{
  "schema": "https://storagestudio.us/schema/wiki-page.v1",
  "title": "Where a backup can go",
  "slug": "backup-destinations",
  "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-destinations",
  "markdown_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-destinations.md",
  "category": "Backups",
  "category_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backups/",
  "tags": [
    "backups",
    "external drive",
    "cloud accounts",
    "delta trust"
  ],
  "summary": "A backup set can go to a folder on another drive, to one of your own connected cloud accounts, or — if your plan includes it — to Storage Studio's own vault. Cloud backups are always encrypted on your Mac first.",
  "published_at": "2026-10-01T05:53:27.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-01T05:31:41.000Z",
  "headings": [
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "The choices",
      "id": "the-choices"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "A folder on a drive",
      "id": "a-folder-on-a-drive"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Your own cloud accounts",
      "id": "your-own-cloud-accounts"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Delta Trust and Delta Drive",
      "id": "delta-trust-and-delta-drive"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Changing or removing a destination",
      "id": "changing-or-removing-a-destination"
    }
  ],
  "links_out": [
    {
      "slug": "delta-trust",
      "label": "Delta Trust",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust"
    },
    {
      "slug": "delta-drive",
      "label": "Delta Drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cloud-accounts",
      "label": "Cloud accounts",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-backup-passphrase",
      "label": "The backup passphrase",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-backup-passphrase"
    },
    {
      "slug": "backup-speed-and-power",
      "label": "Backup speed, battery and the network",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-speed-and-power"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-recovery-kit",
      "label": "The recovery kit",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-recovery-kit"
    },
    {
      "slug": "delta-trust-delta-drive-and-my-drive",
      "label": "Delta Trust, Delta Drive and My Drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust-delta-drive-and-my-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "data-backup",
      "label": "Data Backup",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-backup"
    },
    {
      "slug": "backup-versions",
      "label": "Backup versions: what's kept and for how long",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-versions"
    },
    {
      "slug": "choosing-an-external-drive",
      "label": "Choosing an external drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/choosing-an-external-drive"
    }
  ],
  "links_in": [
    {
      "slug": "backup-versions",
      "title": "Backup versions: what's kept and for how long",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-versions"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cloud-accounts",
      "title": "Cloud accounts",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts"
    },
    {
      "slug": "connecting-box",
      "title": "Connecting Box",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-box"
    },
    {
      "slug": "connecting-dropbox",
      "title": "Connecting Dropbox",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-dropbox"
    },
    {
      "slug": "connecting-google-drive",
      "title": "Connecting Google Drive",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-google-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "connecting-onedrive",
      "title": "Connecting OneDrive, including work and school accounts",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-onedrive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "data-backup",
      "title": "Data Backup",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-backup"
    },
    {
      "slug": "delta-trust",
      "title": "Delta Trust",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust"
    },
    {
      "slug": "s3-compatible-storage",
      "title": "S3-compatible storage",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/s3-compatible-storage"
    },
    {
      "slug": "compared-with-time-machine",
      "title": "Storage Studio and Time Machine",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/compared-with-time-machine"
    },
    {
      "slug": "the-backup-passphrase",
      "title": "The backup passphrase",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-backup-passphrase"
    },
    {
      "slug": "backup-messages",
      "title": "What backup messages mean",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-messages"
    }
  ],
  "diagrams": [
    {
      "kind": "flowchart",
      "caption": "Choosing a destination for a backup set",
