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Backing up your computer is important, and so is backing up your mobile devices. A single drop to your iPhone or your iPad, a spill or a moment of carelessness can destroy the device forever, but if your data is backed up, you won’t lose any of your precious info.

It’s also a really good idea to back up your device before you upgrade it to the latest version of iOS. If you’re using iCloud Backup or iTunes to back up your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you might want to read this to understand how those backups work, and what else you can do to protect your data.

How does iCloud Backup work, Apple’s tried to make backup less of a chore with iCloud Backup. Cloud Backup, a feature of iOS, lets your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch back up its contents to the cloud. Cloud Backup happens automatically when your device is getting power, locked, and is connected to Wi-Fi. Once you’ve configured your device for iCloud Backup, you should just be able to rely on the backups to happen periodically when you’re charging. 4. Make sure iCloud Backup is turned on.

5. You can get a backup started right away by tapping on Back Up Now. Just make sure to stay on your Wi-Fi network until the backup is done. 4. Tap Manage Storage. 5. Select your device. OS will show you details about when it was last backed up, and the backup file size. If you’re looking for the most frictionless way to back up your devices, this is it.

The nice thing about iCloud Backup is that you set it and forget it. Cloud Backup lets you restore your device from almost anywhere. It also makes upgrading a breeze. When you set up a new iOS device, for example, the system will ask you if you want to restore from an iCloud backup. I did this the last time I bought an iPhone, and by the time I walked out of the store, my new iPhone was already populated with the same data (and had downloaded the same apps) as my old phone.

There is a downside to iCloud Backup that you need to be aware of. 1. Your device needs to be connected to a power supply. 2. Your device needs a Wi-Fi connection (and needs to be connected to the Internet). 3. Your device needs to be locked. 4. You have enough space in iCloud to store the backup. This last item is the killer. Apple only gives you 5 GB of free space with the basic iCloud account. Phone and iPads can have up to 256 GB of storage.

If you have a lot of stuff on your iOS device or in the cloud, it’s trivially easy to exceed your free 5 GB iCloud allowance. Which means your backups won’t happen unless you pay Apple for additional iCloud space. If you have both an iPhone and an iPad, Forget about it. You have to pay Apple or you won’t have enough space to back up both.

19.99 a month for 2 TB. There’s another caveat, too. Cloud Backup doesn’t back up everything on your phone. Data that’s already in iCloud: Contacts, calendar appointments, notes, your Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Library, for example. Data stored on other cloud services. Gmail, for example, or Microsoft Exchange mail. Your Apple Pay info, and your Touch ID info (if your device is so equipped).

Imported media files, like e-books, music and videos you’ve acquired from services besides Apple’s own iTunes, e.g. Amazon. Any App Store or iTunes in the Cloud content (that stuff is still available for re-download in your Purchased Content tab, it’s just an inconvenience to reload). Most of this makes a lot of sense.

Since data is already synced in iCloud and other cloud services, there’s no need to duplicate it in the backup. And as a matter of security, Apple Pay and Touch ID info shouldn’t be kept in a backup either - that info remains the sole domain of specialized hardware on compatible iOS devices called Secure Enclave.