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Can I backup (not move) all my files on my mac (documents + all photos, videos, music) using iCloud?

I never get around to backing up to an external drive. I pay for iCloud because I thought it backed up all the files on my mac mini. I don't want to only store files in the cloud - I want them on my mac but also have copies in icloud in case my hard drive crashes or is stolen. Everything I read either talks about syncing a phone or talks about storing my mac files on icloud instead of on my mac hard drive. Can someone explain? thanks.

Mac mini

Posted on Aug 3, 2023 7:01 PM

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Posted on Aug 3, 2023 8:21 PM

the confusing part is that iCloud is a little bit of both. iCloud backups can be turned on on an iPhone or iPad. The device will then create a backup of any data not already in iCloud for restoration should the device be lost, reset, etc.


but, iCloud is primarily a synchronization service to keep your photos and files in sync across all of your devices. A number of folks use backup liberally but the distinction is important as changes to files in iCloud reflect across all devices immediately, backups are immutable.


so, yes. If someone had your device, and gained access to it by knowing your passcode, they could delete photos, call friends, etc. That’s why Apple encourages using strong passwords and passcodes as well as Touch ID or Face ID. It’s also a reason to keep a backup. It’s improbable that someone would gain access, and they have only 10 attempts before the device is locked. Resetting your device or erasing it through FindMy would not erase your iCloud data, just that on device.


an option may be to enable Time Machine on your Mac to make automatic backups of your system. You can even backup external drives connected to your Mac. The gold standard is 3 copies of your data, made 2 ways, with 1 copy kept offsite. So Time Machine is a good automatic option but you might also add a manual backup from time to time too.


you can load all of your pictures into the photos app too and sync those across devices.

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 3, 2023 8:21 PM in response to VTBren

the confusing part is that iCloud is a little bit of both. iCloud backups can be turned on on an iPhone or iPad. The device will then create a backup of any data not already in iCloud for restoration should the device be lost, reset, etc.


but, iCloud is primarily a synchronization service to keep your photos and files in sync across all of your devices. A number of folks use backup liberally but the distinction is important as changes to files in iCloud reflect across all devices immediately, backups are immutable.


so, yes. If someone had your device, and gained access to it by knowing your passcode, they could delete photos, call friends, etc. That’s why Apple encourages using strong passwords and passcodes as well as Touch ID or Face ID. It’s also a reason to keep a backup. It’s improbable that someone would gain access, and they have only 10 attempts before the device is locked. Resetting your device or erasing it through FindMy would not erase your iCloud data, just that on device.


an option may be to enable Time Machine on your Mac to make automatic backups of your system. You can even backup external drives connected to your Mac. The gold standard is 3 copies of your data, made 2 ways, with 1 copy kept offsite. So Time Machine is a good automatic option but you might also add a manual backup from time to time too.


you can load all of your pictures into the photos app too and sync those across devices.

Aug 3, 2023 7:09 PM in response to VTBren

Here are a few ways you can use iCloud to back up the files on your Mac without moving them off your Mac's hard drive:


- Enable iCloud Drive on your Mac. This will sync files stored in iCloud Drive (like Documents, Desktop, etc) between your Mac and iCloud. The files stay on your Mac but are also stored in iCloud as a backup.


- Use iCloud Photo Library to store your photos and videos in iCloud. Like iCloud Drive, the full resolution versions stay on your Mac but are also stored in iCloud.


- Use iCloud Back Up. This backs up settings, apps, and some files, but not your entire hard drive. It's more for disaster recovery than a full backup.


- Use Time Machine to back up to an external hard drive, and also enable Back Up Automatically to iCloud. This will back up your full Mac disk to the external drive, while also doing a more basic iCloud backup.


So in summary, iCloud Drive and iCloud Photo Library can act as a continuous backup of your important files, while also keeping the full versions locally on your Mac. For a full system backup, Time Machine + iCloud Back Up is a good option. Just be aware iCloud has storage limits, so you may need to pay for additional storage for large backups.

Aug 3, 2023 7:38 PM in response to VTBren

Keep in mind that iCloud is primarily a synchronization service, not a backup. While you can sync photos, music, and file to iCloud through your Mac, you're not making a backup of the files. Should you delete a file, it is deleted everywhere. And, should you need to restore more than files to your computer, or if you accidentally give a device to someone who permanently deletes files or photos, you'll appreciate having a solid backup.

Aug 3, 2023 7:58 PM in response to Jps_13

This all sounds good but I don't see any icloud photo library (unless you mean what is on my iphone) and I don't know what you mean by use iCloud back-up (unless you mean on my phone). I don't see such an option on my mac. I have a lot of photos and videos I downloaded to my mac directly from my real Canon camera (not iphone camera) and the only backup is the media cards for the camera. I'm am looking at my icloud drive on my mac and I'm logged in to icloud thru a browser. What I can see is that my mac mini desktop folders and desktop files are in icloud, so for now I'll just move all my video and photo file folders to the desktop so I know they'll be on icloud too. I know that sounds stupid, but that will do until I can get someone mac savy to come over and help me. When I get a chance (this is what I always say) I'll backup to a external drive. I just want the latest version of files - not every change or all my apps backed up. So I'll probably just go back to occassionally copying files to an external drive so I at least have everything from the last backup and earlier safe. The one time I relied on software to backup my computer it didn't go well. Thanks for laying out the options for me!

Aug 3, 2023 8:04 PM in response to muguy

Thanks for the clarification. What's confusing is there are lots of websites that use the term "back-up" when describing icloud. I'm familiar with other services that sync across devices and changes to one change the other but I didn't know that's how icloud works.


So does this mean if I have a ton of photos and videos on my iphone, which right now all automatically upload to icloud, if someone steals my phone and simply erases it to start over (since the contents are password protected), all my photos in icloud also disappear? Or if I choose to erase my phone if it's stolen, the same is true?? Please clarify - thanks!

Aug 4, 2023 6:11 AM in response to muguy

Thank you so much. I do keep my camera memory cards but it's clearly time I keep an external hard drive connected to use time machine automatically. I'll just have to make sure the ext hard drive is encrypted or password protected. I always feared that if a thief got in my house, they'd steal the computer and ext drive. I keep my ext drive hidden, but I can just use two. I really appreciate the time you took to answer my questions in such detail. You are a wonderful person!

Can I backup (not move) all my files on my mac (documents + all photos, videos, music) using iCloud?

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