Is it redundant to back up my iPhone AND save all my data to iCloud?

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Level 1

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Is it redundant to back up my iPhone AND save all my data to iCloud?

I want to make sure that if anything happens to my phone or computers, that all my data is safe in the cloud and can be restored on a new device(s) if it is ever lost or removed locally.

I'm curious the best way to do this without redundancy in iCloud.

When I look at my iCloud settings, I can select which data I want to save to the cloud (i.e. Messages, Photos, Mail, Notes etc). I can also select the same categories when creating an iPhone backup.

Is it redundant to do both? Take for example Photos...

Say that I have 50GB of photos on my iPhone. If I select "Photos" in my iCloud settings AND I also back up my iPhone to iCloud (with Photos selected). Have I just added 100GB of photos and duplicated my photo library in iCloud?

If that's true, does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to manage my data? I just want to know my data is safe and I am able to access it easily and not lose anything if and when I need to access something I've deleted or lost locally and restore it to a new device.

Thanks!

iPhone XR, iOS 12

Posted on May 1, 2019 2:11 PM

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Answer 1

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FoxFifth

Level 10

472,095 points

May 1, 2019 2:25 PM in response to joe_g_1381

Personally I sync everything possible via the options at Settings > [username] > iCloud (e.g., iCloud Photos, Contacts, Notes, etc.). That has the advantages that 1) I can use a computer and log into iCloud.com and verify that the data is actually there (can't do that for data in a backup) and 2) it can sync to my other devices if desired (which a backup cannot).

That leaves, for me, very little data in my iCloud Backup. Note the following from What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

Your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch backup only include information and settings stored on your device. It doesn’t include information already stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos3, shared photos, iCloud Photos, Health data, call history4, and files you store in iCloud Drive.

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Answer 2

razmee209

Level 10

193,692 points

May 1, 2019 2:27 PM in response to joe_g_1381

You sync contacts, calendar, notes, photos to icloud. So when you log into icloud.com on a web browser you can view it there. What you do to that data on one device will reflect on the other.

if you use icloud photo library, it isn't part of the icloud backup.

here is what icloud backs up What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

Is it redundant to sync and back up to icloud - the answer is no.

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