Does Time Machine back up Apple Notes?

[matrix07]

Tries to find a simple way to back up my Notes then realize I have Time Machine backup. Does that include Notes?
I understand that it is backed up on iCloud but like to have another back up source for it just in case.

 

[EuroChilli]

TM backs up everything on your Mac, unless you tell it to exclude something.

 

[Wando64]

Yes, TM backs up everything, but I’ve no idea how one could restore a single note if needed.

 

[matrix07]

but I’ve no idea how one could restore a single note if needed.

Right. But we can restore all of them at once I hope?

 

[Wando64]

Right. But we can restore all of them at once I hope?

Obviously one can restore the entire system, including Notes, but that is not very convenient if the Notes is all that you want to restore.

I have found this article, explaining where Notes are stored.
Assuming this information is correct, this file (with the Notes within) can be restored from TM.

Where are Notes Stored on Mac?

Want to access Notes data on your Mac? Wondering where Notes are stored on the Mac? This article will show you where Notes are stored locally on a Mac and how to access that data. This of course as…

osxdaily.com

 

[chabig]

I understand that it is backed up on iCloud but like to have another back up source for it just in case.

It's fine to be cautious but iCloud is not going to lose your Notes.

 

[JBinPDX]

It's fine to be cautious but iCloud is not going to lose your Notes.

Unless you delete a critical note accidentally from, say, your iPhone. Then *poof* gone on your Mac in the blink of an eye. Yes, I have experience.

Critical data should exist in three places, at least one of which is offsite. Notes app on Mac + TM backup + iCloud = 3 copies, and iCloud qualifies as offsite.

 

[chabig]

Unless you delete a critical note accidentally from, say, your iPhone. Then *poof* gone...

Not really. Deleted notes go to a folder titled "Recently deleted" where they remain for about 30 days before they are permanently gone.

 

[JBinPDX]

Not really. Deleted notes go to a folder titled "Recently deleted" where they remain for about 30 days before they are permanently gone.

Fair enough. I stand corrected. Still a good idea to have three copies of anything critical, though.

 

[chabig]

Yep. No argument from me.

 

[now i see it]

There’s never been a recorded instance where data in iCloud suddenly disappeared. It never happens. There’s too many redundant servers in Apple data centers.
If something is in iCloud- it will never disappear

 

[matrix07]

It's fine to be cautious but iCloud is not going to lose your Notes.

I fear for some syncing corruption or some future iCloud bugs that could make my notes gone. Since I store some of my passwords on Notes it’s better to be careful.

 

[Wando64]

I fear for some syncing corruption or some future iCloud bugs that could make my notes gone. Since I store some of my passwords on Notes it’s better to be careful.

You probably know this already, but Keychain is more secure for passwords.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I fear for some syncing corruption or some future iCloud bugs that could make my notes gone. Since I store some of my passwords on Notes it’s better to be careful.

If you want to backup your Apple Notes, iMazing can extract all the Notes from the backup and then allows you to export as text or PDF. You can also use apps like Joplin and Standard Notes which offer end to end, as a means of having another working copy of Notes.

 

[Pipped]

Unless you delete a critical note accidentally from, say, your iPhone. Then *poof* gone on your Mac in the blink of an eye. Yes, I have experience.

Critical data should exist in three places, at least one of which is offsite. Notes app on Mac + TM backup + iCloud = 3 copies, and iCloud qualifies as offsite.

+1 on this ... my daughter took her new iPhone back to the store to sort out a problem, which they said needed the phone to be wiped to resolve. They checked that everything had been selected to be backed up to iCloud, but when the phone was restarted, her Notes had been wiped..... not just from the phone but also from iCloud and from her Mac - gone, poof. They can't get the data back. She had things saved in Notes whose loss is proving very inconvenient. Not backed up anywhere else.

I had imagined iCloud was sufficient back up, but I've now bought an external SSD hard drive and am backing up the Mac with Time Machine. So yes, save your data in 3 places as @JBinPDX says.

 

[cynics]

Personally I feel iCloud is great. I use it to its fullest extent. However I wouldn't consider it a "back up" at least not the automatically sync'ing functions of it. The reason I feel that way is because the user has a lot of interaction with it, and user interaction is generally what leads to data loss in the first place.

Also consider this, what if someone got your passwords and was able to log into your iCloud account and they deleted all your files and cleared the recently deleted? Might be able to get some of it back...who knows. What if you lost access to your iCloud account entirely because you forgot your log in or you were the victim of identity theft? What if you something did happen to Apple servers, that's completely outside your control.

I keep iCloud functions all turned on. I used iCloud Drive in an area I don't normally access for somethings. I keep a Time Machine backup on a NAS using RAID 1. And I also have a external drive that I'll manually connect and back up important things to in a standard file format. Yep, those pics of me at the bar being too drunk are super safe! Whew!