Apple
Updated Sep 28, 2026
Apple is one login and several separate archives, and the gap is the obvious one. privacy.apple.com does not cover iCloud Photos or iCloud Drive, so a complete Apple export means two separate downloads, plus a conversion step for anything that only ever existed on the device itself. More work than any other account on this site, and worth it. Fitness data, messages, purchases and everything Find My recorded about you are all in there somewhere.
What you'll get
Before you start
- Go to privacy.apple.com and sign in with your Apple Account.
- Choose "Request a copy of your data". This is the account half of the archive, and it does not include your iCloud Photos or iCloud Drive.
- Decide separately whether you are also downloading iCloud Photos and Drive from icloud.com. Skip it if you already sync those to a Mac or PC, you will end up with three copies.
- Pick your categories. Leaving everything selected is fine and gives the complete picture, but it is also a very large archive.
- Do not close your browser or sign out until the request is confirmed, and do not deactivate the account while one is pending. A request in flight during an account closure is a request that may never be answered.
How to download
- Select the categories you want and click Request copy.
- Apple emails you when the archive is ready. Preparation takes up to about a week, and there is no way to shorten it.
- The email contains a link to an encrypted ZIP. You have 14 days to download your data, after which it is removed from that location and you have to request it again.
- For iCloud Photos and Drive, sign in at icloud.com and start a separate download from Photos or Drive. This one is the big one, and it is not included in the privacy.apple.com archive.
Pro tip
The 14 day window is the part people miss. Apple prepares the archive, emails you a link, and removes it two weeks later whether you used it or not. Apple puts it plainly: you have 14 days to download your data, after which it is removed from that location. If you request on a Tuesday in a busy week, that is the deadline you are working to, not the day you got round to it.
Recommended backup tools
- Amazon SSD — 2TB SSD for a local encrypted backup. Apple archives get very large once photos and iCloud data are in the mix.
- ProtonDrive — End-to-end encrypted cloud vault for the full archive
- pCloud — Lifetime storage option for one-off full-account exports
After the download
- Significant Locations is the file that tends to surprise people. It is a record of where you spend time, and it often goes back years.
- Health records include per-day step count, heart rate and workout history. Read it before you archive it, because it is the most sensitive thing in the ZIP.
- App Store history lists every app you have ever downloaded and whether you still have it.
- Keep the encrypted ZIP itself. It is password protected, and the password is emailed separately, so store the two apart.
- The archive is large enough to want real storage. An external SSD keeps it local and encrypted; ProtonDrive or pCloud keeps a copy that survives the drive failing.