How to encrypt your iPhone backup on a Mac or PC
One checkbox decides whether your computer backup is locked — and whether it includes your passwords.
In short
Connect the iPhone to your computer, open Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app on Windows, and select “Encrypt local backup” in the General tab, then set a password. Encrypted backups include saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, call history and Health data, which unencrypted ones leave out. Without the password, the backup can’t be restored.
Key takeaways
- Computer backups aren’t encrypted by default.
- Encryption adds passwords, Health data and call history.
- A forgotten password makes old encrypted backups unusable.
Why encrypt a computer backup
A backup on your Mac or PC contains almost all of your iPhone’s data and settings, and it isn’t encrypted by default. Turning on encryption locks the backup with a password you choose, and lets it include information that unencrypted backups leave out:
- Saved passwords and Keychain data
- Wi-Fi settings
- Website history
- Call history
- Health and Activity data
Even encrypted, a backup never contains Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. Backups made to iCloud are always encrypted; this setting is only about backups on your computer.
How to turn it on
- On a Mac, open Finder. On a Windows PC, open the Apple Devices app, or iTunes if you don’t have it.
- Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it, and tap Trust if asked.
- Select the iPhone, then open the General tab (Summary in iTunes).
- Under Backups, select “Encrypt local backup”.
- Create a password. The backup starts and replaces your previous backups with encrypted ones.
From then on, every backup of that iPhone on this computer is encrypted. To check, look for the “Encrypt local backup” box ticked, or a lock next to the backup in Manage Backups. When it’s done, make sure the backup finished successfully.
Choosing and keeping the password
You can’t restore an encrypted backup without its password. Choose one you don’t use anywhere else, and keep it where you will find it on the day your iPhone breaks: a password manager you can reach from another device, or paper filed with important documents. A password stored only on the iPhone being backed up doesn’t help when that iPhone is gone.
If you forget the password
An old encrypted backup can’t be opened without its password. You can, however, start a new one:
- On the iPhone, go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset.
- Tap Reset All Settings, enter your passcode and confirm.
- Connect the iPhone to the computer again and make a new encrypted backup with a new password.
Reset All Settings doesn’t erase your data or passwords. It resets settings like display brightness, Home Screen layout and wallpaper, and removes the backup password. Previous encrypted backups remain locked for good.
Backups and vault apps
Your backup password protects the backup as a whole. A vault app adds a layer of its own. Latent stores every file already encrypted, and restores a vault on a new iPhone from its own encrypted iCloud backup with the vault’s nine-word recovery phrase — keep that phrase as carefully as your backup password.