Open Photos → Photo Backup to copy media files. For a Finder device backup or a Time Machine snapshot already stored on the Mac, use Cleanup → Backups instead.
Create a plan
- Create a backup plan and choose its source. For an iPhone, connect it by USB, unlock it and trust this Mac. For Android, unlock the phone and choose Photo Transfer (PTP) or File Transfer (MTP). Use file transfer when you need to select additional phone folders. On the Mac, choose the System Photos Library or a local folder.
- Select photos, videos, or both. Choose a writable destination folder on the Mac or a connected drive. Review the example save path and save the plan.
- Choose Check Pending Items, review what needs copying, then Start Backup. When finished, open the backup folder and check a few files. Backup leaves the originals on the source.
Originals stored in iCloud
USB can copy only the items an iPhone makes available. For originals stored only in iCloud, allow time and space for the iPhone to download them before checking again. When backing up the Mac’s System Photos Library, Allow downloading originals from iCloud lets the backup retrieve cloud-only originals. With it off, the backup uses originals already on this Mac.
Continue or reuse a backup
Reconnect the same source and destination and choose Check Again after an interruption. Unchanged items already backed up are skipped. If the folder already contained a previous collection, use Recognize Existing Backups to check for matching files. Different files that share a name can be saved under different names.