The easiest backup for iPhone photos is iCloud Photos, which uploads every picture automatically over Wi-Fi. If the free 5 GB fills up, you can pay for more iCloud storage, use Google Photos, or copy everything to a computer or external hard drive.
Updated 29 October 2026.
iCloud Photos: how it works
Turn it on in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos > Sync this iPhone.
- Every photo and video uploads when you’re on Wi-Fi, and appears on your other Apple devices and at icloud.com.
- Choose Optimise iPhone Storage to keep small versions on the phone and full-size originals in iCloud, which frees space.
- It’s a sync, not a separate copy. Delete a photo on the phone and it’s deleted from iCloud too (it sits in Recently Deleted for about 30 days). If you deleted something by mistake, see how to get photos back from iCloud.
iCloud Photos is separate from iCloud Backup, which saves apps and settings. Learn the difference in how to back up an iPhone to iCloud.
When 5 GB is not enough
Every Apple account gets 5 GB free, shared between photos, backups and mail. A few months of photos and videos fills it.
Apple charges Kenyan accounts in US dollars, taxes included (Apple’s price list):
| iCloud+ plan | Per month |
|---|---|
| 50 GB | US$0.99 |
| 200 GB | US$3.49 |
| 2 TB | US$11.99 |
You’ll need a card that works for international payments, such as a bank card or an M-Pesa-linked virtual card. 200 GB can be shared with family, which makes it better value for a household.
Google Photos on iPhone
Google Photos works well on iPhone and is handy if you also use Android or a Windows PC.
- Install Google Photos and sign in with your Google account.
- Turn on Backup and allow access to all photos.
- Open the app now and then so it keeps uploading.
Your free Google storage (15 GB) is shared with Gmail and Drive. Once a photo shows a cloud tick in Google Photos, you can delete it from the iPhone to free space, but only if iCloud Photos is off (otherwise it also leaves iCloud).
Copy to a computer or hard drive
No monthly fees, and you keep the originals.
- Windows PC: plug the iPhone in with a cable, tap Trust, then open the Photos app and choose Import. Install the Apple Devices app or iTunes if Windows doesn’t see the phone.
- Mac: open Photos or Image Capture and import.
- Then copy the folder to an external hard drive kept somewhere safe.
iPhones save photos as HEIC files. Older Windows PCs may need the free HEIF extension from the Microsoft Store, or set Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC > Automatic so they convert to JPEG.
Best plan: two copies. For example, iCloud or Google Photos for daily safety, plus a hard drive copy every few months. More options for all your phone data are in how to back up your phone.
Quick answers
Turn on iCloud Photos in Settings, or install Google Photos and turn on backup. For a free option, import them to a computer.
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on Sync this iPhone, then connect to Wi-Fi.
Yes. Use Google Photos, or copy them to a Windows PC or Mac with a cable and keep a hard drive copy.
