A friend on mine lost his phone a few months ago. His photos weren’t backed up. Naturally, this induced a mild ripple of panic in me since mine also weren’t backed up at the time. It’s always one of those things on the “to-do” list. The loose translation: I won’t make a move until something happens. Then I’ll swear a lot, berating myself for not having made the backups before. After learning this lesson the hard way, things would change. This time, however, I made it a priority to backup over two years’ worth of photos before tragedy struck.
Since I dislike using the automatic backup option, I had to research other methods. It requires some time and effort to create manual backups. However, it works better for me because it offers me more control.
The backup system I use is an app (Photo Transfer App) to seamlessly move photos from phone to laptop (or backup drive). Prior to this, I had tried other methods to move photos from my phone or iPad to my laptop/backup drive. Nothing every worked that well, perhaps because of compatibility issues between Mac and Android. I tried connecting the devices with cables, using bluetooth, using built-in or downloaded apps. Finally, I found this app.
When determining what backup option will work best for you, here are some things to consider:
Convenience – if it’s not easy, you’re not likely to do it. Think of something that’s manageable. I do my backup every month.
Privacy – this is my hesitation with the automatic back-up from my phone. I don’t trust cloud-based storage options. However, there are lots of secure cloud-based options available. Do your research!
Organization – sometimes I like to organize the photos in my phone. Ideally my backup system would allow me to maintain this system. Also, I hate it when the backup option includes photos in the “deleted” folder. This is how the iPad backup used to work and it drove me crazy. Deleted photos should stay deleted. Including them in a backup is a waste of time and space.
Location – it’s always good to consider having backups in more than one place (i.e., in the cloud and on a backup drive).
Be proactive with backing up photos and other precious things stored in your phone. Learning this lesson the hard way is no fun.
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