How do I back up my phone photos?

Start with automatic cloud backup, which copies new photos as you take them. Then add a second copy onto your own storage, like an external drive or a NAS, so you are not relying on one service. Two copies in two places is the safe minimum for irreplaceable photos.

Is cloud backup enough for photos?

It is a great first copy, but relying on it alone is risky. Accounts can be locked, subscriptions lapse, or files sync the wrong way. Keeping your own second copy on a drive you control means your memories survive whatever happens to the cloud account.

Where should I store a local copy of my photos?

A roomy external hard drive is cheap and perfect for a photo archive, since photos are read rarely and do not need speed. For a always-on family setup, a NAS works brilliantly. The live table shows the best value storage.

How Do You Back Up Your Phone Photos?

Published: 12 Ağustos 2026

Live answer · Amazon.com

Pulling live prices…

Live data across PricePerGig listings. Prices may change; Updated every few hours.

📊 As of 29 August 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.co.uk is £160/TB or £0.16/GB across the 3,460 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £44.1/TB or £0.044/GB. The best deals on Amazon.co.uk start from about £285 for 8TB (£35.7/TB), £322 for 14TB (£23/TB) and £614 for 20TB (£30.7/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly £23 per TB.

Sourced from real discussions on r/DataHoarder and r/applehelp, cross-checked against live PricePerGig listings.

Your phone holds the photos you would be devastated to lose. So let me walk you through backing them up properly, the simple way.

The goal is two copies, in two places. One in the cloud, one on storage you actually control.

Most people have the first and skip the second. That gap is exactly where memories get lost.

The table above shows the live price per TB on your marketplace for the cheap storage that holds your own copy.

Step one: turn on cloud backup

This is the easy, automatic bit, and you may already have it.

Your phone can automatically upload new photos to a cloud service as you take them. Switch it on and it runs quietly in the background forever.

That instantly gives you an offsite copy, safe from your phone being lost, stolen or dropped down a toilet.

It is a brilliant first copy. The mistake is stopping there.

Why the cloud alone is not enough

Here is the uncomfortable part people skip.

Relying only on the cloud puts all your memories behind one account, one company, one subscription.

Accounts get locked or hacked.
Subscriptions lapse and access quietly disappears.
A bad sync or accidental delete can propagate to the cloud copy too.

None of this is common, but when it happens to your only copy, your photos are gone. A second copy you control is what makes you safe.

Step two: keep your own copy

This is the bit that completes the safety net.

Every so often, copy your photos onto storage you own. It does not need to be fancy.

A roomy external hard drive is cheap and perfect. Photos are read rarely, so speed is irrelevant. Buy capacity, not speed.
For an always-on family setup, a NAS holds everyone’s photos and backs them up automatically.

Plug in the drive, copy the photo library across, done. Now you have a cloud copy and a personal copy, and losing one does not lose your memories.

Make it effortless

A backup you have to remember is a backup you will forget. So automate where you can.

Let the cloud upload run automatically.
Set a recurring reminder to copy to your drive, or use software that syncs it for you.
For the truly precious shots, a third copy kept elsewhere is cheap insurance.

The less you have to think about it, the more reliably it actually happens.

The bottom line

Back up your phone photos with two copies in two places. Turn on automatic cloud backup for the offsite copy, then keep your own copy on a cheap external drive or a NAS.

That way no single failure, locked account or lapsed subscription can erase your memories. Grab roomy storage at the best price per TB from the live table above, and your photos are safe for good. They are worth far more than the drive that protets them.

Step one: turn on cloud backup

Why the cloud alone is not enough

Step two: keep your own copy

Make it effortless

The bottom line

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