What Is Backed Up in an iPhone Backup?
If you've ever set up a new iPhone and had everything reappear like magic — your apps, photos, contacts, even your wallpaper — that's an iPhone backup doing its job. But what exactly gets saved, what gets left out, and why does any of that matter? Understanding the contents of an iPhone backup helps you make smarter decisions about storage, privacy, and data protection.
The Two Types of iPhone Backups
Before getting into what's included, it helps to know that iPhone backups come in two forms: iCloud backups and local backups (made through a Mac or PC via Finder or iTunes). Both capture most of the same core data, but they differ in where data lives, how much is included, and how they handle encryption.
iCloud backups run automatically when your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi, plugged in, and locked. Local backups are manual by default and stored directly on your computer. Local backups can also be encrypted, which unlocks an additional layer of backed-up data — more on that below.
What's Included in an iPhone Backup
Here's what both backup types generally capture:
App Data and Settings
Most app data is backed up — this includes things like your game progress, in-app settings, saved files within apps, and locally stored data. Not every third-party app participates; developers can opt out of backup or store data server-side instead, meaning it syncs back through the app's own account system rather than the backup.
Device Settings
Your preferences across the iPhone — display brightness, notification settings, accessibility configurations, keyboard shortcuts, language and region settings, and network preferences — are saved. This is what makes switching to a new iPhone feel seamless rather than like starting from scratch.
Home Screen and App Layout
The arrangement of your apps, folders, and widgets is stored in the backup so your new device mirrors your old one on first launch.
Photos and Videos (With a Caveat)
This one depends heavily on whether you use iCloud Photos. If iCloud Photos is enabled, your photos and videos are synced continuously to iCloud and are not included in the iCloud backup itself — they're considered already safe in the cloud. If iCloud Photos is off, your camera roll is included in the backup, which can make the backup file significantly larger.
Messages and iMessage History
Your iMessage conversations and SMS/MMS threads are backed up. This includes text, images sent through messages, and attachments — though large media in Messages can accumulate quickly and eat into backup size.
Call History
Recent call logs are included, covering incoming, outgoing, and missed calls across both the standard Phone app and FaceTime.
Voicemail
Saved voicemails are captured in the backup, along with voicemail passwords where the carrier allows it.
Contacts, Calendars, and Notes
If you're not syncing these through iCloud, Google, or another account service, locally stored contacts, calendar events, and notes are included in the backup.
Safari Data
Bookmarks, open tabs, browsing history, and Reading List items are backed up. Autofill data may also be included depending on your sync settings.
What Requires an Encrypted Backup 🔒
A standard unencrypted local backup leaves out certain sensitive data for security reasons. Enabling encryption on a local backup adds:
- Saved passwords and keychain data — your stored logins across apps and websites
- Wi-Fi network passwords
- Health and fitness data from the Health app
- HomeKit configuration data
iCloud backups are automatically encrypted end-to-end (especially with Advanced Data Protection enabled), so they include this sensitive data without requiring a manual encryption step.
What's NOT Backed Up
Knowing what's excluded is just as important:
| Data Type | Why It's Excluded |
|---|---|
| App Store purchases | Re-downloaded from the App Store directly |
| iTunes/Apple Music media | Tied to your account, not stored locally in backup |
| Face ID / Touch ID data | Hardware-specific, cannot be transferred |
| Apple Pay cards | Must be re-added after restore |
| App data stored server-side | Syncs back via the app's own account (e.g., Spotify, Gmail) |
| iCloud Photos (if enabled) | Already stored in iCloud separately |
How Backup Size Varies by User
Two people with the same iPhone model can have drastically different backup sizes. Someone who uses iCloud Photos will have a smaller iCloud backup than someone who stores their camera roll locally. A power user with dozens of data-heavy apps will back up more than someone who uses their iPhone mainly for calls and messaging. Heavy Health app users with years of fitness tracking data will see that reflected in local encrypted backups.
The variables that shape your backup include:
- Whether iCloud Photos is on or off
- How many apps store data locally vs. server-side
- Whether you use the Health app actively
- Whether encryption is enabled on local backups
- How long you've owned the device and accumulated data
iCloud Storage Limits Add Another Layer of Complexity
Free iCloud accounts come with 5GB of storage, which is shared across backups, iCloud Drive, iCloud Mail, and other services. For users with large camera rolls or many apps, that 5GB fills quickly — and when iCloud storage is full, automatic backups stop working silently in the background. This is a common reason people discover their last backup was months ago.
Paid iCloud+ plans offer more headroom, and local backups sidestep this entirely since they use your computer's storage instead.
The Gap That Only You Can See
Understanding what's in a backup is the foundation — but how much that matters to you depends entirely on how you use your iPhone, which services you already sync through third-party accounts, how much you rely on the Health app, and how you feel about local versus cloud storage. Someone who syncs everything through Google accounts may find their iPhone backup contains far less critical data than they expected. Someone who's never paid for extra iCloud storage may be carrying a false sense of security about their photos. Your specific setup is the piece this article can't fill in for you.