Ditching iCloud backup - any alternatives?

[tobywatches]

I've basically filled the 200GB available to me in my iCloud backup (I run an iPhone and a Mac), for which I pay £2.50 a month.
The next iCloud storage plan is £7 a month for 2TB, which I just don't need. I've also heard iCloud is hardly the most secure backup so I'm wondering if it's possible to ditch it?
Does anyone know if there is a decent alternative that does the same job as iCloud? I want photos, contacts, passwords, calendar etc. not only to backup but also to seamlessly and automatically integrate onto my Macbook when I add them to my iPhone (12 mini) and vice versa.
Happy to pay more than £2.50 a month for a decent service but it's key to me that it effectively does the same thing as iCloud and I won't really notice any difference to the way my phone and computer link.
For ref. I also use Backblaze as a cloud backup for my Macbook but as far as I can tell they don't do anything that would backup my phone.
I also use Time Machine as a hard-disk backup for my Macbook.
Am I going overboard?

[wileeeeeey]

For the phone you’re looking at iCloud for cloud or iTunes for local (via computer).

You can backup photos elsewhere, somewhere like Google Photos, and remove the photos from iCloud and downgrade to a lower price plan - 5GB is free.

iCloud backups are safe, don’t let the celebrity hacks fool you. Most were either done accidentally on purpose or the forgotten password info was guessed. First school, city your parents met, date of birth, all stuff available online for celebs really.

I find it easier to go on an iCloud family plan to average out the cost by letting four others use the data. Means my photos are backed up twice but that’s my preference.

[RobM]

You’ll find yourself spending a lot more time, money, or probably both to end up with something less complete and no more secure.

Photo sync services cost similar prices to what you already pay, for example. They won’t be more secure or private unless you spend significantly more.
Daily iTunes backups are complete and secure, but you have to do them daily if you want your messages, settings, etc, to be properly protected.
File sync and backup services will add to your cost, and is question how much more secure they are.

IMO spend the money on iCloud, make sure you have 2 factor authentication and a good password, and exercise good online security practices.

[MartynJC (UK)]

I find £6.99/month for the 2TB quite acceptable for the functionality and have family sharing so cost is effectively across all family members. I thinks for the price of a pint of beer / couple of coffees out a month is worth it?

Works seamlessly for the Apple ecosphere for all devises - and secure with 2factor authentication etc as any system can be.

Try a separate “dumb” phone for verification for SMS authentication - with simple PAYG sim plan.

[Onelasttime]

I find £6.99 for a pint of beer utterly outrageous.

FTFY

[chicaneuk]

You’ll find yourself spending a lot more time, money, or probably both to end up with something less complete and no more secure.

Photo sync services cost similar prices to what you already pay, for example. They won’t be more secure or private unless you spend significantly more.
Daily iTunes backups are complete and secure, but you have to do them daily if you want your messages, settings, etc, to be properly protected.
File sync and backup services will add to your cost, and is question how much more secure they are.

IMO spend the money on iCloud, make sure you have 2 factor authentication and a good password, and exercise good online security practices.

Have to agree. If you are already invested in the eco system with a Mac and an iPhone, it’s the only real way to go for the most seamless integration.

[Phil Lee]

For iOS backups, especially photos, iCloud is the way to go. I pay for the Family One Premier sub to get music and iCloud backup for my whole family. I’ve never had an issue with photo sync or backup.

I do also pay for Backblaze to backup my Mac. This backups my local copy of the Photos library. I also upload my photos manually to Smugmug and do Time Machine backups to two different drivers. You can’t have too many backups IMO and I’m happy to pay for the best options.

[Christian]

I'm a fully committed apple user. I pay for the 50GB cloud which is something like 79p a month and use Google Drive 2TB at £79.99 per year. The 50GB covers all my photos - I can't imagine you'll exceed it unless you shoot lots of video. The google drive is used for everything else and integrates very well with both MacOS and iOS.

[EBB21]

I use Apple's 79p a month site and Google Drive free. I've always edited both photo libraries regularly and find it keeps the usage down. Just keep the best.

[craig1912]

I'm a fully committed apple user. I pay for the 50GB cloud which is something like 79p a month and use Google Drive 2TB at £79.99 per year. The 50GB covers all my photos - I can't imagine you'll exceed it unless you shoot lots of video. The google drive is used for everything else and integrates very well with both MacOS and iOS.

50Gb of photos isn’t a lot. I have at least 500gb.
I use iCloud at 6.99 pm, Backblaze, flick pro, one time machine and a separate local back up drive too.

[Christian]

50Gb of photos isn’t a lot. I have at least 500gb.
I use iCloud at 6.99 pm, Backblaze, flick pro, one time machine and a separate local back up drive too.

It’s saved every photo I’ve ever taken on my iPhone since 2015. I’m assuming you either take a serious amount of photos or shoot raw?

[craig1912]

It’s saved every photo I’ve ever taken on my iPhone since 2015. I’m assuming you either take a serious amount of photos or shoot raw?

Both but not ridiculous amounts an roughly 24 years worth of photos, with iPhone and a few different cameras over the years

[Saint-Just]

Kind of related but recently photos I take on my iPhone show up on my iPad but no longer appear on my Mac. I have iCloud set up on all three devices and have the 50GB iCloud storage. I’ve googled galore but still can’t get the photos onto the Mac unless I attach the phone to the Mac and manually import them. Anyone had this and fixed it?

It’s working as designed I believe.
I think the idea is that when on your iPhone you take pictures and they need to be backed up just in case, whereas on your computer when you import you choose the ones you want to keep.

[kultschar]

Think I pay 20 quid for family of 4 for Apple Music, Games some other fluff and 2TB.

As people mentioned above - family plan for 4 is great value if you have 3 others to share with

[guinea]

The 50GB covers all my photos - I can't imagine you'll exceed it unless you shoot lots of video.

I take more than that each night through the winter. 5Gb isn't much these days.

I use google drive to back up, and use Google's recovery tools for my android phone. I guess these things aren't available easily on iPhones?