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What is the best way to back up photos and videos?
The best way to back up photos and videos is two copies: automatic cloud upload from your phone, plus a regular copy on an external drive at home. The cloud covers loss and theft, and the drive covers account problems and slow downloads. Videos need extra space, so size your plan for them.
Photos and videos behave differently. A photo is a few megabytes, while ten minutes of 4K video can use several gigabytes. This guide shows one method that handles both, across phones and computers.
| Copy | Where | How often | Protects against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Phone or computer | Live | Nothing on its own |
| Cloud copy | Google Photos, iCloud or similar | Continuous on Wi-Fi | Loss, theft, breakage, fire |
| Local copy | External drive or NAS | Monthly | Account lockout, accidental deletion |
What do you need before you start?
You need a cloud plan sized for your library plus two years of growth, an external drive at least twice your library size and a computer to manage the drive copy. Phone-only users can use a phone flash drive instead.
To estimate size, open your phone’s storage settings and look at Photos. Videos usually take most of the space. If your library is 200 GB today, a 2 TB cloud plan and a 1 TB drive leave plenty of room.
Step 1: set up automatic cloud upload
- Install or open Google Photos or iCloud Photos on each phone.
- Turn on backup or sync and choose original quality.
- Allow upload over mobile data only if your plan is unlimited. Otherwise use Wi-Fi.
- On computers, install the desktop app and include your Pictures and Videos folders.
For full phone steps, see back up photos from your phone. For service choices, see the cloud photo storage hub.
Grab the free one-page 3-2-1 checklist so you can confirm every copy, every schedule and every restore test. It arrives by email in a minute.
Get the free checklistStep 2: make the local copy on a drive
- Download your library to a computer. Use the Photos app on a Mac, iCloud for Windows or Google Takeout.
- Copy the folder to an external drive, organised by year.
- Eject the drive and store it away from the computer.
- Repeat monthly, copying only new months.
Our guide to backing up files to an external hard drive explains automatic tools that copy only changes.
Handling large video files
Videos are the main reason photo backups fail. They pause on mobile data, fill free tiers and take hours to upload. A few settings solve most problems.
- Upload videos on Wi-Fi only, overnight while charging.
- Check the service’s maximum file size before relying on it for long clips.
- Delete failed takes and duplicates before upload to save space.
- Consider a service built for video, covered in video cloud storage.
Our dedicated guide to backup videos goes deeper on phone video settings.
Common mistakes and fixes
| Mistake | Result | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Only one copy in the cloud | Lockout or deletion loses everything | Add a monthly drive copy |
| Videos excluded by default | Clips never upload | Check video backup settings |
| Drive left plugged in | Ransomware or power surge risk | Eject after each copy |
| Storage saver quality | Compressed originals | Use original quality |
| No check for months | Silent failures | Check backup quarterly |
How to verify both copies
Open the cloud library on the web and play a recent video at full quality. Then plug in the drive, open a random folder and play one clip. If both work, your two copies are healthy.
Write the date on a note inside the drive folder. It makes the monthly routine easy to track. For the wider plan, see the 3-2-1 backup rule.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to back up photos and videos?
Photos upload fast, but videos take much longer. A library with several hundred gigabytes of video can take days on a typical home connection. Copying to an external drive over USB is far quicker, often under an hour for the same library.
What do I need before I back up photos and videos?
You need a cloud plan with space for your library plus growth, Wi-Fi, a charger and an external drive at least twice your library size. Check your current photo and video size in storage settings, and turn on two-factor login for your cloud account.
What are common mistakes with photo and video backup?
The most common mistakes are keeping only one copy, excluding videos, using compressed quality and leaving the backup drive plugged in permanently. Another is never checking whether uploads finished. A quick quarterly check catches most problems before they cost you memories.
Should I back up videos to the cloud or a drive?
Use both. The cloud protects videos from loss and theft and lets you watch them anywhere. A drive gives a fast, cheap local copy and protects against account problems. For huge libraries, the drive is often the primary archive and the cloud holds the best clips.
How do I back up photos and videos without a computer?
Use automatic cloud upload on the phone, then add a second copy with a second app or a phone flash drive. Many flash drives with phone connectors include apps that copy the camera roll. Our phone backup storage guide compares these options.
Our Start Here guide shows the three steps every setup needs, in plain English. Cannot find a guide for your phone, app or drive? Request a guide and we will write it.
Start hereSources
