My Photo Copy
iCloud storage is full
"iPhone storage full" and a bigger plan every year. Put the originals on a 256 GB stick and decide what stays on the phone.
iPhone USB backup. No computer needed.
Plug a USB stick or SSD into your iPhone and tap “Start backup”. Every original is copied and checked. No computer, no cloud.
Free for your first 250 photos and videos.
Works with the drive you already own
USB-C stick
SSD
Lightning stick
- No PC or MacThe iPhone writes to the drive itself.
- No cloudNothing leaves the phone except onto your drive.
- OriginalsHEIC, RAW, ProRes, 4K, Live Photos. Untouched.
- CheckedEvery file read back after it lands.
See it in 30 seconds
A real backup on a real iPhone, from plugging in the stick to the last file checked.
Five screens, start to finish
This is the whole app. Tap through it.
Which drive fits your iPhone?
A USB-C stick or SSD plugs straight in
Your iPhone has a USB-C port. Any USB-C flash drive works, and so does a portable SSD with a USB-C cable. For a big library or lots of 4K video, the SSD is faster and holds more.
Most SSDs run from the iPhone's power. A spinning hard drive usually needs a powered hub.
Use a Lightning stick, or Apple's adapter
A Lightning flash drive plugs straight in. Or use Apple's Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter with any USB stick or SSD; plug the adapter into power for bigger drives.
Lightning is slower than USB-C, so leave a big first backup running on a charger.
How big a drive do you need?
Move the sliders to roughly match your library. Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Photos shows the real number.
About 42 GB. A 64 GB drive leaves room to grow.
Estimate: 3.5 MB per photo and 120 MB per video. 4K and ProRes video run much larger.
Verified
Copied isn't the same as verified
After each file lands, My Photo Copy reads it back off the drive and compares its SHA-256 with the data your iPhone sent, and checks its size against what your photo library reports for the original. Both have to match.
What's on the drive is plain folders by date, like 2024/07/IMG_4231.HEIC. Dates and places stay intact. Any Mac, PC or TV opens them, no app needed.
18,420 originals verifiedHow the end of a run reads. Anything that couldn't be copied is listed by name, with the reason.
iCloud, a computer, or a USB stick
Three ways to keep a second copy of your iPhone photos. They're good at different things.
| My Photo Copy | iCloud Photos | Mac or PC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needs a computer | No | No | Yes |
| Monthly fee | None, pay once | Above 5 GB | None |
| Photos uploaded | No | Yes, to Apple | No |
| Every file checked | Yes | Not shown | No |
| Plain files, any computer | Yes | Download first | Yes |
| Syncs by itself | No, you run it | Yes | No |
| Copy kept off-site | If you move it | Yes | If you move it |
Step by step: how to do a USB backup of your iPhone without a computer. The honest answer for most families: keep iCloud if you like it, and keep a drive you hold as well.
When people reach for it
Before trading in an iPhone
Back up the old phone to a stick before you wipe it. A copy that doesn't depend on the transfer going right.
After a trip
Hundreds of photos and 4K clips from a holiday. Copy them to an SSD in the hotel, no laptop packed.
A family archive
Back up a parent's iPhone to a USB stick and put it in a drawer. Plain folders anyone can open in twenty years.
Questions
How do I transfer photos from my iPhone to a flash drive without a computer?
Plug the flash drive into your iPhone, open My Photo Copy, pick the drive, choose what to copy and tap Start backup. iPhone 15 and later take USB-C drives directly; earlier iPhones need a Lightning stick or Apple's Lightning to USB adapter.
Can I back up iPhone photos without iCloud?
Yes. Nothing is uploaded and there's no account. If your originals live in iCloud because Optimise iPhone Storage is on, the app downloads each one first, then copies it to the drive. Start a big backup on Wi-Fi.
Does it work with SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston or other drives?
If the Files app can see the drive, My Photo Copy can write to it. Use exFAT, APFS, HFS+ or FAT32. exFAT is best if you also use the drive on Windows. FAT32 can't hold single files over 4 GB, so long 4K videos need exFAT.
Does it keep Live Photos, RAW and video?
Yes. HEIC, JPEG, PNG, RAW, MOV, 4K and ProRes are copied as the originals, and a Live Photo's still and video are copied as a pair. Nothing is recompressed or renamed.
Will it free up space on my iPhone?
Copying never deletes anything. Once your backup is verified you can remove photos yourself, or let Photo Trim, from the same developer, clear duplicates and old screenshots.
Can I use my phone while it runs?
iOS pauses apps that leave the screen, so keep My Photo Copy open on a charger for a big first backup. If you leave, it pauses and carries on when you come back. Later runs only copy what's new.
How do I get my photos back?
Plug the drive into any computer and copy the year folders. They're ordinary files, exactly as the camera wrote them.
Is one drive enough?
One drive is one copy. Keep a second one somewhere else. This gives you a copy that's yours; it doesn't replace an off-site backup.
What does it cost?
The first 250 photos and videos are free, with verification. My Photo Copy Pro removes the limit, once or yearly. Family Sharing works on both.