an Android backup while you set up a new phone or one that has been reset to factory settings. To test either one the hard way, you would erase the phone you use every day. Do not. For the phone backup itself, the check is the date and the list of what it holds. The file test uses the copy of your photos, which you can open from a browser. Product-specific

On a computer, this manual's method is a test file: a short document named "Restore test" that you save, let the backup copy, and then get back. A test file shows the backup works without putting anything you care about at risk. Our convention

iPhone and iPad: one photo from iCloud Photos

When iCloud Photos is on, your photos are in iCloud as well as on the phone. Opening one at iCloud.com shows that the copy away from the phone is there. Apple's steps on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Safari.
2. Go to icloud.com/photos, and sign in with your Apple Account.
3. Tap Select, then tap one photo.
4. Tap the More button.
5. Choose the Download option, then tap Download.
6. Open the downloaded photo, and check that it is the one you chose.

In short: Safari > icloud.com/photos > Select > one photo > More > Download. The same page works from any computer's browser.

If iCloud Photos is off, your photos are inside the iCloud backup. To see them listed, open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap Storage (or Manage Account Storage), tap Backups, then tap this device, and look for Photo Library (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Storage > Backups). That list shows the photos are in the backup. Getting one back from it means restoring the whole device, so with only the iCloud backup, the date and the Photo Library line are the check. A copy of the photos on a computer or a drive is the one to open for a file test.

Android: one photo from Google Photos

1. On a computer, go to photos.google.com and sign in.
2. Click a photo.
3. At the top right, click Info.
4. Under Backed up, read the backup status and the photo's size.

In short: photos.google.com > a photo > Info > Backed up (Google Photos Help). The photo opening there, with a "Backed up" status, is the copy in your Google Account. For the rest of the phone's backup, the check is the Backup details list under Settings > Google > All services > Backup.

Windows: open the test file from File History

1. Save a short document named Restore test in your Documents folder.
2. Leave the File History drive plugged in until the next day, so a backup has run.
3. Open File Explorer.
4. Right-click the Documents folder, and select Restore previous versions. On Windows 11, select Show more options first if you do not see it.
5. On the Previous Versions tab, select a version from after you saved the test file.
6. Expand Open, and select Open in File History.
7. Find Restore test in that window, and open it.

In short: File Explorer > right-click Documents > Restore previous versions > Open in File History (Microsoft, File History).

Mac: get the test file back with Time Machine

1. Save a short document named Restore test in your Documents folder.
2. Choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar, and wait for it to finish.
3. Move Restore test to the Trash.
4. Open the Documents folder in a Finder window.
5. Use Spotlight to open Time Machine.
6. Use the arrows next to the window to go back to a backup from before you deleted the file.
7. Select Restore test, then click Restore. It returns to the Documents folder.
8. Open it.

In short: Finder window > Time Machine > go back > select the file > Restore. If you set a backup password, you need it to restore files (Apple, Time Machine).

Chromebook: open a file from My Drive

Files in My Drive are in your Google Account. Sign in to Google Drive on another device you own, open one file you saved there, and check that it is the right version. That shows the file is not only on the Chromebook. Test it The Files app's Trash is a different thing: Files > Trash > Restore from trash brings back something you deleted in the last 30 days, from the Chromebook itself.

After the test

Write two dates on the backup sheet: the last backup date, and the date you restored a file. The sheet's restore test checklist has the five checks: you found the last backup date; you opened one file from the backup; it opened and was the right version; you wrote the date; and the drive is unplugged and put away. Then delete the test file, or keep it for next season.

5. A copy away from home, and a drive kept unplugged

Two more questions decide what a backup survives: where the copy is, and whether it is connected.

Away from home. A drive that sits next to the computer can be lost with it, to a fire, a flood or a burglary. A cloud copy is already away from home. A household with a cloud backup for the phone and a drive for the computer has one of each.

Unplugged. A CISA paper on home and office backups, written for US-CERT in 2012, says to disconnect removable media once the backup is done, and warns that rolling backups "can silently propagate any corruption or malware" from your files into the copies (CISA, Data Backup Options, PDF). It also notes that backups kept on the computer's own internal drive are lost with that drive. The habit that follows: plug the drive in to back up, eject it, unplug it, and put it away. Time Machine resumes its schedule when you plug the drive back in. Convention

The reason that matters is ransomware: harmful software that locks or scrambles your files and then demands payment to unlock them. CISA's ransomware guide says to keep backups offline because many kinds of ransomware try to find and delete or encrypt any backups they can reach (CISA, #StopRansomware Guide). An offline copy is one the computer cannot reach right now, such as a drive in a drawer. If you think a computer has been infected, do not plug the backup drive into it. When something goes wrong covers what to do next.

