However, iCloud backups tend to include less data than external drive backups because iCloud only backs up certain files and data, not all the data, programs, and settings on your Mac. Even though Apple provides only 5 GB of free storage space, you can upgrade your plan to increase the storage space available for Mac backups.įor a full Mac backup (for example, on an external hard drive), Apple recommends a storage space twice the size of what you use on your Mac. In other words, a backup in iCloud is an online copy of your device’s information.Īfter you set up iCloud to back up files on your Mac, it can work automatically.

Once you back up your Mac to iCloud, you can restore your data onto any Apple computer using your iCloud account. You can use this backup to restore important files if something goes wrong on your Mac or if you lose your computer. Making a backup of your Mac means creating a copy of all your data. To avoid losing your data, you should back up your Mac. Your Mac can be negatively affected by various factors, including malware, system crashes, update failure, accidental deletion, and more. Even if Mac computers are the safest, you still don’t have a 100% guarantee of the security of the data on your Mac.

How to backup mac to icloud 2021