Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Find a list of your iOS or iPadOS backups on your Mac, PC, and iOS or iPadOS device. Learn how to delete backups, copy them, and more.

  • Find backups stored on Mac or PC

  • Delete or copy backups stored on Mac or PC

  • Find and manage backups stored in iCloud

Find backups stored on your Mac or PC

To avoid ruining any of your backup files, here's what you should know:

  • The Finder and iTunes save backups to a Backup folder. The location of the Backup folder varies by operating system. Though you can copy the Backup folder, you should never move it to a different folder, external drive, or network drive.
  • Don't edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files, because these actions might ruin the files. For example, to restore from a relocated backup file, you need to move it back or the file won't work. Backups serve as a safe copy of your entire device. So while you might be able to view or access a backup file's contents, the contents usually aren't stored in a format that you can read.

Search for the backup folder on your Mac

To find a list of your backups:

  1. Click the magnifier icon in the menu bar.
  2. Type or copy and paste this: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
  3. Press Return.

To find a specific backup:

  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Click your device.
  2. In the Finder, under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Show in Finder, or you can select Delete or Archive. In iTunes, choose Preferences, then click Devices. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Show in Finder, or you can select Delete or Archive.
  3. Click OK when you're finished.

Search for the backup folder on Windows 7, 8, or 10

  1. Find the Search bar:
    • In Windows 7, click Start.
    • In Windows 8, click the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner.
    • In Windows 10, click the Search bar next to the Start button.
  2. In the Search bar, enter %appdata%. If you don't see your backups, enter %USERPROFILE%.
  3. Press Return.
  4. Double-click these folders: "Apple" or "Apple Computer" > MobileSync > Backup.

Delete or copy backups on your Mac or PC

Don't edit, relocate, rename, or extract content from your backup files, because these actions might ruin the files. Use the following sections to make copies of your backups or delete backups that you no longer need.

Copy backups to another location

If you need copies of your backups, you can find the Backup folder and copy the entire folder (not just part of it) to another place, like an external drive or network-storage location.

When you use Time Machine, it automatically copies your Backup folder when you back up the Home folder on your Mac.

Delete backups

  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Click your device.
  2. In the Finder, under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then select Delete or Archive. In iTunes, choose Preferences, then click Devices. From here, you can right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Delete or Archive. Click OK when you're finished.
  3. Click Delete Backup, then confirm.

Locate and manage backups stored in iCloud

If you use iCloud Backup, you won't find a list of your backups on iCloud.com. Here's how to find your iCloud backups on your iOS or iPadOS device, Mac, or PC.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

  • Using iOS 11 or later and iPadOS, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups.
  • Using iOS 10.3, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap the graph that shows your iCloud usage, then tap Manage Storage.

Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up, or delete the backup.

You can choose which content to back up only from the Settings menu of the device that stores that content. For example, while you can view your iPad backup from your iPhone, you can choose which iPad content to back up only from the Settings menu of your iPad.

On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later:

  1. Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences.
  2. Click Apple ID.
  3. Click iCloud.
  4. Click Manage.
  5. Select Backups.

On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier:

  1. Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences.
  2. Click iCloud.
  3. Click Manage.
  4. Select Backups.

On your PC:

  1. Open iCloud for Windows
  2. Click Storage.
  3. Select Backup.

Learn more about how to delete or manage iCloud backups from your Mac or PC.

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