Back up with iCloud

One of the simplest ways to back up your Mac is with iCloud. With your Apple Account, you get your own private space in Apple’s cloud where your Mac can keep copies of:

If your Mac suffers a disk failure, or is lost or stolen, your files will be safe in iCloud, so you can access them by signing into your Apple Account from another device. And if you replace your Mac, your files will be automatically available on the new one.

Check that iCloud is set up

To check that your desktop, documents and photos are being backed up:

Note: If these instructions don’t match your screen, you probably have an older version of macOS. Using the latest software is one of the best ways to protect your computer and data, so you should upgrade macOS at your earliest convenience.

  1. From the Apple menu (in the top-left corner of the screen) choose System Settings.
  2. In the sidebar, click your name or picture.
  3. To the right, click iCloud and then Drive.
  4. Ensure that both Sync this Mac and Desktop & Documents Folders are switched on.
  5. Click Done.
  6. Click Photos.
  7. Ensure that Sync this Mac is switched on.

In addition to iCloud, you should back up to a hard drive using Time Machine.

Test it

Just like it’s wise to test your smoke alarms and check your tyre pressures, you might want to do a drill now and again to be sure iCloud is working. One way is to check the iCloud website, which gives you a direct view of your online storage as opposed to the local files on your Mac:

  1. Open a web browser, like Safari.
  2. In the address bar (at the top) type icloud.com and press Return on your keyboard.
  3. Sign in using your Apple Account.
  4. Check that your most recent document, spreadsheet or other file is shown in the Drive section.
  5. Check that your most recent photo or video is shown in the Photos section.