How to Back Up Your Phone (iPhone and Android) the Right Way

Your phone probably holds years of photos, chats and notes you can't replace. Losing it, breaking it or having it stolen is bad enough. Losing everything on it is far worse. Here's how to set up backups once, so you never have to think about it again.

iPhone

Option 1: iCloud Backup (recommended)

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud.
2. Tap iCloud Backup and turn it on.
3. Your iPhone now backs up automatically when it's charging, locked and on Wi-Fi.

You'll likely need more than the free 5GB of iCloud storage. The cheapest iCloud+ plans are inexpensive and also cover iCloud Photos.

Option 2: Back up to your computer

• Mac: connect your iPhone, open Finder, select it in the sidebar and click Back Up Now.
• Windows: use Apple's Apple Devices app.

Tick Encrypt local backup to include saved passwords and health data. Remember the password, because without it the backup can't be restored.

Photos

Turn on iCloud Photos (Settings → Photos) so photos sync continuously. Or use Google Photos if you prefer.

Android

Google backup (most Android phones)

1. Open Settings, then search for Backup.
2. Turn on Backup by Google One (the wording varies by phone).
3. It backs up apps, call history, contacts, settings and SMS to your Google account.

Photos

Open Google Photos → profile picture → Photos settings → Backup and turn it on. Check that it says Backup complete.

Samsung phones

Samsung phones also offer Samsung Cloud backup for some settings and data. Google's backup is still worth turning on.

WhatsApp needs its own backup

WhatsApp isn't fully covered by your phone's backup:

• iPhone: WhatsApp → Settings → Chats → Chat Backup → back up to iCloud.
• Android: WhatsApp → Settings → Chats → Chat backup → back up to Google Drive.

Set it to back up daily.

Check that it actually worked

This is the step everyone skips:

1. Look at the last backup time in your backup settings. It should be recent.
2. Open Google Photos or iCloud Photos on a computer and check your latest photos are there.
3. Make sure you know your Apple Account or Google password and have two-factor authentication set up with recovery codes saved. Without them, a backup you can't log into is useless.

Go one step further

Cloud backup is one copy. For truly irreplaceable photos and videos, keep a second copy on a computer or external drive too. That's the idea behind the 3-2-1 backup rule.

Running out of space for backups? See how to free up iPhone storage and the best cloud backup services.

Related guides

• How to Transfer Photos From iPhone to a Windows PC (3 Easy Ways)