A backup exists only once you have tested it
Most people are sure their backups are running. A check usually shows otherwise: the cloud is full and stopped uploading six months ago, the external drive in the drawer holds a copy from three years back, and the photos live only on a phone that will one day go for repair.
The rule is simple: a backup you have never restored from is not a backup but a hope. All of it can be set up in one evening, after which it runs by itself.
The three-copy rule
| Copy | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Working | On the device | What you use every day |
| Local | An external drive at home | Fast recovery if the device breaks |
| Off-site | Cloud or a drive elsewhere | Survives fire, theft and flooding |
Two copies in one flat are one copy as far as fire and theft are concerned. That is exactly why the third belongs somewhere else.
What must be covered
Photos and video, documents, passwords and two-factor codes, the conversations that matter to you, work files, settings and licences. And especially what cannot be recreated: family archives, scans of documents, voice recordings.
Remember that syncing is not a backup. A file deleted by mistake disappears from every synced location at once. Look for version history or a separate backup copy.
Restoring is the real test
Every few months, pull one file out of the backup and open it. It takes five minutes and separates a working system from an illusion. While you are there, check that you remember how recovery is started at all.
Passwords and two-factor
This is the most common hole. If your verification codes live only on one phone, losing it means losing access to everything at once. Backup codes stored away from the phone solve that in advance.
When the system works
Backups are configured and run automatically, the important things are covered, one copy lives outside the home, recovery has been tested on a real file, passwords and backup codes are stored separately, and a reminder to check it all again is in the calendar.
