iCloud: How to back up iCloud data

• It is recommended that you enable iCloud Backup for your iOS device in addition to backing up your data synced from your iOS devices to your computers. Click here for more information about iCloud Backup.
• In addition to backing up via iCloud Backup, you should also consider backing up via iTunes as advised in the backup and restore overview.

Find the type of data you would like to back up, and follow the instructions specific to your device. These instructions explain how to back up data that is in iCloud, as well as application data that only exists on that device. Therefore, if you back up data from the most up-to-date source, you only need to follow the steps for one device. Methods for each device type are provided for your convenience.

• Safari bookmarks
  • To export bookmarks, choose File > Export Bookmarks. Specify a location for the exported file. The file’s name will be “Safari Bookmarks.html” by default.

• Safari for Windows bookmarks
  •  To export bookmarks, choose File > Export Bookmarks. Specify a location for the exported file. The file’s name will be “Safari Bookmarks.html” by default.

• Internet Explorer favorites (bookmarks)
  • For information on how to export a copy of your Internet Explorer favorites, see this article.  

• iCloud.com Calendar

This method of backing up starts with publishing a calendar that you can then download to your computer. If your calendar is already on your computer, skip to the OS X or Windows instructions.

1. Go to iCloud Calendar at icloud.com/calendar and sign in using your iCloud Apple ID and password.
2. Publicly share a calendar.
3. Select and copy the URL (web address) from that shared calendar, and paste it to the address field in your browser; do not press Enter or Return yet.
4. Change "webcal" to "http", and then press Enter.
5. An ICS file will download to your default downloads location. The calendar can be added to a calendar client like iCal on Mac or Outlook on a Windows PC.
6. Once the download completes, unpublish the shared calendar.

• Calendar for OS X Mountain Lion and iCal for OS X Lion
  1. Open Calendar or iCal.
  2. Click the Calendars button to show the Calendar list, if it is not already displayed.
  3. Select one of the calendars in the Calendar list.
  4. Choose File > Export > Export.
  5. Save the file to a safe location.
  6. Repeat for every calendar you want to back up.
      
• Calendars in Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 for Windows  
  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Select the calendar you wish to back up in the Calendar list. Deselect all other calendars.
  3. Choose File > Save As.
  4. Click More Options to adjust the date range and amount of detail to include the whole calendar (this will vary depending on your version of Outlook). Click OK.
  5. Choose a safe location for your calendar. Click Save.
  6. Repeat for every calendar you want to back up.

• iCloud.com Contacts
  
  1. Go to iCloud Contacts at icloud.com/contacts, and sign in using your iCloud Apple ID and password.
  2. Verify you are viewing All Contacts by looking at the top-left of the Contacts address book style interface. You should see All Contacts.
     1. If you are not viewing All Contacts, click the groups ribbon to load the Groups interface.
     2. Then, click All Contacts in the Group interface to load All Contacts.
     3. Click the groups ribbon again to return to the standard Contacts interface.
  3. Click the Action (gear) menu, and select Select All. Every Contact should be highlighted after doing this.
  4. Click the Action (gear) menu, and select Export vCard.
  5. A combo vCard will be created and begin downloading.
     • Safari on OS X will automatically download the combo vCard to your Downloads folder (~/Downloads).
     • Other web browsers, and Safari on Windows, will prompt you about where you wish to save the combo vCard. Choose a location, and save the combo vCard.

Note: If you make extensive use of Groups, you should also consider backing up your entire Address Book Database by creating an Address Book Backup (ABBU) file via the OS X Address Book application. You can find instructions for this in the OS X Lion section below. The standard vCard method of backing up, which creates a bulk vCard as described above, will not back up Groups. However, it does allow easy back up and recovery of Contacts. Address Book Archives are more complex, and in some cases, may not properly restore data for iCloud members while connected to the Internet. If you use Groups, you should create both types of backups. If you don't use Groups beyond the default All Contacts group, then vCards are the best method of backup.

• Contacts for OS X Mountain Lion and Address Book for OS X Lion
  1. Open Contacts or Address Book.
  2. From the View menu, choose View > Groups. A checkmark will appear to the left of Groups.
  3. In your Contacts or Address Book, under the iCloud section, select All Contacts.
  4. Select the first contact in the Contacts list on the right side of the Contracts or Address Book window. The contact's name will be printed in blue when it's selected.
  5. From the Edit menu, Select All. This will turn all contact names to blue text.
  6. From the File menu, choose Export > Export vCard. Specify a location for the exported file. Click Save.

