Comments on: Backup 101: iCloud Sync and Backblaze Backup

By: Jean Tate

Jean Tate — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 11:21:47 +0000

If I create a folder in my iCloud and share it to others so we can share files and store files in that one shared folder on iCloud, can Backblaze back it up? It sounds like the answer might be no since these files would not sit on any one mac but would be completely in iCloud.

By: Elizabeth Hammond Morrill

Elizabeth Hammond Morrill — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 15:24:38 +0000

Thank you for this helpful article! I’ve been using Backblaze for years and love it. My iCloud+ subscription recently came up for renewal (at $10/month) and suddenly I wondered if it was necessary. I have a Mac laptop that I use daily and an iPhone, but I don’t use any other computers or devices. Is it still necessary to have this sync capability via iCloud+? It came in handy last year when my toddler spilled a cup of coffee on my computer and I had to use a backup machine for a few weeks while it was repaired, but I could have gotten around that by simply downloading my files from Backblaze…right? If I stop using iCloud, will my photos stop syncing from my phone to my computer? Thanks for clarifying! We’re trying to trim the budget, and I’m wondering if I can let this $10 a month go.

By: Kc_au

Kc_au — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 23:20:33 +0000

iCloud on windows. I don’t have a Mac. How do I backup my iCloud files and photos using my windows machine. Seems like backblaze isn’t doing it?

By: Graham

Graham — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 14:40:46 +0000

In reply to F Harvell. It would be great to understand how Backblaze handles this as well. Ideally it triggers some command for the files in the desktop and documents folders to download the old files from iCloud that are "optimized" then uploads them to the Backblaze servers to save a complete version of them, then "optimizes" them again and moves to the next file. Obviously if that file is modified, Backblaze recognizes this and updates the back-up version, but would love to hear from the Backblaze team that this is in fact what does happen.

By: Cloud Backup vs. Sync | Different Services, Different Uses

Cloud Backup vs. Sync | Different Services, Different Uses — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:56:19 +0000

[…] services like Backblaze Cloud Backup are a great complement to other services, like Time Machine, iCloud, Dropbox, and even the free-tiers of cloud storage […]

By: IdeaManFL

IdeaManFL — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 13:05:57 +0000

Hey Peter,
Hope you’re still monitoring this thread. I had a wakeup call today. I accidentally overwrote a file on my iCloud drive directory on my Mac. So, when I went to restore it, I got a file with a .icloud extension. Does this mean the file wasn’t available when it was backed up (and had been optimized to iCloud) before Backblaze got to it? I need the room on my original 5K iMac (so I optimize the space), but always make sure all files are downloaded to my laptop (where it is off). Should I switch the back blaze backup routine to my laptop instead? I keep things in my iCloud directory to stay synched between home and laptop/work. Your thoughts?

By: Nicholas Screenstoryteller

Nicholas Screenstoryteller — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 19:58:00 +0000

I’ve been looking all over the Backblaze site for the answer to this question, without success. I have several large external drives that contain the “family archives” of photos and videos going back to in utero photos and video of my children. I keep a main and a semi-clone of the main one; it’s several terabytes of material. QUESTION: Do I have to connect these drives to my computer at least once every 30 days so that Backblaze doesn’t erase my data?

That used to be the case with Backblaze, but I’d like a clear confirmation about whether that rule is currently still in place.

It’s one thing to connect a drive for an hour or so once a month, but it’s another if the drive has to be fully scanned to re-verify its contents, as that takes many hours, in my experience. I don’t want to leave my family archive drives connected to the computer when I’m not home because of the exposure to the possibility of theft. Even overnight often doesn’t complete its scan / backup.

Please tell me what my best options are for this kind of scenario with about six terabytes of media on external drives.

Thank you,
Nicholas

By: Courtney Huntington

Courtney Huntington — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:28:00 +0000

In reply to F Harvell. I need to know this, too. Thank you!

By: Toni

Toni — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 21:02:00 +0000

In reply to Kalle Kantola.

I just got the message below from the support, and the are right..

Thanks for answering :)

“You may be confusing /Library, which Backblaze does not back up, with ~/Library (the same as /Users/yourusername/Library) which contains the iCloud folder, and Backblaze does back that folder up.”