Is OneDrive, Google Drive or iCloud Drive a backup?
No. Sync is a mirror and a backup is an archive. The difference decides whether a deletion, an overwrite or ransomware is an annoyance or a permanent loss.
beginner20 min4 min read
Data & Backups
Not losing things, and getting them back when you do.
61 guides in Technology
Is iCloud Photos or Google Photos actually a backup?
Sync is a mirror and backup is an archive, and the difference is the whole reason people lose photos they thought were safe in the cloud.
beginner20 min4 min readIf I delete a photo from my phone, does it delete from the cloud too?
Yes — if sync is on, the deletion travels. What happens in the next thirty days, how to undo it, and the one thing to check before you delete anything.
beginner12 min4 min readHow do I back up everything properly?
The 3-2-1 rule, what most people's backup is actually missing, and how to check it works before you need it.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I check my photos are actually backed up before I wipe my phone?
A verification you can do in twenty minutes that catches the four ways a photo backup silently fails — before the wipe rather than after it.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I back up my phone?
How to set up automatic phone backups on iPhone and Android, what they do and don't include, and how to check the backup actually works.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I back up my files?
A backup that would actually survive the things that destroy data — and the test that proves it works.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I get files off a computer that will not start?
Working out whether it is the machine or the drive, and the three ways to reach the files without a working computer.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I back up my computer?
A backup strategy that actually protects you — the 3-2-1 rule, setting up automatic backups on Windows and macOS, and testing that it works.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I get a copy of all my photos out of iCloud or Google Photos?
Both services will hand you the whole library as files — the routes that produce genuine originals, and the ones that quietly give you compressed copies.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I move files to an external drive properly?
Copy, verify, then delete — and why an external drive holding the only copy is not a backup.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I organise photos so I can find them later?
Why folders fail and search succeeds, the one date convention that makes everything findable, and getting years of backlog under control.
beginner3 hr3 min readWhat happens to my photos if I stop paying for iCloud or Google One?
What actually happens over the days and weeks after payment stops, the state your phone is left in, and the order to do things so nothing is lost.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy does my phone say there is not enough storage to back up?
The message is about your account, not your phone — where the space has actually gone, and the item that is nearly always the culprit.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I recover deleted files?
What to check first, in order, when you've deleted something — and the one thing you must stop doing immediately if it's genuinely gone.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I format an external drive?
Choosing between exFAT, NTFS and APFS by what will read the drive, and the difference between a quick and a full format.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I make sure ransomware cannot destroy my backups?
Ransomware reaches every drive the computer can write to, including the sync folder. What survives it is a copy that is disconnected, versioned or immutable — and here is how to arrange one.
intermediate45 min5 min readHow do I set up backups that actually protect me?
Building a backup that survives deletion, theft, fire and ransomware — which sync alone does not.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readWhy are my Desktop and Documents inside OneDrive?
The setting that quietly moved your files, what the cloud and tick icons next to them mean, why the machine says it is full while the folders look empty, and how to get out of it without losing anything.
beginner30 min6 min readWhy are my photos showing up on someone else's phone?
Almost always one account on two phones rather than anything sinister — how to confirm it, and how to separate the two without either person losing photographs.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I choose between cloud storage services?
What actually differentiates them — ecosystem, privacy, version history and the cost of leaving.
beginner25 min2 min readHow do I get back photos I deleted from my phone?
The recently deleted album buys you about thirty days. Where else copies survive, and why installing a recovery app is usually the wrong move.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I turn off photo sync without losing my photos?
The prompt that decides everything, why it appears differently on each platform, and the safe order that leaves you holding real files.
beginner40 min3 min readIs file recovery software worth paying for?
Sometimes — but far less often than the advertising implies, and never before you have worked through the free checks. What decides the odds, and when to keep your money.
intermediate45 min4 min read
Going deeper: DecisionHQ
Product and option comparisons with explicit criteria, rather than a single recommendation.