With World Backup Day upon us, we walk you through
the ways to back up your iPhone or Android phone so that your personal information
remains safe.
by Amer Owaida
In your pocket, you carry a supercomputer that
outperforms all the tech that landed Aldrin and Armstrong on the moon. Although
you may have heard this claim before, it probably never really resonated with
you. Now, if we rephrase that to “you carry a device in your pocket that stores
almost every aspect of your life, from memories in the form of photographs to
personal notes, reminders, passwords and all kinds of sensitive data”, suddenly
it feels a bit more personal.
What if your phone gets locked up by a ransomware
attack, stolen, bricked or even destroyed? Would you lose everything on it, or
do you back it up regularly?
If you don’t back up your phone regularly, then you
should start right now. And since we are celebrating World Backup Day today,
we’re going to walk you through the ways to do it on both iOS and
Android-powered devices.
Backing up
your iOS device
When backing up your iPhone, or any other device
running iOS, you have two main options to choose from. The first option is
storing a backup of your device on your computer or on removable storage
connected to it. If you are running macOS Mojave or an earlier version or
Windows, the process is the same and uses iTunes. First of all, you’ll have to
install Apple’s iTunes software onto your computer, since you will not be able
to manage your device without it (Macs have it installed by default). If you’re
running macOS Catalina, then instead of iTunes you’ll find the option in the
Finder.
To start the process, connect your device to your
computer, using the lightning cable you usually use to charge your device.
You will get a prompt to unlock your device, using
your preferred method (FaceID, TouchID, code). You may also be prompted to
choose to Trust This Computer so your device can sync with it
without a problem.
You then click on your device in iTunes or in
Finder depending on your operating system and proceed with the whole process.
For an extra layer of security, you can choose to encrypt the backup that will
be locally stored on your computer. Now just click on the Back Up Now button
and you’re set to go. While you’re at it you can also choose to back up your
most important data to your iCloud.
This leads us to the other available option, and
that is backing up your iPhone to your iCloud straight from your device. Go to
the settings on your device and tap on your name and then tap on the iCloud
button. Now toggle the iCloud Backup button to turn it on and
then press the Back Up Now option.
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