Being an iPhone user has both ups and downs. On one hand, you are the proud owner of one of the most prestigious smartphones on Earth- you can ask it do almost anything and it will. On the other hand, Apple has recently messed up with the security and privacy of the phone’s storage in the event of any criminal association with the owner. This means that if you are suspected by the FBI on any single case, the company would decrypt all information preserved in the phone and give it to the authorities on a silver platter.
This is why instead of saving all your data to iCloud where Apple can peruse it at its disposal, why not store it in your Macbook or any other external hardware. In this scenario, you will see that old is truly gold. Yes, we know that you would much rather prefer saving it on iCloud because it comes with features- but is it worth it when your data is leaked? We hope not.
If you are hesitating because you have always had the Cloud behind you every single second of the day, here are some tips that you would be lucky to go through once.
How To Backup Your iPhone
First, you plug in your computer to your iPhone through the USB port. It is very easy, and something we must have done a million times. Next, simply use iTunes if your Mac is 10.14 or an older version, or if you are using Windows. If you are on a Macbook with an OS of 10.15 Catalina- Finder would be your go-to app.
In the event that you are using Finder, the best thing would be to open any window on Finder and then searching for your phone under ‘Locations’. Once that is done, you will be able to access all files easily and back them up.
But if you are using iTunes, select the small icon of the iPhone that you find on the corner to your left. And if you don’t see that icon, click on the top iTunes menu, select Authorizations, and authorize your computer.
Once that is done, things get pretty simpler and similar for both OS. When you find the category ‘Backups’, you can opt for ‘This Computer’ if you are using iTunes, or ‘Back up all of the data on your iPhone to your Mac’ for Finder. If you want more security on this, you can choose to encrypt this- encrypt your information by choosing ‘Encrypt iPhone backup’ for iTunes, or ‘Encrypt Local Back’ for Finder. Provide a password and encrypt it. Remember to never forget this password- for that might mean losing your data.
If you have followed this procedure perfectly, you must have had your encryption initiate already. Else, go to ‘Back Up Now’.
For some reason, if you have to get back your data that has been backed up, visit the page you visited, and choose ‘Restore Backup…’. With the iPhone, you can also choose if you would rather choose to backup your data manually, or do it every single time your phone is connected to the device. If you want it to happen automatically, click on Options and opt for “Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected.”
How To Delete Backed Up Data on The Cloud
Now that you have a backup on your computer, chances are you might not want to keep the same information on the cloud. If you want to erase any information from the cloud- here are the ways to go through with that.
If you prefer to try this on a Macbook.
- Select the icon of Apple which is on the top of your device.
- Click on to ‘Select Preferences’ and then go to ‘iCloud’
- Click on the button which indicates ‘Manage’, which is present on the right lower window.
- Click on any backup and then press ‘Delete’. You might also be initiated to press the button again, which will erase your backups, along with erasing any future scheduled backups.
But if you would rather choose to do it on your phone, then
- First head on to ‘Settings’, and then click on your name.
- Then click on the following- ‘iCloud’, then ‘Manage Storage’, and finally ‘Backups’.
- Click on any backup and select ‘Delete Backup’.
- Click on ‘Turn Off and Delete’.
Now, let’s move on to more complicated stuff. While it is easy to delete backups from the Cloud, it might be a tad bit more complicated to do the same for your iMessages. It is mostly because iMessages utilize end-to-end encryption, which means there has to be a key on one end, and also because iMessage uses the Messages for iCloud system that registers for the syncing of the same messages for every device that uses iOS on the single account.
The ideal situation here is that when your iPhone backup is turned on, you already have possession of the encryption key that unlocks the messages, for the key is already secured in the Backup. Now, if you desire to have the iPhone backup option turned off, here is what you need to do.
In the event that your iPhone backup is turned off, but your Messages for iCloud is turned on, you would find the key completely local to all the devices to which the messages will be sent. Here, your key for messaging isn’t going to be saved by the servers in the company.
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But if you do decide to completely detach yourself from the latest iPhone technology and switched both your iPhone backup and Messages for iCloud off, then you need to realize that the only options for backup at hand would be local ones.
In today’s world, maybe the best way to secure your devices would be to look back on the days of backing up to a desktop and follow through.
