Comparisons & alternatives · Backup and cloning tools
If FileVault is on, do I still need Data Backup's encryption?
Short answer: Yes. FileVault protects your Mac's own disk; it doesn't cover copies on other drives or in the cloud. Data Backup encrypts cloud backups on your Mac before upload with your passphrase, and local backups automatically.
Yes — they protect different things. FileVault encrypts your Mac's startup disk, so someone holding your Mac can't read it without your password. It doesn't protect copies of your files once they're on another drive or uploaded to a cloud account.
Data Backup protects the backups themselves:
- backups to a cloud account are encrypted on your Mac before they upload, with a passphrase you choose — the provider only ever sees scrambled data;
- backups to a local drive are encrypted automatically.
Keep your cloud backup passphrase somewhere safe: if it's lost, those backups can't be recovered by anyone, including us. We don't publish the technical details of the encryption, but that's what it means for you. See Data Backup.