Guides

Where are iPhone backups stored on a Mac, and how big are they?

Your Mac keeps iPhone and iPad backups in one folder inside your user Library: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup.

Quick answer In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder, paste ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, and press Return. Each folder inside is one backup. To see sizes and delete old backups safely, use System Settings › General › Storage › iOS Files, or Finder's Manage Backups button. Don't rename or edit anything inside these folders.

This applies to backups made with Finder (macOS Catalina and later, including all recent versions) and with iTunes on older macOS. Backups stored in iCloud are not on your Mac.

How to open the backup folder

The Library folder is hidden by default, so the easiest way in is Go to Folder.

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
2. In the menu bar, choose Go › Go to Folder.
3. Type or paste: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
4. Press Return.

You'll see one folder for each backup. The names are long strings of letters and numbers, not "Anna's iPhone," so it can be hard to tell which is which.

To jump to one specific backup, use Finder's own list instead:

1. Connect your iPhone and select it in the Finder sidebar.
2. In the General tab, click Manage Backups.
3. Control-click a backup and choose Show in Finder.

Look, but don't touch

Treat this folder as read-only. A backup is thousands of small files that only make sense together. If you rename, edit, move or delete anything inside a backup folder, the whole backup may stop working, and you might not find out until the day you need to restore.

Safe things to do here:

• Look at the folders.
• Check the size of a backup folder (select it and choose File › Get Info).
• Copy a whole backup folder somewhere else as an extra copy.

Everything else, like deleting, is safer from the tools below.

How much space do backups take?

There's no single number. A backup is roughly the size of your personal data and settings on that iPhone. It's often smaller than the "used" figure on the phone, because some things aren't included:

• Apps, music, movies and books from Apple's stores (they download again on restore)
• Photos and messages already kept in iCloud
• Music, videos and photos you synced from your Mac
• Face ID, Touch ID and Apple Pay settings

Old backups add up, though. If you've had several iPhones, or you archived backups, you may have more than you think.

See it in Storage settings

1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings.
2. Click General, then Storage.
3. Find iOS Files and click the info button (i) next to it.

You'll see each backup and how much space it uses. iOS Files can also include iPhone and iPad software update files that your Mac downloaded.

On macOS Monterey and earlier, start from Apple menu › About This Mac › Storage instead.

How to delete old backups safely

Before you delete, keep in mind: a deleted backup can't be recovered. Keep at least your newest backup of each device you still use.

Option 1: From Storage settings

1. Open System Settings › General › Storage.
2. Click the info button (i) next to iOS Files.
3. Select the backup you no longer need.
4. Click Delete, then confirm.

Option 2: From Finder

1. Connect your iPhone and select it in the Finder sidebar.
2. Click General, then Manage Backups.
3. Control-click the backup you want to remove.
4. Choose Delete, then confirm.
5. Click OK.

The same menu has Archive. An archived backup is kept as is, so newer backups won't replace it. That's handy before an iOS update. Just remember that archived backups keep using space until you delete them.

Can you move backups to an external drive?

Finder has no setting to save iPhone backups to a different drive. It always uses the folder above.

You can safely copy a whole backup folder to an external drive as an extra copy. To do it well:

• Copy the entire folder, not files from inside it.
• Wait until the copy is completely finished before you unplug the drive.
• Leave the original in place until you're sure the copy is complete.
• To use it later, copy the whole folder back into the Backup folder on your Mac. If a folder with the same name is already there, it's a newer backup of the same device. Copying over it replaces it.

Be careful with tricks you may find online that make Finder save straight to an external drive. They rely on Terminal commands. If the drive is unplugged, renamed or slow to wake, backups can fail without a clear warning, and you may be left with no good backup at all. For most people, the safer path is to back up normally, then free space by deleting old backups.

Encrypted vs. unencrypted: what's inside

Both kinds hold almost all of your iPhone's data and settings, such as app data, settings, and messages that aren't kept in iCloud.

An encrypted backup also includes the most personal parts:

• Saved passwords (Keychain)
• Health and Activity data
• Wi-Fi settings
• Website history
• Call history

And it's locked with a password, so someone who copies the folder can't read it.

An unencrypted backup leaves those out, and its contents aren't locked. Anyone who can get into your Mac user account could copy it.

To check which kind you have, open Manage Backups in Finder. A lock icon next to a backup means it's encrypted. To turn encryption on, select "Encrypt local backup" in your iPhone's General tab in Finder and set a password. Keep that password safe. Without it, the backup can't be used.

Updated November 2026