      "outline": "- Where should this set's backups live?\n  - On a drive: leads to Choose a folder…\n  - In a cloud account you connected: leads to Pick the account\n  - In Storage Studio's own vault: leads to Delta Trust — the locked vault\n- Choose a folder…\n  - leads to Same drive as the files?\n- Pick the account\n  - leads to Set a passphrase the first time\n- Delta Trust — the locked vault\n  - leads to Backups start\n- Same drive as the files?\n  - Yes: leads to The card warns you and suggests a second destination\n  - No: leads to Backups start\n- Set a passphrase the first time\n  - leads to Backups start\n",
      "source": "%% caption: Choosing a destination for a backup set\nflowchart TD\n  A{Where should this set's backups live?} -->|On a drive| B[Choose a folder…]\n  A -->|In a cloud account you connected| C[Pick the account]\n  A -->|In Storage Studio's own vault| D[Delta Trust — the locked vault]\n  B --> E{Same drive as the files?}\n  E -->|Yes| W[The card warns you and suggests a second destination]\n  E -->|No| OK[Backups start]\n  C --> P[Set a passphrase the first time]\n  P --> OK\n  D --> OK"
    }
  ],
  "images": [],
  "screenshots_pending": [
    {
      "alt": "A backup set card in the Data Backup window with the Destination menu open, showing the Included with Storage Studio section, Choose a folder… under Somewhere of your own, and a list of connected cloud accounts",
      "caption": "The Destination menu"
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Can I move my iPhone backups to an external drive on a Mac?",
      "answer": "Yes. Finder has no setting for where it keeps iPhone and iPad backups, but Storage Studio can move them to your external drive from What's Using Space: it copies them, checks every file arrived, and only then frees the space on your Mac. Finder keeps backing up to the drive afterwards, so keep…",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    },
    {
      "question": "What is purgeable space on a Mac and how do I clear it?",
      "answer": "Purgeable space is storage macOS is holding — old snapshots, cached cloud files, optimised media — that it frees automatically when you need room, which is why \"free\" space can look smaller than expected. Storage Studio reclaims a lot of it on demand instead of making you wait.",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    },
    {
      "question": "How do I reclaim space from local Time Machine snapshots on a Mac?",
      "answer": "macOS keeps point-in-time APFS local snapshots so Time Machine can restore even when your backup drive is away — useful, but they can hold a lot of space. Storage Studio lists every snapshot, shows which are already safely backed up, and reclaims the space you choose in one click.",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    }
  ],
  "text": "Each backup set sends its versions to one destination : a folder on another drive, one of your own connected cloud accounts, or — when your plan includes it — Storage Studio's own vault, Delta Trust . You choose it from the Destination menu on the set's card in Data Backup , and you can change it later. The choices The Destination menu groups them like this: Included with Storage Studio — appears when your plan includes it. Delta Trust — the locked vault is Storage Studio's own protected vault for backups; once Delta Drive is set up, Delta Drive — in your _Backup folder keeps a backup inside your Delta Drive. See Delta Trust and Delta Drive . Somewhere of your own — Choose a folder… picks a folder on any drive your Mac can see. Below a divider, each cloud account you've connected in Cloud accounts , listed by type and nickname. Accounts that can't hold ordinary files, such as photo-only libraries, aren't offered. The current destination has a tick beside it. Choosing a destination for a backup set Flowchart outline: Choosing a destination for a backup set Where should this set's backups live? On a drive: leads to Choose a folder… In a cloud account you connected: leads to Pick the account In Storage Studio's own vault: leads to Delta Trust — the locked vault Choose a folder… leads to Same drive as the files? Pick the account leads to Set a passphrase the first time Delta Trust — the locked vault leads to Backups start Same drive as the files? Yes: leads to The card warns you and suggests a second destination No: leads to Backups start Set a passphrase the first time leads to Backups start A folder on a drive Click Choose a folder… and pick a folder — usually on an external drive. Storage Studio makes a StorageStudioBackup folder inside it, with a folder for this Mac, so several Macs can share one drive without mixing their backups. You don't set a passphrase for a drive: the backup is unlocked automatically on this Mac. If the folder is on the same drive as the files you're backing up, the card warns: \"This is on the same drive as your files — it protects against mistakes, but not against that drive failing.