The short answer
A phone backup is a copy of your phone’s data stored somewhere else — in the cloud or on a computer — so you can get everything back if the phone is lost, stolen, broken or replaced. On an iPhone, that means iCloud Backup or a backup to a Mac or Windows PC. On Android, it means backup by Google One to your Google Account, plus the backup options your phone maker provides, such as Samsung Cloud or Smart Switch on a Galaxy phone. Set up automatic backup once, check that it actually ran, and you will rarely have to think about it again — until the day you are very glad you did.
What a backup actually saves — and what it does not
On an iPhone, Apple says iCloud Backup stores information and settings that do not already sync to iCloud: device settings, your Home Screen layout and app organisation, app data, ringtones and Apple Watch backups. Things that already sync to iCloud on their own — Contacts, Calendars, Notes, iCloud Photos and Messages in iCloud, when switched on — are kept safe in iCloud separately and left out of the backup so they are not stored twice.
On Android, Google says you can back up content, data and settings to your Google Account, and restore them to the same phone or to some other Android phones. What is backed up depends on the data types you select, typically photos and videos, and device data such as app data, call history, contacts, device settings and text messages. Google warns you cannot restore a backup from a higher Android version onto a phone running a lower Android version.
Before you start: two quick checks
Check your storage. Every Apple Account starts with 5 GB of free iCloud storage, shared between backups, photos, files and mail, according to Apple Support. That fills up fast on a modern phone, so if your backup is larger than your free space, it will not complete until you free space or buy more storage. Google gives you 15 GB of free storage per Google Account, according to Google Support, shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Photos. Check how much you have before you start, and expect to need more if you keep years of photos.
How to back up an iPhone with iCloud
These steps follow Apple Support’s guide to backing up an iPhone with iCloud, published 24 September 2026 and checked today.
Back up manually right now
- Connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network.
- Open the Settings app, tap your name at the top, then tap iCloud.
- Tap iCloud Backup.
- Tap Back Up Now. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes. The date and time of your last backup appear under Back Up Now.
Turn on automatic backup
- Open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup.
- Make sure Back Up This iPhone is turned on.
Once that switch is on, Apple says iCloud automatically backs up your device when it is turned on, locked, connected to a power source and connected to Wi-Fi. That is the whole secret to never losing data: the phone does it overnight while it charges. If you see an alert saying you do not have enough iCloud storage, follow the on-screen steps to buy more storage or free space first — the backup cannot finish without room.
Back up an iPhone to a computer instead
If you do not want to pay for iCloud storage, back up to a computer: connect the iPhone with a cable, open Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app on a Windows PC, select the iPhone, choose Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this computer, tick Encrypt local backup and click Back Up Now. Encryption matters: without it, saved passwords and Health data are not included. Keep the encryption password somewhere safe — without it, you cannot restore that backup.
How to back up an Android phone with Google
These steps follow Google Support’s guide to backing up an Android device, checked today. Google notes that some steps work only on Android 9 and up, and menu names can vary slightly by phone maker.
Turn on automatic backup
- Open your phone’s Settings app.
- Tap Google, then All services.
- Select the data you want to back up — Photos & videos, Device data, or both.
- Turn Backup on.
Google says your backup can take up to 24 hours to complete, and when your data is saved, “On” will appear below the data types you selected. Automatic backup runs when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi, idle and charging — so, like the iPhone, it mostly happens overnight.
On a Samsung Galaxy phone
Samsung phones add their own routes, documented by Samsung Support and checked today. For a Google backup, go to Settings, tap Accounts and backup, tap Back up data under Google Drive, then tap Back up now. Samsung says Google will automatically back up your phone’s data when it is connected to Wi-Fi, idle and charging for at least two hours. Samsung also offers its own backup under Samsung Cloud on the same screen, though availability varies by country and device. Samsung’s Smart Switch app is a third option: install it on a Windows PC or Mac, connect the phone by cable, open Smart Switch and click Backup for a local copy.
How to check a backup actually worked
On iPhone: go to Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup. The date and time of the last successful backup appear on that screen, under Back Up Now. If the date is old, tap Back Up Now while on Wi-Fi and wait for it to finish. If it fails, the usual cause is storage: check how much iCloud space is free on the same iCloud screen.
On Android: go to Settings, tap Google, tap All services, then tap Backup. The screen shows whether backup is on and when data was last saved; Google says “On” appears below the data types you selected once the data is saved. On a Samsung phone, check Settings, then Accounts and backup, then Back up data under Google Drive or Samsung Cloud.
The real test: on your new or reset phone, sign in to the same Apple Account or Google Account during setup and see whether your apps, settings, photos and messages come back. That is the moment a backup proves itself. Never factory-reset a phone until you have seen a recent successful backup date — a reset wipes the phone, and without a backup there is nothing to restore from.
What to do before selling, trading in or resetting a phone
- Run a fresh manual backup using the steps above, and wait for it to finish. Check the last-backup date.
- Check your photos separately. Open iCloud Photos or Google Photos on another device or on the web and confirm your recent photos are there.
- Sign out and remove the phone from your account. On iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, scroll down, tap the device, and remove it; also turn off Find My before a reset. On Android, remove your Google Account under Settings and then Accounts — but only after the backup is confirmed.
- Now reset. On iPhone, go to Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, and choose Erase All Content and Settings. On Android, go to Settings, then System, then Reset options, then Erase all data (factory reset). Menu names vary by maker, so search Settings for “reset” if you cannot find it.
- Check the backup again from another device. After the reset, sign in to iCloud.com or your Google Account on a computer and confirm the backup is still listed. Only then hand the phone over.
The bottom line
Backing up a phone takes about five minutes to set up and then looks after itself. Turn on iCloud Backup on an iPhone, or Backup by Google One on Android, check the last-backup date once in a while, and run a fresh backup before you reset, sell or replace the phone. Do a manual backup too before a software update, a holiday, a repair, or any time you have just taken photos you would hate to lose. A good routine is two copies for anything irreplaceable: the automatic cloud backup, plus a computer backup or a second cloud copy for photos. Our guide to what cloud storage is, and how Google Drive, iCloud and OneDrive compare explains where each of those copies lives, and our guide to iPhone settings to check after an iOS update is worth a read after any update, because updates sometimes change backup and sync settings without asking. The people who lose everything are almost never the people who never heard of backups. They are the people who meant to set one up and never got round to it.