Backing up your Mac is simple and important. We recommend it for everyone.

Back up with Time Machine

Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of your Mac. It’s a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well.

Protect your data with IDrive’s Free Online Backup. IDrive’s free online backup plan helps you to protect precious data from all your devices. IDrive offers a Basic Plan with 5 GB free online storage. The plan is free for the lifetime of your account and you don’t need a credit card to get started. A slew of Web services offer affordable online backup for your Mac including Backblaze, Mozy, Carbonite, JungleDisk, Dropbox, and CrashPlan. These services are often simple to use as well: you. The folder of Time Machine backups on Mac is used for keeping the updated copy of the files in your device. However, you can face one problem with everyday backups. When the software is regularly backing up different files, they can cover up much amount of space of your Mac. For the newer backups, you have to free up the storage space.

Store files in iCloud

You can also use iCloud and iCloud Drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music.

Restore your Mac from a backup

When you have a backup, you can use it to restore your files at any time, including after the original files are deleted from your Mac.

Prepare your Mac for service

Making a backup is an important part of preparing your Mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive.

How much space do I need for a backup?

To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac.

Related topics

Free up storage on your Mac

macOS can save space by storing your content in the cloud. This isn't a backup, but it includes new tools to make it easier to find and remove large or unwanted files before you make a backup.

Erase or format a storage device

You can use Disk Utility if you need to erase or format a storage device.

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If you can't back up your Mac

We'll find the best support options for you.

Find backups stored on your Mac or PC

To avoid ruining any of your backup files, here's what you should know:

• The Finder and iTunes save backups to a Backup folder. The location of the Backup folder varies by operating system. Though you can copy the Backup folder, you should never move it to a different folder, external drive, or network drive.
• Don't edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files, because these actions might ruin the files. For example, to restore from a relocated backup file, you need to move it back or the file won't work. Backups serve as a safe copy of your entire device. So while you might be able to view or access a backup file's contents, the contents usually aren't stored in a format that you can read.

Backups on your Mac

To find a list of your backups:

1. Click the magnifier icon in the menu bar.
2. Type or copy and paste this: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
3. Press Return.

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To find a specific backup:

1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Click your device.
2. In the Finder, under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Show in Finder, or you can select Delete or Archive. In iTunes, choose Preferences, then click Devices. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Show in Finder, or you can select Delete or Archive.
   
3. Click OK when you're finished.
   

Backups in Windows 7, 8, or 10

To find a list of your backups, go to Users(username)AppDataRoamingApple ComputerMobileSyncBackup

You can also use these steps:

1. Find the Search bar:
   • In Windows 7, click Start.
   • In Windows 8, click the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner.
   • In Windows 10, click the Search bar next to the Start button.
     
2. In the Search bar, enter %appdata% or %USERPROFILE% (if you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store).
   
3. Press Return.
   
4. Double-click these folders: 'Apple' or 'Apple Computer' > MobileSync > Backup.

Delete or copy backups on your Mac or PC

Don't edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files, because these actions might ruin the files. Use the following sections to make copies of your backups or delete backups that you no longer need.

Copy backups to another location

If you need copies of your backups, you can find the Backup folder and copy the entire folder (not just part of it) to another place, like an external drive or network-storage location.

When you use Time Machine, it automatically copies your Backup folder when you back up the Home folder on your Mac.

Delete backups

1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Click your device.
2. In the Finder, under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then select Delete or Archive. In iTunes, choose Preferences, then click Devices. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Delete or Archive. Click OK when you're finished.
3. Click Delete Backup, then confirm.
   

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Locate and manage backups stored in iCloud

If you use iCloud Backup, you won't find a list of your backups on iCloud.com. Here's how to find your iCloud backups on your iOS or iPadOS device, Mac, or PC.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

• Using iOS 11 or later and iPadOS, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups.
• Using iOS 10.3, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap the graph that shows your iCloud usage, then tap Manage Storage.

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Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up, or delete the backup.

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You can choose which content to back up only from the Settings menu of the device that stores that content. For example, while you can view your iPad backup from your iPhone, you can choose which iPad content to back up only from the Settings menu of your iPad.

On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later:

1. Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences.
2. Click Apple ID.
3. Click iCloud.
4. Click Manage.
5. Select Backups.

On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier:

1. Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences.
2. Click iCloud.
3. Click Manage.
4. Select Backups.

On your PC:

1. Open iCloud for Windows
2. Click Storage.
3. Select Backup.

Best Way To Back Up My Mac

Learn more about how to delete or manage iCloud backups from your Mac or PC.

Learn more

Online Backups For Mac

• Learn the difference between iCloud and iTunes backups.
• Follow steps to back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• Learn about encrypted backups in iTunes.