How to back up your phone photos (iCloud Photos or Google Photos)

▶ Pick your device and tap to watch:

iPhoneabout 1 minAndroidabout 1 min

Turn on automatic photo backup so a lost or broken phone doesn't mean lost memories.

⏱ About 10 minutes · 6 steps · ▶ 2 videos
What you'll need
  • Your phone, connected to Wi-Fi
  • Your Apple Account or Google account
  • Enough cloud storage (both offer a small free amount; more costs a monthly fee)

  1. Choose a service

    iPhone users usually pick iCloud Photos. Android users usually pick Google Photos, which also works on iPhone. Either is fine; pick one and turn it on.

  2. iPhone: turn on iCloud Photos

    Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud > Photos, and turn on Sync this iPhone (called iCloud Photos on older versions).

  3. Android (or iPhone): turn on Google Photos backup

    Open the Google Photos app and sign in. Tap your profile picture or initial at the top right, then Photos settings > Backup, and turn Backup on.

  4. Check your storage

    Apple gives 5 GB of free iCloud storage and Google gives 15 GB shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. A big photo library usually needs a paid plan. Your phone will tell you if you run out.

    💡 Tip: leave the phone on Wi-Fi and charging overnight the first time. Uploading thousands of photos can take a while.

  5. Make sure it worked

    Sign in at icloud.com/photos or photos.google.com on a computer and check that your recent photos are there.

  6. Know what “sync” means

    With iCloud Photos, deleting a photo on one device deletes it everywhere, because it's syncing, not a separate copy. For extra safety, now and then download your favorites to a computer or external drive.

🎉 All done!

Why one copy isn’t enough: read Backups: the 3-2-1 rule. Next, share an album with family.

Want a copy on your computer too? See Getting your phone photos onto a computer.

Photos spread across several phones and accounts? See Get all your photos into one place, without duplicates.

Related game: Tech Term Match. Related explainer: Backups: the 3-2-1 rule .

Official help pages

Steps checked against these pages in October 2026. If a button looks different, look for a similar label.