It may sound obvious to recommend having more than one copy of your photos and important documents, but all too often those tasks fall into the “do it later” category. Today with most of our data in digital form, we have many options of apps and software programs to help simplify the process.
Two important terms to understand are backup and sync.
First, know that they aren’t interchangeable. Confusing them can mean the difference between having a secure second copy of your data or accidentally deleting everything.
So what do they mean? Let’s start with some definitions:
I have to admit, once upon a time, the changes / updates of a sync actually sounded more appealing to me. So if I made edits to a photo, wouldn’t it be better to have those automatically saved in the cloud? No, not actually. Let me show you why.
Most people use their phone as their default camera, so let’s use that for these examples.
Take a photo. You’ll see it appear in your camera roll. (This is from a recent trip to Albania.)
If you use a Sync Cloud Service, you’ll also be able to view the image there.
If you use a Backup Cloud Service, you’ll also be able to view the image there. (Everything looks the same so far, I know.)
But let’s see what happens when the original photo is deleted.
The synced photo is deleted in both places because there never was a true backup – the photo was just accessible in the sync platform as well as your camera roll, but you actually had only one photo. A sync mirrors what is done to the original, including deleting it.
If you use a backup system, however, you can delete the original with confidence, knowing that a true copy is safely backed up.
So what if something happens and all your originals are deleted?
To me, the real test of any backup system is recovering your original data. After all, that’s the point, right? You need to be able to easily access and restore your photos if you lose the originals. Unfortunately, some backups make this step incredibly difficult.
The good news is that there are options available to ensure your photos are secure! We most frequently recommend Amazon Photos as a starting point for your phone photos, but there are other options available based on the way you take and use your photos.
Let us know – how can we help you with your photos?
A: Multiple backups!
We believe in redundancies and always recommend following the 3-2-1 Rule: 3+ copies of your data, using 2+ types of storage, with at least 1 location offsite / in the cloud.
A: No, just….no.
Please do not rely on any photo printing service for your photo storage. While it is possible (but often difficult) to download your photos from their system, you will never be able to retrieve your original files containing all your metadata from Shutterfly or a similar service. Printing services offer storage to increase the likelihood that you will order products from them, but they should never be used as long term storage solutions.
A: iCloud is a sync. When you are prompted to increase (and pay for) your iCloud storage, you will have more storage capacity, but it still is not a backup.
iCloud is a fantastic tool, especially if you are a Mac person and have other Apple devices, but remember that syncs are really only one copy of your photo – essentially a mirror. Even though you can view and use your photo on all your Apple devices, you only have one copy of your photo. If you delete it from the camera roll, it is gone everywhere – there is no backup. (You do have 30 days to restore it from your deleted folder if you accidentally delete a photo and catch the mistake in time.)
We get it – you aren’t alone! We hear this all the time and we’d be glad to help you.
If you take the majority of your photos with your phone, we often recommend starting with Amazon Photos as a great backup service. We use it for our own photos and it’s an included service for Amazon Prime members. You get unlimited full-resolution photo storage and it’s a small upgrade for video storage. We have a free PDF that will help you get started.
To start or learn more about an organizing project with Narrative Structure, visit our Photo Organizing page.