How do I actually back up my data properly in 2026. What does a sensible backup setup look like for a home user

[Seb83]

I have been meaning to sort out proper backups for two years. What does a sensible backup setup actually look like for someone with a home PC and a phone? I have about 2TB of data I actually care about.

Looking for practical rather than perfect

[Danny47]

The 3-2-1 rule is still the benchmark. Three copies of your data, on two different media types, with one copy offsite. For a home user offsite usually means cloud

[Matticus]

For local backup on Windows use the built in File History or Macrium Reflect Free for full system image backups. File History is simple and automatic. Macrium gives you a bootable restore if the whole drive dies

[GhostRider63]

Practical setup for 2TB: an external HDD for local backup running automatic scheduled backups, plus a cloud service for the most important stuff. You do not need to back up everything to the cloud, just the irreplaceable things

[KeyboardWarrior]

Backblaze Personal Backup is 9 dollars a month for unlimited storage and backs up everything on your PC automatically in the background. It is the simplest fully automatic offsite backup that actually works

[EventHorizon25]

For your phone: Google Photos with the free tier for compressed images or pay for storage if you want originals. iCloud if you are on iPhone. The important thing is that it is automatic not something you do manually

[Sinead_47]

Test your backup restore before you need it. I cannot stress this enough. A backup you have never tested restoring from is a backup you do not actually have

[Nina24]

Syncthing between your PC and a NAS or another machine at a different location is a free self-hosted alternative to cloud backup that some people prefer for privacy reasons

[Gareth19]

The most common backup mistake is only having one copy. External HDDs fail. If your only backup is one external drive you are one dropped drive away from losing everything

[SuperPosition78]

Start simple and automate it. A backup that runs automatically without you thinking about it is infinitely better than a perfect backup system you do manually and forget