iCloud How does Apple make sure that iCloud data is save?

[K4sper]

I was wondering if I should backup my data besides iCloud Drive. I have the 2tb Plan and it makes perfectly sense to me. But I realized that if i want to store everything for an emergency at apple at home... I have no idea how I shall do it since I have more data in the cloud than storage on the Mac.
I read that Time Machine does not backup files that are only saved online.

Does anyone know how apple makes sure that they will never lose our data?

 

[Julien]

You can never have too much money, too much closet space or too many backups.

 

[0128672]

I was wondering if I should backup my data besides iCloud Drive. I have the 2tb Plan and it makes perfectly sense to me. But I realized that if i want to store everything for an emergency at apple at home... I have no idea how I shall do it since I have more data in the cloud than storage on the Mac.
I read that Time Machine does not backup files that are only saved online.

Does anyone know how apple makes sure that they will never lose our data?

It's wise to have 2-3 different backup methods for your Mac. That may include Time Machine onto multiple external drives, and/or other backup software (such as Carbon Copy Cloner) onto external drives, and other cloud services. There are other backup methods as well depending on your budget and the size of the data to be backed up.

Here's an Apple Support article about Time Machine backups:

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Automatically back up what's important: Photos, email, music, and more.

support.apple.com

Apple does not guarantee data stored in Cloud. Here's the legal agreement:

Legal - iCloud - Apple

iCloud Terms & Conditions

www.apple.com

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you are wanting to create a backup of data stored in your iCloud account, there are two ways to go about it.

The first method doesn't allow you to backup every single bit of data, especially from third party apps etc. It is Apple's rudimentary method that is rather limited.

Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

Learn how to archive or make copies of the information that you use with iCloud.

support.apple.com

The best and easiest option to backup everything in your iCloud account is to go to appleid.apple.com > log in > scroll down to Data and Privacy > Manage Data > Get a copy of your data. You can pick which data you want to download (if not all of it). It will take Apple a few days to confirm your identity. Once they do, they will email you informing you that your download is ready. The files are nearly organized into folders and then the large download file is zipped.

I have done this method several times and it works well. Once you download the zip files, you can store them on external drives.

 

[K4sper]

If you are wanting to create a backup of data stored in your iCloud account, there are two ways to go about it.

The first method doesn't allow you to backup every single bit of data, especially from third party apps etc. It is Apple's rudimentary method that is rather limited.

Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

Learn how to archive or make copies of the information that you use with iCloud.

support.apple.com

The best and easiest option to backup everything in your iCloud account is to go to appleid.apple.com > log in > scroll down to Data and Privacy > Manage Data > Get a copy of your data. You can pick which data you want to download (if not all of it). It will take Apple a few days to confirm your identity. Once they do, they will email you informing you that your download is ready. The files are nearly organized into folders and then the large download file is zipped.

I have done this method several times and it works well. Once you download the zip files, you can store them on external drives.

Thank you a lot that is an actual solution I guess that’s a really handy solution many people could make use of. I’ll try it.

 

[RazvanClaudiu1]

I was wondering if I should backup my data besides iCloud Drive. I have the 2tb Plan and it makes perfectly sense to me. But I realized that if i want to store everything for an emergency at apple at home... I have no idea how I shall do it since I have more data in the cloud than storage on the Mac.
I read that Time Machine does not backup files that are only saved online.

Does anyone know how apple makes sure that they will never lose our data?

I don't know the specifics but I'm pretty sure they have backups to their backups. Reputation means a lot in the cloud storage space and losing data, especially for commercial customers, is a huge reputation loss.

I do have a 4TB hard drive as my backup but I trust my iCloud backup more. So far, none (Google Drive, AWS, iCloud, iDrive) ever failed me. I have backup data from 14 years ago on some services and they're still running fine.

 

[Puonti]

I don't know the specifics but I'm pretty sure they have backups to their backups. Reputation means a lot in the cloud storage space and losing data, especially for commercial customers, is a huge reputation loss.

I do have a 4TB hard drive as my backup but I trust my iCloud backup more. So far, none (Google Drive, AWS, iCloud, iDrive) ever failed me. I have backup data from 14 years ago on some services and they're still running fine.

It's great that you have that backup drive! A single copy of a file is not a backup even if it's stored on something you consider "backup media".

I'm sure the cloud providers have their own backups, too. That said, those backups are not under your control so no one should count them as part of their personal backup strategy. Let's say you lose access to your Apple ID for whatever reason - now what? Or let's say they have "just a tiny glitch" in their system and lose "just a couple" of your files with no recovery possible. Sure, it's going to be bad for their reputation, but how does that help you? The files are lost.

Is it unlikely? Sure, but the point is - just because something's unlikely doesn't mean you're going to be happy if it happens. "Well, it worked great for 15 years! I guess I can't be too sour about losing my digital diary."

 

[400]

I suppose it is what price you have on your info. I use iCloud as a convenience for access and not as a sole means for backup. It is part of a larger plan but it is part of the larger plan I can lose with no loss to myself.
I work on the premise that something will fail. That might be as simple as a password issue and you lose access. To that end I work across multiple systems trying to remove the single point of failure within my means (only have pockets so deep). Few hard drives, 2 cloud and off site hard drives. And some decent software to manage it.

Price I place on my info is the photos, a lot I cannot replace.