icloud as backup or sync: which one?

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Bob593251 Author

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icloud as backup or sync: which one?

I just had a rather bizarre meeting at the local genius bar.

The bod several times told me that icloud only synchronizes, does not back-up. Is that correct?

From what I think he told me, it was a bit vague:

Real data is held on the computer / iphone, ie., actual bytes and code.
Icloud only contains links to the data on the computer / iphone, and in the case of photos or pdfs, a very low resolution copy of the photo so you can recognise it but not much more.
When I synchronise computer and iphone, icloud scans my devices and creates links to every file.
Then I can download a file from computer to iphone and vice versa.

I am planning to reinstall my operating system on mac, so this is important as I do not want to lose data. Can you please advise. In the meantime I will backup to my portable.

Posted on Mar 4, 2023 09:46 PM

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FoxFifth

Community+ 2025

Level 10

475,041 points

Mar 5, 2023 08:13 AM in response to Bob593251

With both iCloud Backup and with synced data (iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive), iCloud contains the complete file or photo. It is your phone or computer, not iCloud, that may maintain the low resolution copy of the photo or the link for the file. That depends on how whether you have turned on Optimize Storage options for photos and/or iCloud Drive files and also depends on the space available on the device.

Apple offers iCloud Backup for iPhones and iPads but not for Mac computers.

It is possible to sync data from a Mac to iCloud if you turn on those options (e.g., iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive including the Desktop & Documents option). Syncing has some of the benefits of a backup (and the benefit of being offsite) but is not the same as a backup. Major differences include the fact that not everything on your Mac can be synced and the fact that if you delete something, accidentally or otherwise, there is only a limited time period (30 days in most cases) during which it can be recovered.

Also see the Apple article: How to back up your Mac - Official Apple Support

And more information on syncing in:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

and

Access and manage your files in iCloud Drive - Apple Support

and

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

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icloud as backup or sync: which one?

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