How to back my phone up to icloud

If you use iCloud for backing up your iOS device, then almost all apps you install will have their settings automatically backed up in iCloud on a regular basis. This can be pretty handy in case you restore your iPhone or iPad from a backup because you won’t have to set up all your app preferences again.

But what if you don’t want certain apps to be backed up in iCloud automatically? As it turns out, it’s pretty simple to handpick what apps can or cannot be backed up in iCloud. We will show you how.

Why stop some apps from backing to iCloud?

I can think of several reasons why you wouldn’t want to back up the data of certain apps. Security is one of them.

Saving storage space is probably an even more obvious reason. By handpicking what apps can back up to iCloud, you have more control over how much storage space can be used, and if you are on the free 5 GB plan, then every MB counts.

Related: 8 effective ways to free up iCloud storage on iPhone and Mac

Finally, a small backup file ensures that you can restore it quickly when needed. Plus, having apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and such to back up to iCloud doesn’t make much sense as these apps already store everything on their servers. So, after you set up your device, you can just download these apps and log in with your account details. There isn’t any need to back up such apps to iCloud and unnecessarily increase the backup size.

How to select apps that can be backed up in iCloud

By default, all installed apps are part of your iCloud backup file. Follow these steps to control which apps are permitted to back up to iCloud and which ones aren’t:

1) On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings and tap your name from the top.

2) Tap iCloud.

3) Pick iCloud Backup.

4) Under All Device Backups, choose the device backup.

5) You will now see backup information for your device. Among other details, you will see when the latest backup was made and its size. To start handpicking apps, select Show All Apps.

6) From there, start toggling off apps you don’t want to back up in iCloud. Once you turn off backups for certain apps, you will be asked to confirm you indeed want to turn off backups and delete the data that is currently in iCloud. Tap Turn Off.

Note that apps are sorted by storage used, with the ones using the most storage at the top. iOS also notes how much data is backed up for each app, which gives you a good idea of how much space you can save.

Typically, your photo library is among the apps that use the most storage. Turning off backup for your photo library is an easy way to regain tons of iCloud storage space. But if you do so, remember to back up your photos somewhere else, be it on a different online storage service or maybe locally on your computer.

If you have multiple iPhones or iPads, you’ll have to follow the above steps on each.

Further note that any new app you download will, by default, be a part of the next iCloud backup. So, make sure you follow the above steps periodically to prevent newly downloaded apps from backing up.

With the ever-looming possibility of loosing data due to theft, data corruption, and various other threats of the day, its incredibly important to discuss backing up data on all devices regularly.  Backing up the data on your iPhone is no exception. It cannot only save you should unexpected events occur, but it can also aid in assisting you in restoring your data onto a second device.

This article will explain how to add various attributes to your iCloud backup option so that all desired data can be saved safety to your iCloud account on a nightly basis.  But first, a few basics:

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5 GB of free storage.  This can quickly get eaten up by music and picture files, so if you need to purchase more storage, you may find more information on how to do so here.

What is Automatically backed up by Default?

iCloud automatically backs up the information on your devices—iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch—over Wi-Fi every day when the device is turned on, locked, and connected to a power source. When your iOS device information is backed up in iCloud, you can easily set up a new device or restore information on one you already have.

Here’s what iCloud backs up:

• Purchase history for music, movies, TV shows, apps, and booksYour iCloud backup includes information about the content you purchased, butnot the purchased content itself. When you restore from an iCloud backup, your purchased content is automatically downloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store. Some types of content aren’t downloaded automatically in all countries, and previous purchases may be unavailable if they have been refunded or are no longer available in the store. For more information, see the Apple Support article Availability of iTunes redownloads. Some types of content aren’t available in all countries. For more information, see the Apple Support article What can I buy from the iTunes Store in my country?.
• Photos and videos on your iOS devicesHowever, if you turn on iCloud Photo Library on your iOS device (iOS 8.1 or later) or Mac (OS X v10.10.3 or later), your photos and videos are already stored in iCloud, so they aren’t included in your iCloud backup.
• Device settings
• App data
• Home screen and app organization
• iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup)
• Ringtones
• Visual Voicemail password (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup)
• Health data
• HomeKit configuration