Time Machine is a backup utility built into macOS that allows you to create a backup of all your data on external storage that is updated every hour. This particular setup offers the dual advantage of having your content synced across multiple devices and having it stored in multiple locations. For example, you could back up your Mac’s entire disk with Time Machine and additionally store your documents and other files in iCloud Drive. Of course, like all backup solutions, it is not perfect, so it is generally advised to also have your data in another place, such as a cloud service.

Thus in this guide, I will be discussing how to back up your Mac with Time Machine, the Mac’s built in backup utility.

However, iCloud backup is not available on macOS. If you have an iOS or iPadOS device, you probably back up the data on it in iCloud. For this reason, it is advisable to always back up your data. The device’s internal storage, either a hard drive or solid state drive, could fail, complications could occur during an update or other system event, the device could get lost or stolen, or a flood or fire could break out at the device’s location. When your critical information is stored in only one medium, it is inherently vulnerable.

If you own a computer or mobile device, there’s one thing you’ve probably heard time and time again, back up your data.

Backup my mac to icloud