Losing an iPhone can be stressful — but if you’ve backed up your iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC, you can still recover your important photos, videos, messages, and other data without the device. This guide explains where iPhone backups are stored on your computer and how to extract your data safely, even if the iPhone itself is no longer available.
Understand Where iPhone Backups Are Stored
Apple provides two official ways to back up iPhones to a computer: iTunes (on Windows or older versions of macOS) and Finder (on newer versions of macOS).
If you used a third-party backup app, the location of your iPhone backup may be different. In that case, contact the developer of the backup software for help.
If your backups were made with iTunes or Finder, you can locate and recover your data directly from your computer.
Locate iPhone Backup Files on Your Computer
iPhone backups are stored in hidden folders for security reasons. You won’t see them automatically when browsing through your files. Here’s how to access them manually:
On Windows:
• Open File Explorer. Enable hidden folders: Windows 10/11: Go to the View tab (or View -> Show -> Hidden items) and check Hidden items.
• Copy and paste this path (C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup) into the address bar, then press Enter:
On Mac:
Open Finder and access Finder main menu -> Go -> Go to Folder… enter “~/Library” and click Go button, and then access the subfolder “Application Support/MobileSync/Backup”.
Inside this folder, you’ll see one or more backup folders, each named with your iPhone’s unique ID (UDID).
Extract iPhone Data from the Backup
While you can now see the backup files, they aren’t readable as normal files — the data is renamed and encrypted. You’ll need specialized software to view and extract it. We recommend using Fone Rescue to recover your photos, videos, messages, contacts, WhatsApp chats, and more. Here’s how to recover iPhone data with Fone Rescue:
1. Download and install Fone Rescue on your Mac or Windows PC.
2. (Mac only) Grant Full Disk Access: Go to System Settings/System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy -> Full Disk Access and add Fone Rescue.
3. Launch Fone Rescue. Select the Recover from iTunes Backup mode. Choose your iPhone backup, then start the scan. Once the scan is complete, preview the data, select what you need, and save it to your computer.
Final Thoughts
Even if your iPhone is lost or damaged, your data doesn’t have to be gone forever. By locating the hidden iPhone backup folder and using a reliable recovery tool, you can restore photos, videos, contacts, messages, and more directly on your computer.
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