Does iTunes Backup Include Photos? How iTunes Works?

Does iTunes backup include photos?

I’d like to save my iPhone with iTunes but I have a question. Whether my photos will be included in iTunes backup? I have many photos on my iPhone so I care about this very much. Any help?

- Question from Apple Community

Camera is one of the most popular features on the iPhone. You can take beautiful photos yourself without post-processing. When you use iTunes to back up your iPhone to save your photos, does iTunes backup include photos?

Maybe you're about to back up your photos with iTunes or you've backed up your iPhone and want to retrieve photos from that backup. Here's what you need to know about whether iTunes Backup includes photos, how iTunes backs up your photos, and how to easily back up your iPhone photos to your computer.

Part 1. Does iTunes Backup Include Photos?

Does an iTunes backup include photos? iTunes would back up the photos that you take with the camera, and download from browser like wallpapers or pictures like Messenger. You can find them in the Photos app after restoration. The way that iTunes works are complicated. You should know what iTunes backup includes before using it.

Before getting down to use iTunes to backup your iPhone. You should know there are 2 kinds of photos on your iPhone that will be not backed up by iTunes

• iTunes would not back up the contents that you have already saved to iCloud: Does iPhone backup to computer include photos? It would consume your iCloud space as little as possible. If you care whether your photos would be saved to iTunes backup, you should check in iCloud settings whether you have enabled iCloud Photos.
If you are sure that you have saved photos to iCloud before using iTunes to back up your iPhone, you could try to download iCloud backup to PC from the website or the client.

• iTunes would not backup photos synced with iTunes. You might have synced photos from computer to iPhone with iTunes, but you need to know that iTunes will not backup these photos. iTunes would just backup the necessary files to help you completely restore iPhone.
If these photos are from your computer, it means you could find your photos somewhere else. In this case, you should backup iPhone to PC with another software if you want to save that part of photos.

Part 2. How to Backup iPhone Photos with iTunes Alternative Backup Tool

Now you have the answer to "Does iTunes backup save photos". You would be confronted with many limitations when using iTunes to backup iPhone photos.  If you want to preview all the photos on your iPhone and select the photos you want, you need professional backup software (iTunes is a professional software for managing music and videos, rather than a professional backup software).

AOMEI FoneBackup is a free professional iPhone backup software. You could use it to backup the photos and videos from iPhone to computer as you wish. When restoring iPhone photos, you could also select the ones you want. You could save important information like contacts and messages at the same time if you like.

Super Speed: AOMEI FoneBackup would transfer every 100 photos to computer in 2 seconds.
One-Click View: You could easily view or locate your photos backup on computer with one click.
Widely Compatible: It would be perfectly compatible with the latest iOS 16/15. And it also helps you to backup iPad data.

[3-Steps] Backup iPhone Photos to Computer with AOMEI FoneBackup

Step 1. Download AOMEI FoneBackup for free. Connect iPhone to computer with USB cable and tap “Trust” on it.

Step 2. Click Selective Backup from Phone Backup screen. If you want to transfer photos to computer, or save other items on your computer, please choose "iPhone to PC" from "Phone Transfer".

Step 2. You could preview photos by clicking the icon. After selecting the needed Photos, click OK to return.

Step 3. Click the path in the lower-left corner to change it. Click Start Backup and the selected photos would be transferred to computer in seconds.

● Tips: Click the eye icon or pin icon in Backup History to view or locate your backup. If you wish, you could backup iPhone photos to external drive with AOMEI FoneBackup.

Frequently Asked Questions About iTunes Backups

Does iTunes backup include photos and videos? Some frequently asked questions about iTunes backup may help you know more details.

✍Question: How can I view photos from iTunes backup?

Answer: In fact, even if you have successfully saved photos with iTunes. You are not allowed to view them on your PC for iTunes wants to protect your privacy. If you insist, use professional tools to view photos in iTunes backup.

✍Question: Where does iTunes backup photos on the computer?

If you use iTunes to backup your photos, usually, the iTunes backup will be stored in the path: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\. Your Photos will be saved as image files with other iPhone local data on your C drive.

✍Question: How to restore iTunes backup to iPhone?

Answer: You can connect your iPhone with PC. Run iTunes > Click the phone-like icon on the top of the interface. > Click "Summary" on the left pane Then click “Restore iPhone”. Then follow the prompts to complete it. 

Warning: Restoring an iTunes backup will overwrite all content on the targeted iPhone.

✍Question: Can I only restore photos from iTunes backup to iPhone?

Answer: You could not export only photos to your iPhone when restoring the iPhone from that backup. Using iTunes to restore iPhone would totally replace the existing data. If you want to only restore your photos later, you can go to the next part to use the iTunes alternative to backup photos.

Conclusion

Does iTunes backup include photos? By now you should know if iTunes Backup contains photos. If you haven't uploaded your photos to iCloud, iTunes Backups can save your photos. Photos synced with iTunes won't be included either. If you want to transfer your photos to your PC quickly and safely, you can try AOMEI FoneBackup to determine your backup.

With the help of AOMEI FoneBackup, you cannot only transfer selected photos between iPhone and PC but also allow you to one-click transfer WiFi password from iPhone to iPhone. Try it out!