\" That backup still helps you undo a deletion or go back to an earlier version, but add a second set to another drive or the cloud for real protection. Your own cloud accounts Pick a connected account from the menu. Before the first backup, Storage Studio asks you to Protect your cloud backup with a passphrase: your backups are encrypted on this Mac before they're uploaded. Storage-style accounts that keep files in buckets also ask you to pick one of your existing buckets, with Choose… listing them. See The backup passphrase . Cloud backups are slower than a drive, especially the first one. The card says so until the first cloud version has been checked — see Backup speed, battery and the network . Delta Trust and Delta Drive Delta Trust is a private vault kept by Storage Studio. Backups there are encrypted on your Mac, and the card describes it as \"protected vault · encrypted\" . There's no passphrase to set for each set — your recovery kit is what reconnects a Mac to it (see The recovery kit ). Delta Drive is your working drive in the same plan; a backup kept in its _Backup folder uses the same encryption and the same recovery kit, but lives beside files you can move and delete. More in Delta Trust, Delta Drive and My Drive . Changing or removing a destination Picking a different destination for a set that already has versions asks first: \"Change backup destination?\" Switching starts a fresh backup at the new place. The versions already saved at the old place stay there, but new backups don't go to them. Remove destination (keeps stored versions) , at the bottom of the menu, disconnects the destination. The set stops backing up and Back up automatically is switched off, but nothing stored there is deleted. Delete & start fresh… — offered on the card when something has gone wrong — is the one that erases. It removes every saved version of the set from its destination and starts again, and you have to type Delete to confirm. There's no undo. A set keeps its passphrase when you change its destination; changing the passphrase is a separate step. Common questions Can I move my iPhone backups to an external drive on a Mac? Yes. Finder has no setting for where it keeps iPhone and iPad backups, but Storage Studio can move them to your external drive from What's Using Space: it copies them, checks every file arrived, and only then frees the space on your Mac. Finder keeps backing up to the drive afterwards, so keep… What is purgeable space on a Mac and how do I clear it? Purgeable space is storage macOS is holding — old snapshots, cached cloud files, optimised media — that it frees automatically when you need room, which is why \"free\" space can look smaller than expected. Storage Studio reclaims a lot of it on demand instead of making you wait. How do I reclaim space from local Time Machine snapshots on a Mac? macOS keeps point-in-time APFS local snapshots so Time Machine can restore even when your backup drive is away — useful, but they can hold a lot of space. Storage Studio lists every snapshot, shows which are already safely backed up, and reclaims the space you choose in one click. See also: Data Backup · Backup versions: what's kept and for how long · Choosing an external drive",
  "markdown": "Each backup set sends its versions to one **destination**: a folder on another drive, one of your own connected cloud accounts, or — when your plan includes it — Storage Studio's own vault, **Delta Trust**. You choose it from the **Destination** menu on the set's card in **Data Backup**, and you can change it later.\n\n## The choices\n\nThe **Destination** menu groups them like this:\n\n- **Included with Storage Studio** — appears when your plan includes it. **Delta Trust — the locked vault** is Storage Studio's own protected vault for backups; once Delta Drive is set up, **Delta Drive — in your _Backup folder** keeps a backup inside your Delta Drive. See [Delta Trust](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust) and [Delta Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-drive).\n- **Somewhere of your own** — **Choose a folder…** picks a folder on any drive your Mac can see.\n- Below a divider, each cloud account you've connected in [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts), listed by type and nickname. Accounts that can't hold ordinary files, such as photo-only libraries, aren't offered.\n\nThe current destination has a tick beside it.\n\n```mermaid\n%% caption: Choosing a destination for a backup set\nflowchart TD\n  A{Where should this set's backups live?} -->|On a drive| B[Choose a folder…]\n  A -->|In a cloud account you connected| C[Pick the account]\n  A -->|In Storage Studio's own vault| D[Delta Trust — the locked vault]\n  B --> E{Same drive as the files?}\n  E -->|Yes| W[The card warns you and suggests a second destination]\n  E -->|No| OK[Backups start]\n  C --> P[Set a passphrase the first time]\n  P --> OK\n  D --> OK\n```\n\n*Flowchart — Choosing a destination for a backup set. Outline:*\n\n- Where should this set's backups live?