asked on 2/12/2019

How do I backup app data and settings from my iPhone?

I have an iPhone and a PC. Now that iTunes doesn't deal with apps, I'm wondering how to backup the data and settings in the apps on my phone.

I'm not worried about apps that are just portals to online storage. Nor am I worried about the (relatively few) apps that use iCloud Drive.

I'm thinking of the apps that store their files on my phone.

So, I have a few questions:

1. Does iTunes backup the data for these apps when I do a phone backup?

2. If not, what would you recommend to backup my app data?

3. Does iTunes backup the settings for these apps when I do a phone backup?

4. If not, what would you recommend to backup my app settings?

5. Also, I used to be able to use iTunes to drag and drop files from these apps to/from my computer. Now that iTunes has no way to access Apps, I can't do this. Is there another PC-based program that I can use to drag and drop files from apps to my computer?

Thanks in advance.

Apple Software iPhone PC

Last Comment

Owen Rubin

2/13/2019

jrmcanada2

2/12/2019

ASKER

Ignore question 5. :) I discovered File Sharing iTunes.

But I'm still curious about backing up my app data and settings.

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John

2/12/2019

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Owen Rubin

2/12/2019

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jrmcanada2

2/12/2019

ASKER

Thanks for the tip about encrypting backups. I hadn't realized that.

If I use iCloud backup, I realize I'll still have to download my apps but will the iCloud backup allow me to restore my app data and settings? Or is the only way to backup app data and settings to use backup to computer?

Owen Rubin

2/12/2019

I do not know for sure since I do not use it. I assume you are asking so you can reset an iOS device and then restore it? It takes a LONG time for that to happen, and the computer goes much faster than over Wifi from iCloud. Also note that if you have a lot of stuff on your iOS device, you may need a bigger iCloud account. My wife's backup did not fit in the default free iCloud account. And connecting it to the computer is just trivial.

Do read that article, It answers a lot of questions.

Owen Rubin

2/12/2019

And just to add a disclaimer, I did not check all the apps to see if the data came back, but she says it is back to the way it was and is happy with the reset. If you really want to be sure, I would give Apple a call. The should be able to answer that question really quickly. And that article does say "application data" and I tend to trust that company.

John

2/12/2019

The iCloud does NOT backup everything, but most of what you need. It will not back up apps,

Apple used my iCloud account to back up everything when I changed our phones from 4s to SE a couple of years ago and everything came forward to the new phone.

Things may have changed since.

Owen Rubin

2/13/2019

In reading on their website, they claim that everything is NOT backed up to the cloud. I was surprised by that myself. Here is the Apple reference: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204136 which talks about the differences.

Note down under iCloud backup it says “iCloud backups include nearly all data and settings stored on your device. iCloud backups don't include:

Data that's already stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Notes, iCloud Photos, iMessages, Voice Memos, text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages, and Health data*
Data stored in other cloud services, like Gmail and Exchange mail
Apple Mail data
Apple Pay information and settings
Touch ID settings
iCloud Music Library and App Store content (If it's still available in the iTunes, App, or Apple Books store, you can tap to re-download your already purchased content.)

But it seems that iTunes also leaves stuff behind:

An iTunes backup doesn't include:

Content from the iTunes and App Stores, or PDFs downloaded directly to Apple Books
Content synced from iTunes, like imported MP3s or CDs, videos, books, and photos
Data already stored in iCloud, like iCloud Photos, iMessages, and text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages
Face ID or Touch ID settings
Apple Pay information and settings
Apple Mail data
Activity, Health, and Keychain data (To back up this content, you'll need to use Encrypted Backup in iTunes.)

That said, I just did an encrypted backup to iTunes of my wife’s iPhone, did a factory reset, and then a restor, and she did get all her.music back as well because she used iTunes originally to put the music on her phone, so after the backup was restored, iTunes did a sync, and put back the music.