How to back up your phone (iPhone and Android) so you never lose your photos
Phones get lost, stolen and broken. A backup takes a few minutes to set up and can save years of photos, messages and contacts.
Your phone holds years of photos, messages and contacts. If it’s lost, stolen or dropped in water, all of that can disappear in seconds. A backup takes a few minutes to set up and then works automatically. Here’s how to do it on iPhone and Android.
Back up an iPhone
Option 1: iCloud (automatic)
- Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud, then iCloud Backup.
- Turn on Back Up This iPhone.
Your iPhone will back up automatically when it’s charging, locked and connected to Wi-Fi. Apple gives 5 GB of free iCloud storage, which fills up quickly with photos, so you may need a paid iCloud+ plan.
Option 2: Your computer (free)
Connect your iPhone to a computer. On a Mac, open Finder and select your iPhone. On Windows, use the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older systems). Choose Back up now. Ticking “Encrypt local backup” also saves passwords and health data.
Back up an Android phone
- Open Settings.
- Go to Google → Backup, or search Settings for “Backup”. The exact location varies by phone brand.
- Turn on backup to your Google account and tap Back up now.
This saves app data, contacts, call history, settings and SMS messages. Google accounts include 15 GB of free storage, shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Samsung phones also offer their own backup option in Samsung settings.
Don’t forget your photos
Photos are usually the most precious, and largest, part of your phone.
- Google Photos (iPhone and Android): turn on Backup in the app’s settings to save photos to your Google account.
- iCloud Photos (iPhone): turn it on in Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos.
- Computer or external drive: copy your photos every few months for an extra copy you control.
WhatsApp needs its own backup
Your phone backup may not include WhatsApp chats. In WhatsApp, go to Settings → Chats → Chat backup and choose automatic daily or weekly backups. iPhone backups go to iCloud and Android backups go to Google. You can also protect the backup with end-to-end encryption.
A backup you never tested is just a hope. Check once that your photos are really there.
The 3-2-1 rule for things you can’t lose
For truly important files, such as family photos or work documents, professionals follow the 3-2-1 rule:
- 3 copies of your data
- on 2 different types of storage (for example, cloud and an external drive)
- with 1 copy kept somewhere else (the cloud counts)
Quick checklist
- Turn on iCloud Backup or Google backup
- Turn on photo backup
- Turn on WhatsApp chat backup
- Check your storage isn’t full
- Open your backup once to confirm it worked
