I don’t normally write reviews but this simple, reasonably priced tool actually backs up iCloud Photos and files. It makes using iCloud Drive as a primary tool now something I can consider, as it enables offline backup on my NAS. Great product.
Keep Your iCloud Data. Forever.
Parachute is a set-and-forget backup companion for iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive. It automatically syncs your memories, photos, videos, and documents to your own storage.
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iCloud Isn't a Time Machine
Decades of photos, precious moments captured on video, critical documents. All in the cloud, until they're not.
Complete iCloud Backup
Your entire iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive with full fidelity preservation. Originals, edits, and live photos are all preserved. Even your Shared Albums!
Scheduling & Shortcuts
Manual or scheduled runs, with the ability to override the schedule at any time. You can even schedule Shortcuts to trigger during certain backup events.
Your Storage, Your Rules
Works with external drives, mounted NAS, or other clouds like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive if you have them connected to your Mac.
Smart Offloading
Avoid filling up your Mac's hard drive with intelligent storage management. Parachute will offload items back to iCloud after they have been backed up.
Multiple Backup Modes
Choose from full, incremental, or mirror backups depending on your needs.
Beyond iCloud
Backup any folder or drive on your Mac, not just iCloud. Perfect for safeguarding local documents, downloads, and project files.
This little well designed app just does what it says, which is HUGE. You can now back your iCloud Photos up to an external NAS for peace of mind. If you, like me, do not have enough space on the SSD of your Mac for all the pictures you took but happen to have a NAS then this app is just plain perfect. Well designed, it allows you to back your memories up somewhere other than “iCloud only”. The interface is intuitive and easy to understand, and the progress is visibile and can be monitored. Suggestion for future releases: - localization (languages) - better explain what happens if the Mac “goes to sleep” or the MacBook Pro gets disconnected and brought elsewhere where the NAS is unavailable, either in the middle of the backup (does it resume?) or inbetween backups. As for the rest? A great great app. Worth every penny. BTW also kudos for the “one time only” purchase system. These are rarer and rarer to find and need to be mentioned.
Application works as described and definitely deserves the onetime fee !
With just a click, it automatically syncs and updates new data from iCloud to my NAS. It really saved my day. My only suggestion is to shorten the cloud path or select the iCloud folder to be synced.
Just what I need to make backups of iCloud documents and Photos. Works reliably all the time.
Great app which does what it says on the tin. One suggested improvement: multiple destinations for backups rather than just the one.
I just downloaded this app for a modest one time payment, not a subscription. I backed up almost thousands of photos in well under an hour. I’ve spot checked and of course they’re all there. Now I can put my photos in iCloud to safe space on my hard drive with the confidence I have a backup just in case. Thanks for an app I’ve really needed!
Also ich hab bis jetzt eine selbstgebastelte Lösung für die Sicherung von meinem Mac und den Apple Photos verwendet. Ist natürlich nicht so komfortabel wie Parachute Backup. Und diese Software ist ihr Geld mehr als wert. Da hat der Entwickler wirklich sein Herzblut reingesteckt. Großes Lob an dieser Stelle, und bitte bleib dran!
Highly recommend it & great support, its helping me backup 2TB of iCloud and Photo data
Parachute runs on my Mac Mini server that is always running. I’ve had some problems with a crashed UI in the past, but lately it works fine.
It’s crazy how long I’ve been looking for a solution to locally backup my iCloud Photos. Parachute is so simple to set up and the incremental syncing is fantastic.
I thought about ways to back up my files from iCloud. Unfortunately, iCloud doesn’t provide versioning, and keeping all eggs in one basket doesn’t sound like a good idea. I even considered implementing something similar myself, but this app is exactly what I wanted. Thanks!
Showing 12 of 77 reviews from customers worldwide
Parachute is designed to avoid filling up your Mac's disk during backups. When it encounters a file that has been offloaded by iCloud, it temporarily downloads it, creates a local backup to your selected destination, and then automatically offloads it again from your Mac, assuming you have Optimize Mac Storage enabled.
Parachute supports three backup modes:
Full: Backs up all content from the source every time, regardless of whether it has changed.
Mirror: Keeps your backup destination in exact sync with the source, including removing files from the backup if they no longer exist in iCloud.
Smart Incremental: Detects and backs up only new or modified files since your last backup, which saves both time and disk space.
Parachute never deletes content from iCloud under any circumstance. It is strictly a one-way backup.
Yes. Parachute backs up both the original and any edited versions when available.
Parachute stores your backups as regular files and folders. To restore, simply browse to the backup destination in Finder and drag the files back to your desired location.
Parachute will list any items it could not back up in a summary at the end of the run. You may try exporting these files manually from Apple Photos, but they are often not recoverable.
Yes. Parachute supports backing up photos and videos from Shared Albums.
Yes. Parachute supports local folders, network storage, external drives, USB drives, and mounted remote destinations such as SFTP or WebDAV.
Yes. You can add any folder on your Mac as a custom backup source.
Ready to Backup Your iCloud?
Available now on the Mac App Store