Note: If you make extensive use of Groups, you should also back up your entire contacts Database. In Contacts for OS X Mountain Lion, choose File > Export > Contacts Archive. In Address for OS X Lion, choose File > Export > Address Book Archive. The standard vCard method of backing up, which creates a bulk vCard as described above, will not back up Groups. However, it does allow easy back up and recovery of Contacts. Archives are more complex, and in some cases, may not properly restore data for iCloud members while connected to the Internet. If you use Groups, you should create both types of backups. If you don't use Groups beyond the default All Contacts group, then vCards are the best method of backup.

• Contacts in Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 

Export your contact data via Outlook's Export Wizard. For more information, see this article. 

• iWork for iOS apps
  • For documents created with the iWork for iOS apps, you can download those files by visiting icloud.com/iwork on a Mac or PC and downloading a copy.  After downloading the files, you should back them up using the normal methods you use for backing up local files such as Time Machine, manually copying files to external hard drives, and burning to CD/DVD.
     
• Documents on OS X Mountain Lion
  • For documents created with iWork applications, Preview, or TextEdit on Mountain Lion, you can download these files by opening the application, as support for iCloud is built-in. After opening the application, navigate to the iCloud view in the iCloud Document Library pop-up menu. You can drag-and-drop a file or multiple files from that window to your Desktop or another location on your Mac.
  • Note: Preview and TextEdit files are only available in the iCloud Document Library pop-up menu on Mountain Lion, not on icloud.com/iwork. 
     
• Other apps
  • For other apps using iCloud Documents, contact the app developer for more information on how to keep a copy of that app's data.  

• iTunes in the Cloud is a way to match your data across multiple computers and devices. It functions as a back up of sorts, as it allows you to redownload all your purchased music, and matches any other music you may have that is available in the iTunes store, regardless of source. Additionally, iTunes in the Cloud allows you to redownload apps, books, and TV shows. In the interest of maintaining complete backups, you still may wish to back up your iTunes data manually as well. For more information, see the iTunes Help topic "Back up your iTunes files." 

• Mail for OS X Mountain Lion and Lion

In Mac OS X Mail, you can save copies of iCloud email messages to a local disk if you want to create backups of iCloud messages you have received. 

There are three ways you can back up your Mail.

1. Back up an entire mailbox

To back up an entire mailbox including all subfolders, select the mailbox you want to export from the MAILBOXES list, for example "Inbox." Select Mailbox > Export Mailbox. Select a location, and click Choose. This creates a single file containing all of your mail from that mailbox in an .mbox format. 

2. Back up individual messages

You can also manually drag messages from Mail's message list to your computer (to your desktop, for example) to create copies.

Select one or more messages from one of your MAILBOXES. Holding the Option key down, drag the messages to your desired location. A green plus icon should appear as you're dragging the Messages to the new location. This creates a copy of your iCloud mail on your computer. In the example below, the messages are copied to the On My Mac folder in Mail that only exists on the local drive, and is not synced to iCloud.

3. Create an On My Mac mailbox on your Mac

If you have not yet created a local "On My Mac" mailbox to save iCloud messages to, follow these steps. If you already have done this, skip to the next section.

1. Open Mail.
2. From the View menu, choose Show Mailbox List.
3. From the Mailbox menu, choose New Mailbox.
4. In the New Mailbox dialog, choose On My Mac from the Location pop-up menu.
5. Enter a name in the Name field such as "iCloud Archive," "iCloud Backup," or "local backup."
6. Click OK.

You'll notice that the new mailbox appears in the On My Mac section of the Mailbox List.

Copy/back up messages to your offline mailbox

1. Open Mail.
2. Select the messages in your iCloud mailbox that you want to copy or back up.
3. From the Message menu, choose Copy To > (Name of your offline mailbox). Alternatively, you can Control-click or right-click the messages and choose Copy To > (Name) from the contextual menu.

Note: Use Copy To, not Move To when creating a copy. The Move To menu choice copies messages but also removes them from their original location. If you move messages from your iCloud IMAP Mailboxes such as your Inbox, Drafts, or Sent folders, those messages will not be available on other computers or devices. They will only be available on the computer you moved them to.

