Is it safe to delete old iPhone backups?

Yes, as long as you don't need to restore from them. A backup is only a copy: deleting it never removes anything from your iPhone. Backups of phones you've sold or replaced are usually the biggest and safest things to delete. Keep the latest backup of the iPhone you use now, and delete through Finder or the Apple Devices app rather than by hand.

Quick verdict:

• Safe: backups of old iPhones and iPads you no longer have, once your current phone is set up and working.
• Safe: older duplicate backups, as long as you keep a recent one of each device you still use.
• Think twice: the only backup of your current iPhone, or an archived backup you made before an update.
• Don't: rename, edit or move files inside a backup folder. A partly deleted backup can't be restored.

What are iPhone backups?

When you back up an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to a computer, Finder (on a Mac) or the Apple Devices app or iTunes (on Windows) saves a full copy of its data: settings, messages, app data, and photos if they aren't in iCloud. An encrypted backup also includes things like saved passwords and Health data.

Apple lists where backups live:

Each subfolder is one device, named with a long string of letters and numbers. That's why you can't tell which is which by looking at the folder.

Backups take space for two reasons. Each one is roughly as big as the data on the phone, which can be tens of gigabytes. And backups of old devices are never removed on their own: if you've had three iPhones, you may still have three backups.

iCloud backups are separate. They live on Apple's servers and use your iCloud storage, not your computer's disk. More on those below.

How much space do they use?

On a Mac: open System Settings → General → Storage, then click the ⓘ button next to iOS Files. You'll see each backup with its device name, date and size. You can also open the folder (in Finder, Go → Go to Folder and paste the path above), select it and choose File → Get Info. In Terminal:

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/*

If Terminal says "Operation not permitted", macOS is protecting the folder: give Terminal Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security, or use the Storage view instead.

On Windows: press Windows + R, paste the path for your version of the app, then right-click the Backup folder and choose Properties.

A disk space analyzer shows backups next to everything else, which tells you whether they're actually your problem. With SquirrelDisk, click A folder and choose your home folder (on Windows you can paste %UserProfile% or %AppData%). The MobileSync folder stands out quickly when backups are large. On a Mac, if a folder looks empty or small, macOS may be blocking access to it.

How to delete them safely

On a Mac (Finder)

1. Connect an iPhone or iPad with a USB cable and select it in the Finder sidebar. Any of your devices works, even to delete the backup of an old one.
2. If asked, tap Trust on the device.
3. In the General tab, click Manage Backups.
4. Right-click the backup you don't need and choose Delete, then confirm.
5. Click OK.

Without a device to connect, System Settings → General → Storage → iOS Files lets you select a backup and delete it.

On Windows (Apple Devices app or iTunes)

1. Open the Apple Devices app (or iTunes) and connect your device with a USB cable.
2. Select the device if it isn't selected already, and trust it if asked.
3. In General, click Manage Backups.
4. Right-click the backup and choose Delete, then OK.

These are the steps Apple recommends. The list shows the device name and date, so you can't delete the wrong one by accident.

By hand

If the app isn't installed any more, you can delete a whole device folder inside MobileSync\Backup from File Explorer or Finder. Close the Apple Devices app, iTunes and Finder's device view first. Delete the entire folder, never single files inside it. Each backup folder contains an Info.plist file you can open in a text editor: it shows the device name, so you know which folder is which.

You can also do this in SquirrelDisk: drag the old backup folder into the collector and choose Move to Trash, so you can still restore it if you picked the wrong one. On Windows, SquirrelDisk asks for an extra confirmation because the older iTunes keeps backups inside AppData. On a Mac it does the same for anything inside ~/Library.

iCloud backups

iCloud backups don't use space on your computer. They use your iCloud storage. To delete one, following Apple's steps:

• iPhone or iPad: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup, tap the device, then Turn Off and Delete from iCloud.
• Mac: System Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage → Backups, select the device, then Delete.
• Windows: in iCloud for Windows, click Storage → Backups, select the device, then Delete.

Deleting the iCloud backup of a phone you still use turns off iCloud Backup for it. If you stop using iCloud Backup without deleting, Apple keeps the last backup for 180 days.

What you lose, and photos after a backup

• The ability to restore that device: a new or repaired iPhone can't be set up from a backup you've deleted.
• Data that only exists in that backup: messages, app data or photos from an old phone that aren't anywhere else.

If you're deleting photos from your iPhone after a backup to free space on the phone, know how they're stored:

• With iCloud Photos on, photos aren't part of the iCloud backup: they sync to iCloud instead. Deleting a photo on the iPhone deletes it everywhere, including iCloud. It stays in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
• With iCloud Photos off, photos are in your iPhone backup, but the next backup won't include photos you've since deleted.

For a copy that lasts, import photos to your computer (Photos on Mac, or the Photos app on Windows) before deleting them from the phone.

For more space on a Mac, see what else hides in Application Support and the Mac cache folders.