Your photos are probably the most irreplaceable thing on your phone or computer. Unlike a broken screen or a failing hard drive, there’s no fix for lost memories, only prevention.

The good news is that backing up photos is easier than most people expect. Here’s how to do it on the most common devices.

iPhone and iPad (using iCloud)

iCloud Photos is the simplest option for iPhone users. Once switched on, every photo you take is automatically uploaded to Apple’s servers and available on all your Apple devices.

How to turn it on:

Open Settings
Tap your name at the top
Tap iCloud
Tap Photos
Turn on Sync this iPhone (previously called “iCloud Photos”)

Once enabled, your photos upload over Wi-Fi whenever your phone is charging. You don’t need to do anything else.

The catch: iCloud gives you 5 GB free, which fills up quickly if you take a lot of photos. After that, you’ll need to pay for more storage:

50 GB costs 99p/month
200 GB costs £2.99/month

Most people find 50 GB plenty for photos. It’s one of the best £1/month investments for peace of mind.

Check it’s working: Open the Photos app, then tap the cloud icon at the bottom. It should say “All photos are backed up” or show a progress bar.

Android phones (using Google Photos)

Google Photos is the equivalent for Android. It backs up photos automatically and includes basic editing tools as well.

How to set it up:

Download Google Photos from the Play Store if it’s not already installed (most Android phones have it)
Open the app and sign in with your Google account
Tap your profile picture (top right) > Photos settings > Backup
Turn Backup on
Choose your backup quality, “Storage saver” is fine for most people

Google gives you 15 GB free across your whole Google account (photos, Gmail, Drive). After that, it’s part of Google One:

100 GB costs £1.59/month

Check it’s working: In Google Photos, look for the small cloud icon with a tick. It should say “Backup is on” and show the last backup time.

Windows computers (photos stored on your PC)

If you have photos saved on a Windows computer, in the Pictures folder, on the Desktop, or imported from a camera, you need a different approach.

Option 1: External hard drive (one-off backup)

Plug in an external hard drive (available from any electronics shop, from around £40 for a 1 TB drive) and copy your Photos folder onto it.

This gives you a physical backup separate from your computer. Store the drive somewhere other than next to your PC, a different room, or a drawer at work.

Limitation: this only backs up what you’ve copied at that moment. You’d need to repeat it regularly.

Option 2: OneDrive (automatic, continuous)

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage, built into Windows. It can automatically back up your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders.

How to set it up:

Click the white or blue cloud icon in the taskbar (bottom right), or search for “OneDrive” in the Start menu
Sign in with your Microsoft account (the same one you use for Windows)
Click the OneDrive icon > Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup
Switch on Desktop, Documents, and Pictures

Microsoft gives you 5 GB free. A Microsoft 365 subscription (£5.99/month, which also includes Word, Excel, and Outlook) gives you 1 TB.

The most important thing: check it’s actually working

Many people think they have a backup but they don’t, the backup hasn’t run, the storage ran out, or it was never set up properly.

After setting up any backup, check it:

For iCloud: Photos app > cloud icon > should say “All photos backed up”
For Google Photos: tap your profile > “Photos settings” > “Backup” > see last backup time
For OneDrive: hover over the taskbar icon > should say “Up to date”

If something’s not right, it’s much better to find out now than after something goes wrong.

If you’re not sure whether your photos are backed up, or you’d like help setting one of these up, get in touch. It takes about twenty minutes to set up properly, and it’s the kind of thing worth getting right.

How to Back Up Your Photos