iCloud Sync vs Backup? Get Rid of Your Confusion!

• Preface
• What Does iCloud Sync?
• What Does iCloud Backup?
• iCloud Sync vs Backup - Summary
• What Happens If I Turn iCloud Sync/Backup off?
• Bonus Tip: How to Sync/Backup Files from Another Cloud with iCloud
• Conclusion

Preface

Is iCloud Sync the same as Backup? The answer is no. Although Sync and Backup are included in iCloud, they are 2 different features. But do not panic if you do not know the differences between them! This post will give you the comparison between iCloud Sync vs Backup. It will tell you what is iCloud Backup vs iCloud Sync used to do and the differences in 4 perspectives.

What Does iCloud Sync?

iCloud Sync is a process that automatically updates your data on all devices that are linked to the same Apple ID. This implies that modifications you make to your files, applications, and settings on one device are nearly instantly synced on all your other devices.

To use iCloud Sync, you can turn it on for specific apps which means it can achieve selective syncing. Here are the key apps iCloud syncs:

Photos: iCloud can store and sync your photos and videos across devices, ensuring that iCloud Photos is enabled on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even on Windows PCs (via iCloud for Windows).

Contacts: It syncs your contacts across all your devices, so any changes made on one device (like adding or editing a contact) are reflected on all others.

Calendars: Your events and reminders sync across devices, so you can access and modify your calendar entries from anywhere.

Notes: If you use the Notes app, iCloud syncs your notes, making them available on all devices signed in with the same Apple ID.

iMessages: iMessages and text messages (when enabled) sync across your Apple devices, so you can continue a conversation on any device.

Safari Data: Bookmarks, browsing history, and open tabs are synced across devices, allowing a seamless browsing experience.

App Data: Many apps (especially those that support iCloud) sync their data between devices. For example, documents in apps like Pages or Numbers are available across all your devices.

iCloud Drive: This is Apple’s cloud storage service. Files you save to iCloud Drive are accessible on all devices with iCloud enabled.

What Does iCloud Backup?

iCloud Backup contains any data on your device that is not frequently synced. iCloud periodically takes snapshots of this data when iCloud Backup is enabled so that it can be easily restored whenever you get a new device. The backups in iCloud will not be synced across devices. iCloud Backup is a more thoroughly backup than iCloud Sync. You cannot choose to backup which app but the whole device. Therefore, it is quite helpful when you want to migrate data from a old device to a new device.

To use iCloud Backup, switch on the sync button of it. iCloud Backup typically includes:

App Data: All the information stored within apps that support iCloud Backup, including settings, preferences, and app-specific data. It also data from apps like Photos, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, iMessages, WhatsApp, and more.

Device Settings: Your device settings like Wi-Fi networks, wallpaper, device settings are backed up so you can restore them easily.

Apple Watch Backups: If you have an Apple Watch paired with your iPhone, your Apple Watch data like settings, app data, and preferences is also backed up through iCloud.

Apple ID and iCloud Settings: Your Apple ID settings and iCloud preferences are backed up as part of the process.

App Store Purchases and App Data: Apps and their associated data are backed up. Although the apps themselves are re-downloaded from the App Store if needed, their data will be restored once the app is installed again.

iCloud Sync vs Backup - Summary

After knowing what is iCloud Sync and iCloud Backup, and what does these 2 features sync/backup, let’s summarize what is the difference between Sync and Backup in iCloud in a clearer way.

	iCloud Sync	iCloud Backup
Real-time Sync vs Snapshot	iCloud Sync ensures your data is synced across all the devices in real-time	iCloud Backup takes temporary snapshot of your device data which will not be synced across devices.
What is Included	You can choose to sync data from which apps via iCloud Sync.	iCloud Backup is a full backup. You cannot to choose which to backup or not. It can backup your device settings, home screen layout, and app organization which iCloud Sync cannot backup.
Purpose	iCloud Sync is used to sync your app data across devices.	iCloud Backup is designed for future restoration from one device to another.
How to Enable	Go to the iCloud page on your device > open the apps you want to sync with iCloud > turn on the button next to Sync this iPhone or Sync this Mac.	Go to the iCloud page on your device > choose iCloud Backup > Back Up This iPhone.

Whether you use iCloud Sync or iCloud Backup, it will take up your iCloud storage. A free iCloud account will have 5 GB of free storage. However, if you turn on iCloud Sync for multiple apps and also enable iCloud Backup, the 5GB may not be enough so you may have to upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage.

What Happens If I Turn iCloud Sync/Backup off?

If you turn off iCloud Sync for apps syncing with iCloud, any new data added or changes made to apps like Photos, Drive, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, etc., will not sync with iCloud, so they will not be reflected across your other Apple devices.

On the other hand, if you turn off iCloud Backup, it will stop backing up your device but the previous backups will still take up your iCloud storage. If you delete iCloud backups, the old backed-up data will be removed from iCloud. However, if you plan to migrate data to a new device, you can re-enable iCloud Backup on your old device and it will backup the latest version of your device. Then, you can this backup to restore data to your new device.

Bonus Tip: How to Sync/Backup Files from Another Cloud with iCloud

If you want to sync or backup files from other cloud storage services like Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, or OneDrive to iCloud, you can try MultCloud. MultCloud is a web-based cloud file transfer services which supports syncing, backing up, and restoring files between clouds. The syncing, backing up, or restoring process will be automatic, thus you do not have to download and re-upload the files. Moreover, you can take advantage of MultCloud to manage files on different clouds together with one login.

Conclusion

To conclude the comparison between iCloud Sync vs Backup, iCloud Sync keeps your data consistent across your Apple devices, while iCloud Backup protects and stores a copy of your device’s data for later restoration. When you enable both of them on your device, the syncing data and backups will occupy your iCloud storage.

Additionally, if you want to transfer, sync, or backup files between iCloud and other clouds, give MultCloud a chance and easily finish the file migration without downloading and uploading.