Backing up your data with a cloud storage provider like Apple iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive, or Google One may not be enough. It can be risky to trust these services with valuable documents and photos. For example, Google Drive once accidentally deleted six months of backups for some users, and a software developer accidentally erased his entire iCloud library, only to be rescued by Apple after tech bloggers noticed. This is why experts recommend keeping multiple copies of your data, including an offline copy if possible. However, this advice can be challenging, as storing large amounts of data in the cloud may fill up your computer’s storage space, making it difficult to maintain regular backups in external drives or other cloud services.
One way to address this issue is to back up your data from cloud storage to an external drive or another cloud service. Google Photos allows users to easily download and back up photos to various cloud services. Apple iCloud users can download their photos and drive files to an external drive periodically for safekeeping. They can also copy iCloud photos to Google Photos for backup.
Another method is to use a program like Air Explorer to download files from multiple cloud storage services directly to an external drive. This app can also copy files to other cloud providers or backup services. Setting up Air Explorer involves connecting cloud storage services, selecting folders to back up, and initiating synchronization to create a local copy of the files.
For those using Network-Attached Storage (NAS) devices, there are apps like Synology’s Cloud Sync and QNAP’s Cloud Drive Sync that enable local copies of cloud files on the NAS device.
By creating extra copies of your data, especially valuable photos, you can mitigate the risk of losing them due to technical errors. Sign up for Jared’s Advisorator newsletter for more tech tips every Tuesday.
