Yes, you NEED to back up your phone. Here's how to do it right now.

How to back up an iPhone

Many folks have a love-hate relationship with Apple’s iCloud service. On one hand, the backup feature is great for capturing everything on your device. It basically makes a carbon copy of your phone, freezing your data, settings, files, and the rest in carbonite and leaving it there until you need it. It’s one of the most robust backup services available, in my humble opinion.

When it comes to phone backups, it’s not a matter of if you’ll need it but when.

On the other hand, iCloud backup can take a huge chunk out of the measly 5 GB of storage Apple has offered to customers since iCloud launched in 2011. If I was a betting man, I’d guess you either haven’t backed up your iPhone in ages because you ran out of cloud storage years ago, or like me, you begrudgingly pay Apple every month for enough storage to save everything in your precious device.

Wherever you stand, device backups are non-negotiable if you value all the information stored in your phone. Here’s how to enable iCloud backup now:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap “iCloud.”
3. Select “iCloud Backup” after that.
4. Finally, check the toggle beside “Back Up This iPhone” and then “Back Up Now.”

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

If you want to optimize your iCloud backup settings even further, there are a couple things you can do. First, find “This iPhone” under the “All Device Backups” section and tap on it. Once you’re inside, uncheck any app that you don’t want to save. This could slim down your device backup and free up bits of valuable storage.

You can also completely remove old devices from the “All Device Backups” section. Simply click on the device, scroll to the bottom, and select “Turn off and Delete from iCloud.” Congrats! Your iCloud storage is now several gigs lighter.

BONUS TIP: iCloud backup works on iPad, too, but it’ll count against your cloud storage limit, so keep this in mind.

How to back up most Android phones

Regardless of make and model, all Android phones sold in the USA come with Google’s built-in cloud backup service that’s designed to save your most important data, including photos, videos, messages, call history, apps and data, and device settings. You can enable Google backup on your Android by following the quick steps below.

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Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Note: Depending on your device and Android version, these steps may look a little different, but as long as you get to the backup section within your device settings, you will be able to save the correct data. For reference, the following screenshots were taken on a Google Pixel running Android 16.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on “System.”
3. Then select “Backup.”
4. Tap on “Photos & videos,” then check the backup toggle at the top.
5. Go back one screen inside the backup section in the Settings app.
6. Tap on “Other device data” and check the “back up other device data” toggle above your name.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw

Keep in mind that many of these saved pieces count against your 15 GB of free Google Drive storage, so if you run out, you won’t be able to back up your phone completely until you upgrade your cloud storage with a Google One plan.

While Google’s backup service keeps most of your data safe in the cloud, there are some holes in its system. For instance, Google backup may not save the settings on all of your apps; currently, developers have to opt in to allow this, and while many apps do support it, there are plenty of apps that don’t. Google’s backup solution also doesn’t save local files on your device, including documents in your Downloads folder or password-protected secure folders. Make sure you manually move these to another device or cloud service before you reset your old phone.

How to back up a Samsung Galaxy phone

Google backup works perfectly fine on Samsung phones, but Galaxy owners need to take some extra steps to back up Samsung’s first-party apps. In order to save your call logs, messages, alarm clocks, voice recordings, home screen layouts, and settings, you need to enable Samsung Cloud via the following steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap “Accounts and backup.”
3. Under “Samsung Cloud,” tap “Back up data.”
4. Check each item you want to save and then click “Back up now” at the bottom of the screen.
5. Then go back one screen, tap on “Back up data” under the “Google Drive” section, and follow the steps above to make sure Google’s backup service is active too.

Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw