Guide · back up your photos
Back up your photos so you never lose them.
Here is the short version. Every photo you care about probably lives in one place, your phone, and that is exactly the problem. A phone that is lost, dropped or stolen takes the photos with it. A backup is simply a second copy kept somewhere safe, so losing the phone never means losing the memories.
Last updated 3 July 2026 · by Alien IT Solutions
Why one copy is a risk
Years of birthdays, grandchildren and holidays sit on a small glass rectangle that goes everywhere with you. Phones get dropped in the sink, left in taxis, or simply stop working one morning.
None of that has to cost you a single photo. It just means keeping a second copy somewhere the phone cannot take with it. That is all a backup is.
The three plain ways to keep a copy
You do not need all three. Pick the one that suits you, and the first one does most of the work on its own.
Automatic cloud backup
Your phone copies each photo to a safe place online as you take it. On an Apple iPhone this is iCloud, on an Android phone it is Google Photos, and Google Photos works on either. Switch it on once and it looks after itself.
A copy on the computer
Plug the phone into a laptop or desktop and copy the photos across into a folder. Now they live in a second place that is not the phone, and you own that copy outright.
A copy on a USB stick or drive
Copy the photos onto a USB stick or a small external drive and keep it somewhere safe, ideally out of the house, at a family member's home or a safe deposit box. Cheap, simple, and yours to hold.
The honest bit about free storage
What the small monthly fee actually buys.
Cloud backup starts free, and for a while that free space is plenty. Over the years, as the photos add up, that free space fills. When it does, your phone will start telling you the storage is full and it will stop backing up new photos until you make room or pay for more.
This is where a small monthly fee comes in. It is usually only a few dollars a month, and it is worth understanding what you are paying for. You are not paying for the app, which is free. You are paying rent on the room your photos take up online, the way you might pay for a bigger cupboard. It is one of the few subscriptions that genuinely earns its keep, because the day the phone is lost, that copy is the thing that saves you. If you would rather not pay at all, that is fine too, and the copy on a computer or a USB drive is the way to do it.
Check the backup is really working
Switched on is not the same as working. Take a minute to be sure.
Open it somewhere else
On a second device, a computer, or a web browser, sign in to the same account you use for backup. This is the honest test that photos have actually left the phone.
Look for your photos
If you can see this week's photos there, the backup is real and working. If the newest photos are missing, something is not set up right.
Fix it before you rely on it
A backup you have never checked is a backup you cannot trust. If it is not showing your photos, that is worth sorting now, not the day the phone breaks.
The simple rule to remember
Two copies, two places, one out of the house.
If you take one thing from this page, take this. Keep two copies of your photos, in two different places, and make sure one of those places is not your house. Cloud backup is the copy that lives outside the house, so it survives even a flood or a fire at home. A copy on your computer or a USB drive is the second copy you hold in your own hands, so you are covered even if you ever lose access to the online account.
Two copies means one thing can go wrong, a lost phone, a full cloud, a drive that fails, and your photos still come through. That is the whole idea. It just needs setting up once, properly.
Before you get a new phone
Back up first, then everything comes across.
New phones are a common moment to lose photos, and it is avoidable. The order matters. First, make sure the photos on the old phone have backed up to iCloud or Google Photos, and check they are really there using the test above. Only once you have seen your photos safely backed up should you set up the new phone.
Then it is easy. Sign in to the same account on the new phone, and your photos flow back down onto it. The important warning is this: never hand in, sell or reset the old phone until the backup is done and checked, because a wiped phone cannot be undone. If you would rather have someone sit with you and make sure nothing is missed, that is a very sensible thing to ask for.
Do not forget the shoebox
Old printed photos can be saved the same way.
The printed photos in the drawer and the shoebox are memories too, and they are just as easy to lose to a leak, a fire, or simply fading with the years. The good news is they can join the backup. Photograph each one with your phone, or scan them if you have a scanner, and from that moment they are copied and kept safe alongside everything else.
It makes a lovely afternoon, going through the old albums and giving each photo a second life that will outlast the paper. It means the oldest memories are no longer the ones most at risk.
None of this needs to be done alone. If it feels fiddly, or you just want to be sure it is set up right, we can walk through it with you, unhurried and in plain words. There is more on how a bit of computer help over the phone works if that suits you better than a visit.
Who wrote this
Seniors IT is the patient, in-home help service of Alien IT Solutions, an Australian technology company with more than 18 years of experience. It is the same trusted team, with the time and patience the job needs, and the same people families rely on for business IT and home technology.
Questions people ask
How do I back up the photos on my phone?
Turn on the backup that came with your phone. On an Apple iPhone that is iCloud Photos, and on an Android phone it is Google Photos. Once it is switched on, every new photo copies itself to that safe online place as you take it, and your old photos are copied across too. That is the easy, hands-off way, and it is the one most people should use.
Do I have to pay for photo backup?
You start with a free amount of storage, and for a lot of people that fills up over time. When it does, you pay a small monthly fee for more room. The fee is not for the app, it is rent on the space your photos take up online. It is usually a few dollars a month, and it buys the peace of mind that your memories are safe if the phone is not.
How do I know the backup is actually working?
Do not just trust that the switch is on. Check it. On another device, or in a web browser, sign in to the same account and look for your photos. If you can see them there, the backup is real. If you cannot, something is not set up right and it is worth getting a hand to fix it before you rely on it.
What should I do before getting a new phone?
Back up first. Make sure the photos on your old phone have copied to iCloud or Google Photos, and check they are really there. Once they are, signing in to the same account on the new phone brings everything across. Do the backup before you hand the old phone in or reset it, because a wiped phone cannot be undone.
Is one backup enough?
The safe rule is two copies in two places, and one of them not in the house. Cloud backup covers the copy that is not in the house. A second copy on your computer or a USB drive kept somewhere safe covers you if you ever lose access to the online account. Two copies means one thing can go wrong and your photos still survive.
Can I save my old printed photos too?
Yes. The printed photos in the shoebox are just as easy to lose to a leak, a fire or time. You can photograph them with your phone, or scan them, and then they are backed up the same way as everything else. It is a lovely afternoon's job and it means those older memories are safe as well.
Patient help, in plain words.
Want a hand getting your photos safely backed up? Book a friendly visit for yourself or an older relative. No jargon, no lock-in, at your pace.