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How to back up your photos, phone and files: a simple plan that survives anything

TUREFF• •0
Most people discover how good their backups are on the worst possible day: a phone dropped in the sea, a laptop stolen, a drive that will not spin up, or a screen demanding ransom for their own files. A sound backup plan takes an afternoon to set up and then mostly runs itself. This guide covers the whole household, not just one computer.

The 3-2-1 rule

The long-standing rule of thumb is:
  • 3 copies of anything important: the original plus two backups.
  • 2 different types of storage, such as a computer's drive and an external drive, or a drive and a cloud service.
  • 1 copy somewhere else, away from your home, so a fire, flood or burglary cannot take everything at once.
You do not need to apply it to everything. Apply it to what you cannot replace: photos, videos, documents, creative work and anything you would need for tax or legal matters.

Sync is not backup

This is the most important idea in this guide. Services that keep a folder or your photo library in sync across devices are convenient, but they copy mistakes as faithfully as they copy files. Delete a photo on your phone and it disappears from the cloud too. If ransomware encrypts a synced folder, the encrypted versions sync up. What protects you is version history and a separate copy:
  • Check whether your cloud service keeps deleted files and previous versions, and for how long.
  • Keep at least one backup that sync cannot touch, such as an external drive you disconnect afterwards.

Cloud or external drive?

Use both; they cover each other's weaknesses. Cloud storage
  • Off-site automatically, so it covers fire and theft.
  • Works without you remembering to plug anything in.
  • Depends on your account: use a strong password and two-factor authentication, or a stolen login means stolen photos.
  • Ongoing cost, and restoring a lot of data can be slow.
External drives
  • One-off cost, fast to back up and restore.
  • Under your control, with no account to lose.
  • Drives fail eventually, and a drive kept next to the computer shares its fate in a fire or burglary. Replace old drives before they become a worry.

Phones

  • iPhone: turn on iCloud Backup (Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup), or back up to a computer with Finder or the Apple Devices app.
  • Android: turn on the phone's backup to your Google account in Settings (usually under Google or System, then Backup). Some manufacturers also offer their own backup.
  • Photos: photo services such as iCloud Photos and Google Photos keep your library in the cloud, but remember they sync. Download a full copy of your library to a drive every few months.
  • Chat apps often back up separately. Check WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk or whatever you use, because a phone backup may not include its history.
  • Two-factor authentication apps: make sure your codes are backed up or transferable, or you could lock yourself out of everything else.

Computers

Both Windows and macOS have built-in backup tools. On a Mac, Time Machine backs up to an external drive automatically. On Windows, the built-in backup and File History cover your files; a separate guide on this site covers them step by step. A cloud backup service that keeps versions is a good second layer for either.

Protecting against ransomware

Ransomware encrypts every file it can reach, including drives that are plugged in and folders that sync. So:
  • Keep one backup offline: connect the drive, back up, then disconnect it.
  • Choose cloud backup with version history, so you can roll back to before the attack.
  • Keep systems and apps updated, and be wary of unexpected attachments and download links.

Test your restores

A backup you have never restored from is a hope, not a plan. Every few months:
  1. Pick a few files at random, including a photo and a document.
  2. Restore them from each backup to a different folder.
  3. Open them and check they work.
Also note down, somewhere safe and away from the devices, how to get into each backup: account names, which drive holds what, and where any recovery keys are.

A simple setup for most households

  1. Turn on phone backup and cloud photos on every phone.
  2. Back up each computer automatically to an external drive.
  3. Add a cloud backup with version history for irreplaceable files.
  4. Copy the photo library to a second drive kept elsewhere, such as at work or a relative's.
  5. Test a restore every season.
How do you back up your files? Share your setup, or ask about yours, in the comments.

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