Guide to setting up automatic cloud backups for your important files, choosing the right backup strategy, and verifying your backups work when you need them.
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Assessing What Needs Backup
Identify your most important files and folders
Start with files that are irreplaceable: photos, personal documents, tax records, creative projects, and work files. The average person has 50-200 GB of truly important data. Don't back up everything — your operating system and apps can be reinstalled, but family photos cannot.
Photos and videos library
Documents, spreadsheets, and personal records
Work projects and creative files
Calculate your total backup storage needs
Add up the size of all folders you want to back up. Check each folder's size in your file manager's properties. Most people need 100-500 GB for essential files. Add 20-30% buffer for growth over the next year. Photos and video typically make up 60-80% of total backup size.
Decide on a backup frequency
For files that change daily (work documents), use continuous or hourly backups. For files that change weekly (photos), daily backups are fine. Continuous backup services upload new and changed files within minutes, using only 1-3% of your bandwidth in the background.
Choosing a Backup Strategy
Understand the 3-2-1 backup rule
Keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 copy offsite. For example: original files on your computer, a local external drive backup, and a cloud backup. This protects against hardware failure, theft, fire, and ransomware simultaneously.
Choose between sync and true backup services
File sync (like cloud storage folders) mirrors changes — if you accidentally delete a file, the deletion syncs too. True backup services keep file history and deleted file recovery for 30-365 days. For real protection, you need a true backup service, not just file sync.
Compare cloud backup service plans
Unlimited backup plans cost $5-10 per month per computer. Storage-based plans charge per GB. If you have under 200 GB to back up, a 2 TB cloud storage plan at $10/month may be enough. For multiple computers or over 500 GB, unlimited per-computer plans are more cost-effective.
Verify the service supports your operating system
Check that the backup service has native apps for every device you own — Windows, Mac, and mobile. Some services only back up computers, not phones. For phone photo backup, you may need a separate service or a provider that covers both desktop and mobile.
Setting Up Cloud Backup
Create your account and install the backup application
Download the app directly from the provider's website. During setup, you'll choose which folders to include. Most backup apps run as a background service that starts automatically with your computer. Installation takes 3-5 minutes.
Select folders and file types to back up
Include your user profile folders: Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Music, and any custom project folders. Exclude temporary files, cache folders, and application data — these can be 10-50 GB of files that don't need backup and just slow down the initial upload.
Configure encryption and security settings
Enable encryption before the first backup starts. Many services offer a private encryption key option — this means even the backup company cannot read your files. Write down the encryption key and store it safely. If you lose this key, your backups become permanently unreadable.
Set bandwidth limits to avoid slowing your internet
In the backup app's settings, limit upload speed to 50-70% of your total upload bandwidth during work hours. Remove the limit overnight for faster initial backup. On a 10 Mbps upload connection, limiting to 5 Mbps leaves enough bandwidth for video calls and browsing.
Start the initial backup and let it complete
The first backup takes the longest since every file must upload. A 200 GB backup on a 10 Mbps upload connection takes roughly 48-72 hours. After the initial backup, only new and changed files upload, which typically takes minutes per day.
Setting Up Local Backup
Connect an external drive for local backup
Buy an external drive with at least 2 times your backup data size. A 2 TB external USB drive costs $50-80. This serves as your second backup copy following the 3-2-1 rule. USB 3.0 drives transfer 500 GB in about 30-40 minutes.
Configure automatic local backup
On Mac, use Time Machine. On Windows, use File History or the built-in backup tool. Set backups to run hourly when the drive is connected. Local backups restore files much faster than cloud — recovering 50 GB takes 10 minutes locally versus 4-12 hours from the cloud.
Store the external drive away from your computer
If possible, keep the backup drive in a different room or take it offsite periodically. A fire, flood, or theft that destroys your computer will likely destroy a backup drive sitting right next to it. Even a different room provides some protection against localized incidents.
Phone and Tablet Backup
Enable automatic phone photo backup
Turn on photo backup in your cloud storage app's settings. Choose 'Original quality' if your storage plan allows it. 'High quality' compressed uploads save about 50% storage space with minimal visible difference. A year of photos typically generates 20-50 GB.
Enable full device backup for your phone
On iOS: Settings > Your Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup. On Android: Settings > System > Backup. Full device backups include app data, settings, and messages. They run automatically nightly when the phone is charging, connected to WiFi, and screen-locked.
Verify contacts and calendars sync to the cloud
Check that your contacts and calendar are syncing to your cloud account, not just stored locally on the device. Go to each app's settings and look for 'Account' — it should show your cloud account, not 'Device' or 'Local.' Locally stored contacts are lost if the phone breaks.
Verification and Maintenance
Test restoring a file from cloud backup
Pick a random file, delete it from your computer, then restore it from the cloud backup. Time how long it takes — single file restores should complete in 1-5 minutes. If the restore fails or the file is corrupted, you need to fix the backup before a real emergency happens.
Verify backup completeness monthly
Log into your backup service's web dashboard monthly and check that the last backup ran recently — within the last 24-48 hours. Verify the total backup size is growing as expected. A backup that stopped running silently is worse than no backup at all because you falsely believe you're protected.
Add new important folders as they appear
When you start a new project or create a new folder for important files, add it to your backup selection. Backup apps don't automatically detect new folders outside the initially selected paths. Check quarterly that new data isn't falling through the cracks.
Review backup retention and version history settings
Check how long your backup service keeps deleted files and previous versions. The default is often 30 days. If you need longer protection against accidental deletion or ransomware, extend it to 90-365 days. Some services charge extra for extended retention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Keep 3 copies of your data on 2 different types of storage with 1 copy stored offsite. In practice: your original files on your computer, a local backup on an external hard drive, and a cloud backup stored in a remote data center. This protects against hardware failure (local backup), fire or theft (cloud backup), and accidental deletion (version history in both). Following this rule means you would need 3 simultaneous failures to lose data.
How much does cloud backup cost per month?
Backblaze offers unlimited computer backup for $7/month or $70/year. iDrive provides 5 TB for $80/year. Google One gives 2 TB for $10/month. For comparison, a 4 TB external hard drive costs $90-120 one-time but lacks offsite protection. Most households with 500 GB to 2 TB of photos, documents, and videos spend $70-120/year for adequate cloud backup.
How long does the first cloud backup take?
With 500 GB of data on a 10 Mbps upload connection, the initial backup takes 4-5 days running continuously. A 50 Mbps upload cuts that to about 1 day. Most backup services run in the background and throttle bandwidth during active use, which extends the timeline. After the initial backup completes, daily incremental backups transfer only changed files, typically 1-5 GB taking 10-30 minutes.
Is cloud sync the same as cloud backup?
No, and confusing the two is a common mistake that leads to data loss. Sync services (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) mirror files in both directions: if you delete a file locally, it deletes from the cloud within seconds. True backup services (Backblaze, Carbonite, iDrive) preserve deleted files for 30 days or longer and keep version history. A sync service protects against hardware failure but not accidental deletion or ransomware.
Do I still need a local backup if I use cloud backup?
Yes. Local backups restore 100x faster than cloud downloads. Restoring 500 GB from the cloud takes 12-24 hours at typical broadband speeds versus 2-3 hours from a local USB 3.0 drive. If your laptop dies before a deadline, a local backup gets you running again in under an hour. Cloud backup is your insurance against physical disasters like fire, flood, or theft that would destroy both your computer and local backup drive.