\n  - On a drive: leads to Choose a folder…\n  - In a cloud account you connected: leads to Pick the account\n  - In Storage Studio's own vault: leads to Delta Trust — the locked vault\n- Choose a folder…\n  - leads to Same drive as the files?\n- Pick the account\n  - leads to Set a passphrase the first time\n- Delta Trust — the locked vault\n  - leads to Backups start\n- Same drive as the files?\n  - Yes: leads to The card warns you and suggests a second destination\n  - No: leads to Backups start\n- Set a passphrase the first time\n  - leads to Backups start\n\n## A folder on a drive\n\nClick **Choose a folder…** and pick a folder — usually on an external drive. Storage Studio makes a **StorageStudioBackup** folder inside it, with a folder for this Mac, so several Macs can share one drive without mixing their backups. You don't set a passphrase for a drive: the backup is unlocked automatically on this Mac.\n\nIf the folder is on the **same drive** as the files you're backing up, the card warns: *\"This is on the same drive as your files — it protects against mistakes, but not against that drive failing.\"* That backup still helps you undo a deletion or go back to an earlier version, but add a second set to another drive or the cloud for real protection.\n\n## Your own cloud accounts\n\nPick a connected account from the menu. Before the first backup, Storage Studio asks you to **Protect your cloud backup** with a passphrase: your backups are encrypted on this Mac before they're uploaded. Storage-style accounts that keep files in buckets also ask you to pick one of your existing buckets, with **Choose…** listing them. See [The backup passphrase](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-backup-passphrase).\n\nCloud backups are slower than a drive, especially the first one. The card says so until the first cloud version has been checked — see [Backup speed, battery and the network](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-speed-and-power).\n\n## Delta Trust and Delta Drive\n\n**Delta Trust** is a private vault kept by Storage Studio. Backups there are encrypted on your Mac, and the card describes it as *\"protected vault · encrypted\"*. There's no passphrase to set for each set — your recovery kit is what reconnects a Mac to it (see [The recovery kit](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-recovery-kit)). **Delta Drive** is your working drive in the same plan; a backup kept in its **_Backup** folder uses the same encryption and the same recovery kit, but lives beside files you can move and delete. More in [Delta Trust, Delta Drive and My Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/delta-trust-delta-drive-and-my-drive).\n\n## Changing or removing a destination\n\n- **Picking a different destination** for a set that already has versions asks first: *\"Change backup destination?\"* Switching starts a fresh backup at the new place. The versions already saved at the old place stay there, but new backups don't go to them.\n- **Remove destination (keeps stored versions)**, at the bottom of the menu, disconnects the destination. The set stops backing up and **Back up automatically** is switched off, but nothing stored there is deleted.\n- **Delete & start fresh…** — offered on the card when something has gone wrong — is the one that erases. It removes every saved version of the set from its destination and starts again, and you have to type **Delete** to confirm. There's no undo.\n\nA set keeps its passphrase when you change its destination; changing the passphrase is a separate step.\n\n- **Can I move my iPhone backups to an external drive on a Mac?** Yes. Finder has no setting for where it keeps iPhone and iPad backups, but Storage Studio can move them to your external drive from What's Using Space: it copies them, checks every file arrived, and only then frees the space on your Mac. Finder keeps backing up to the drive afterwards, so keep… (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **What is purgeable space on a Mac and how do I clear it?** Purgeable space is storage macOS is holding — old snapshots, cached cloud files, optimised media — that it frees automatically when you need room, which is why \"free\" space can look smaller than expected. Storage Studio reclaims a lot of it on demand instead of making you wait. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **How do I reclaim space from local Time Machine snapshots on a Mac?** macOS keeps point-in-time APFS local snapshots so Time Machine can restore even when your backup drive is away — useful, but they can hold a lot of space. Storage Studio lists every snapshot, shows which are already safely backed up, and reclaims the space you choose in one click. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n\nSee also: [Data Backup](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-backup) · [Backup versions: what's kept and for how long](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-versions) · [Choosing an external drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/choosing-an-external-drive)\n"
}