Your copied mail will now be available on your Mac even if you are offline. To access copied messages, select the mailbox you created in the On My Mac section.

Note: iCloud Notes can be backed up the same way, though you should copy them to the Notes mailbox in the On My Mac Section.

• Notes in Mail for OS X Lion
  • Open Mail.
  • In the Reminders section, click the disclosure triangle next to Notes to display both the Notes On My Mac and in iCloud. 
  • Select one or more Notes in the iCloud list. Holding the Option key down, drag the notes into your On My Mac folder for Notes. A green plus icon should appear as you're dragging the Notes to the new folder. This creates a copy of your iCloud Notes on your computer. 
     
• Notes for OS X Mountain Lion
  • Open Notes.
  • Select View > Show Folders.
  • Create a new folder called Notes Backup in the On My Mac section of your folders list. 
  • Select one or more notes from your All iCloud folder. Holding the Option key down, drag the notes into the Notes Backup folder. A green plus icon should appear as you're dragging the Notes to the new folder. This creates a copy of your iCloud Notes on your computer.
  • If you have an iCloud section in your folders list, but not an On My Mac section, you will need to create one.
    • In System Preferences, select iCloud.
      • Sign out of iCloud. You will be prompted to keep or delete all of your synced data from your Mac. All of your iCloud data will be re-synced with your Mac when you sign back in.
    • If you have any additional accounts set up in Mail, Contacts & Calendars System Preferences with which you are syncing Notes (such as GMail or Yahoo!), you will need to deselect Notes for those accounts.
    • Open Notes.
      • Select View > Show Folders List.
      • Select File > New Folder.
      • Name your folder Notes Backup.
      • Create a new note in that folder as a placeholder. 
    • In System Preferences, select iCloud.
      • Sign in to iCloud.
      • Make sure that the checkbox for "Use iCloud for contacts, calendars, reminders, notes, and Safari" is selected.
    • Select Notes again in the Mail, Contacts & Calendars System Preferences for any other accounts that you had previously disabled. 
    • Go back to Notes.
      • You should now see a section in your Folders List for iCloud and a section for On My Mac.
      • Follow the instructions above for making a local backup of your iCloud Notes.

• iOS devices
  • Any photos that are in your photo stream can be saved to your iOS Camera Roll. You can sync your Camera Roll on Mac OS or Windows by using iTunes Photo Sync. Furthermore, items in your Photo Stream are automatically saved to your computer, and are available even if you disable Photo Stream.
  • It is recommended that you enable iCloud Backup for your iOS device in addition to backing up your data synced from your iOS devices to your computers. Click here for more information about iCloud Backup.
  • If you want to back up photos from a Shared Photo Stream to which you have subscribed, you must first save the photos to your Camera Roll.
    • From your Home screen, tap Photos.
    • Tap the Photo Stream tab.
    • Tap the name of the Shared Photo Stream to which you have subscribed.
    • Tap Edit. Tap the photos you want to save to your Camera Roll.
    • Tap Share.
    • Tap "Save to Camera Roll."
    • To back up your iOS device, see this article.
  • Note: Any comments or likes attached to a Shared Photo Stream photo will not be backed up.
     
• OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Lion
  • Any photos that are in your photo stream can be saved to your iOS Camera Roll, or saved locally in iPhoto or Aperture.  
    • For information about backing up iPhoto, see iPhoto '11: Back up your iPhoto library.
    • For information about backing up Aperture, see Aperture: Using Time Machine to backup a library.
       
• Windows
  • For Windows, all items in your Photo Stream are automatically saved to your computer, and are available even if you disable Photo Stream. For information about backing up your data that you use with iCloud, visit Microsoft's Use Windows to back up your computer page to get started. 

• Reminders in iCal for Mac OS X Lion
  • Open iCal. In the Reminders pane, click the down arrow next to Reminders to display your Reminders lists.
  • Hold the Control key down, and click on the name of the Reminders list that you want to back up.
  • Select Export from the pop-up menu.
  • Specify a location for the exported file. Click Export.
     
• Reminders for Mac OS X Mountain Lion
  • Open Reminders. 
  • Select File > Export. 
  • Specify a location for the exported file. Click Export.