6. See it See it

Free pages that show these steps in each company's own words:

• Apple Support, What does iCloud back up?: the sync-or-backup split in Apple's words, with what the backup includes.
• Google One Help, How your Google storage works: what counts toward the shared 15 GB.
• Microsoft Support, Backup and restore with File History: setup and restore of earlier versions on Windows.

7. Practice Practice

Minimum: the phone's backup on, its last backup date read, the two storage numbers in the calculator, and one photo opened from the copy away from the phone, all written on the backup sheet. Time: about 30 minutes for a phone or tablet; about 30 more for each computer, plus a day for the first File History or Time Machine backup to run. Materials: the phone, tablet or computer; a Wi-Fi connection and a charger; for a computer, an external drive (at least twice the Mac's storage for Time Machine); your Apple or Google Account sign-in; and the backup sheet, which is essential on a first pass.

1. Turn on the phone's backup. Follow the steps for iPhone and iPad or Android, and tap the button that backs up now.
2. Read the date. Write the last backup date on the backup sheet, in the row for that device.
3. Find where your photos are. On an iPhone, check the iCloud Photos switch. On Android, check that Google Photos backup is on. Write "synced" or "in the backup" in the photos row.
4. Read the two storage numbers. Storage used on the device, and storage used in the account.
5. Run the calculator. Type the device figure, choose the account the backup goes to, and read the difference. Then compare it with the backup date.
6. Open one photo from the cloud copy. Use iCloud.com or photos.google.com, and check it is the photo you chose.
7. Set up the computer backup. If you have a Windows computer or a Mac, turn on File History or Time Machine and save a Restore test document. On a Chromebook, move files you want to keep from Downloads to My Drive.
8. Restore the test file the next day. Follow the steps for your computer, open the file, then eject and unplug the drive.
9. Write the dates. Last backup and file restored, for each device, and tick the restore test checklist.

8. Your setup Your setup

The box below reads the devices you saved and how you said you back up now. It shows the backup, storage and restore steps for those devices only.

9. Check your work Check your work

Criteria

• Does each phone or tablet show a last backup date from the past few days, and is that date on the backup sheet?
• Can you say, for your photos, whether they are synced or inside the backup?
• Have you compared the storage the backup needs with the free amount in the account it actually uses?
• If you have a Windows computer or a Mac, is File History or Time Machine on, with the drive ejected and unplugged after the backup?
• Have you opened one file from each backup, and written the date you did it?
• Is any password or code written on the sheet? It should say where a backup password is kept, not the password.

Worked example

Ruth's sheet (fictional) has a photos row and a settings row for her iPhone 13. The settings row shows iCloud Backup with that Saturday's date. The photos row shows iCloud Photos, marked synced, with the same date under file restored. The computer rows are not needed: she has no computer. That meets the criteria for her setup: a current date, the photos question answered, the calculator run against the right 5 GB, and one file opened. Under these assumptions, mainly that the phone keeps charging on Wi-Fi at night and that iCloud has room, the backup will keep running. The date she reads next season settles whether it did. The sheet does not settle whether one synced copy of her photos is the right plan for her; that is her choice.

Common mistakes

• Counting a synced folder as a backup. iCloud Photos, Google Photos, OneDrive folders and My Drive copy deletions to every device. Ask of each copy: if I delete the original, does this copy go too?
• Testing by erasing the phone. A phone backup restores a whole device. Test with one photo from the cloud copy instead.
• Choosing the wrong free amount. An iPhone with a Gmail address backs up to iCloud's 5 GB, not Google's 15 GB.
• Using Restore on Windows for a test. It replaces the current version. Use Open in File History, or Restore to... a different folder.
• Leaving the drive plugged in. A connected drive can be reached by the same software that damages the computer's files. Eject it and put it away.
• Keeping work in a Chromebook's Downloads folder. The Chromebook may clear it to make space. Move files to My Drive.

What is still unresolved

This chapter does not settle how often you should test, beyond our once-a-season suggestion. It does not settle whether you should pay for more storage, keep a second copy of your photos, or buy a drive; those are your choices, and we recommend no product or plan. It cannot tell you what a company will do with an account that stays full (Google's rule is stated above; we found none for OneDrive files). If a computer may already be infected, When something goes wrong covers the next steps, and a repair shop you trust or the computer's maker settles what the infection did. Organizing and scanning family photos in depth is outside this manual.

10. Knowledge check and scenario

Checklist

• My phone's or tablet's backup is on, and its last backup date is on the backup sheet.
• I know whether my photos are synced or inside the backup.
• I compared the storage the backup needs with the free amount in the account it uses.
• If I have a Windows computer or a Mac, File History or Time Machine is on, and the drive is unplugged after each backup.
• I opened one file from each backup and wrote the date on the backup sheet.
• A second copy is set up for the rows that matter most, one of them on a drive kept unplugged. (Go deeper; optional)
• An encrypted computer backup of my iPhone or iPad is made, and I wrote where its password is kept. (Go deeper; optional)