How to view the contents of iPhone backups?

I have located some iPhone backup folders on my Mac, some dating back to 2014. I want to see the pictures, videos and other data contained within them, but sadly the only resources I can find online are to purchase third-party applications to do this? Surely there must be a way to do this via Apple, without having to pay for third party applications? I am really confused and would appreciate any support here please.

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Posted on May 9, 2023 12:04 PM

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Posted on May 9, 2023 3:16 PM

MichaelGeorge162 wrote:

Just so I understand, the only way to view the contents is to backup my iPhone now, and then restore from a backup?

This just seems really out-of-character for Apple's focus on being simple and easy to use.

Yup, if you synced data to icloud then you can view it on a web browser.



7 replies

May 9, 2023 1:02 PM in response to MichaelGeorge162

MichaelGeorge162 wrote:

I have located some iPhone backup folders on my Mac, some dating back to 2014. I want to see the pictures, videos and other data contained within them, but sadly the only resources I can find online are to purchase third-party applications to do this? Surely there must be a way to do this via Apple, without having to pay for third party applications? I am really confused and would appreciate any support here please.

Backups can't be viewed.

How to view the contents of iPhone backups?

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