Cloud Storage Is Not Always a Backup: iCloud, OneDrive and Dropbox Explained
iCloud Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox keep your files handy, but they are not always a backup. Here is what each one can and cannot recover for you.
If your files are in iCloud, OneDrive or Dropbox, it is natural to feel they are safe. They are stored on someone else’s servers, you can reach them from any device, and the service keeps them up to date. That sounds like a backup.
Often it is not, or only partly. These services were built to keep your files available, not to protect you from every kind of loss. Knowing the difference is what stops a small mistake becoming a big one. This guide is part of our complete backup guide for Mac, iPhone and iPad.
What cloud storage actually does
Cloud storage keeps your files online and keeps the same files on all your devices. Change a document on your Mac and the change turns up on your iPad. That is the whole point, and it is very useful.
It also means the service copies whatever you do, including your mistakes. If you delete a file on one device, it normally disappears from the others as well. If you save over a good document with a bad one, the bad one becomes the new copy everywhere.
A real backup is different. It keeps a separate copy from before the mistake, so you can go back to it.
What the services give you instead
To be fair, the three big services do not leave you empty handed. They all keep deleted files for a while and keep some older versions of a file. That is a helpful safety net for everyday accidents.
The catch is that the safety net has limits. It lasts for a set number of days, it only covers files that are stored in the service, and once something is permanently removed it is gone. None of them gives you a copy of the whole Mac that you can restore after a failure.
iCloud Drive
Apple says recently deleted iCloud Drive files can be recovered for 30 days. You can find them in the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone or iPad, in the Trash on your Mac, or on the iCloud website. Files you remove permanently cannot be recovered.
On a Mac, iCloud Drive can also look after your Desktop and Documents folders. When that is turned on, those folders move into iCloud Drive instead of being kept only on your Mac. If you turn it off, your files stay in iCloud Drive and new, empty Desktop and Documents folders are created on your Mac. It is worth knowing about, because it means your “local” files may not be local at all.
Interestingly, Apple’s own advice for a missing iCloud Drive file includes checking your Time Machine backup. That tells you how Apple sees it: iCloud Drive keeps your files available, and Time Machine is the backup.
OneDrive
OneDrive has more recovery tools than most people realise. Deleted files go to a recycle bin. Microsoft says that is kept for 30 days on a personal account, or 93 days on a work or school account unless the administrator has changed it. Older versions of a file are also kept for a limited time, and a work account depends on how the administrator has set it up.
If a lot goes wrong at once, Microsoft 365 subscribers can restore their whole OneDrive to an earlier time within the last 30 days. This covers files that have been deleted, overwritten, corrupted or infected with malware. It only works for files in your own OneDrive, not files that someone else shared with you, and a file that has been permanently deleted from the recycle bin can never be recovered.
On a Mac, OneDrive can also protect your Desktop and Documents folders. This needs the standalone OneDrive app, not the version from the Mac App Store, and the app needs Full Disk Access. If you sign in with a work account, your IT administrator may have switched this off.
Dropbox
Dropbox is the one that confuses people most, because it offers two different things. Ordinary Dropbox is cloud storage and syncing. It only keeps what is inside your Dropbox folder. Dropbox Backup is a separate feature that copies folders you choose from your computer, and from an external drive, to the cloud. Cloud backup and cloud storage are not the same.
How long you can recover deleted files depends on your plan. Dropbox says it is 30 days on Basic, Plus and Family plans, 180 days on Professional, Standard, Essentials and Business plans, and 365 days on Advanced, Business Plus and Enterprise plans. Files you permanently delete cannot be recovered. One more detail: files from an external drive cannot be edited in Dropbox. If you want to change them, you change them on the drive itself.
What this means for you
Cloud storage is a good place for the files you want to reach from anywhere and share with other people. It is worth using, and its recovery tools can save you from a lot of everyday accidents.
It should not be your only copy of anything important. A deleted file can disappear from every device at once. A problem with your account can put your files out of reach. And once the recovery period has passed, the safety net is gone.
The safer approach is to use cloud storage for access and sharing, and then keep a separate backup as well. For a Mac, that means Time Machine. For anything you could never replace, such as family photos or important records, keep one more copy somewhere that is not tied to your Mac or to a single cloud account.
If you want to see what each service covers one at a time, What Does Your Cloud Service Actually Protect? goes through iCloud, OneDrive and Dropbox in turn. For business files in Microsoft 365, read Does Microsoft 365 Back Up Your Business Data?
If you would like help working out what is protected and what is not, contact Your Mac Tech.
