Where is The iTunes Backup Location and How to Change It?

iTunes is a powerful tool for iPhone Backup. It can fully backup iPhone on your computer and Mac using a USB cable. For example, if you have an iPhone of 64GB and 40GB has been used, you might get an image file of 8GB generated by iTunes.

The image file covers most local data on your iPhone, including photos, settings, messages, call logs, and the local file of apps. The files that could be downloaded from the Internet would not be included to save time and space, like the photos that you have uploaded to iCloud, content from iTunes and APP store, and Touch ID.

Can you find iTunes backup location?

Sometimes, you may need the iTunes backup files but iTunes does not allow you to directly locate the backup files for some purposes. Don't worry, this part of this post will tell you where is the iTunes backup location, and help you change the location. If you need it, it will also introduce a great iTunes alternative to backup iPhone flexibly and easily.

Where is the iTunes backup location on Windows PC and Mac?

Windows and macOS are different. So it is different to locate the iTunes backup files on a Windows 11/10/8/7 computer and a Macbook. This part will help you find your backup files.

• If you have backed up your iPhone with iTunes on a Windows 11/10/8 computer. Your backup is stored in

C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\ MobileSync\ Backup.

Or

C:\Users\[PC name]\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\

• If you are using Windows 7 operating system, you can find your iTunes backup in the path,

C:\Users\Your username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\ 

• If you can’t find AppData, it might be hidden. You need to click View at the toolbar in Windows Explorer and check Hidden items.

iTunes backup location on Mac

Vary from different operating systems, you can use Finder or iTunes to backup your iDevices on Mac.  To locate iTunes backup on Mac, you can click the magnifier icon in the menu bar, then type or copy and paste ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ to locate your iTunes backups.

In addition, there is another way to locate a specific backup, you can check the history backup in iTunes:

Step 1. Open iTunes > Click Preferences.

Step 2. Under the Devices tab, you can view different backup files and backup times.

Step 3. Right-click one backup > Choose Show in Finder.

How to delete iTunes backup

If you think that iTunes backup takes up too much storage on your computer or you just think it is not needed anymore, you could delete it. There are two methods of deleting backup file on your computer.

Method 1. Go to C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\ MobileSync and then delete the folder. What if there is not just one folder and you don’t know which one needs to be deleted? Follow method 2.

Method 2. Open iTunes > click Edit at the top > Select Preference > Select Device. Your backups will be shown with device name and backup date. You could delete the file without misgivings.

How to change iTunes backup location

If you want to release the space of your partition or computer, there are two solutions to change iTunes backup location.

Solution 1. Go to C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\ MobileSync and copy the whole folder to the destination. What if you want to set the default destination? Read solution 2.

Solution 2. You could build a link between two folders to transfer iTunes backup every time you back up your iPhone. Follow the steps below to build a link.

Step 1. Go to C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\ MobileSync. Cut the whole file of MobileSync to your wanted destination.

Step 2. Press Windows + R and input “cmd” in the box.

Step 3. Enter mklink /J “C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup” “D:\MobileSync” (the second path is optional for you)and press Enter. If it asks for Administration Rights, in step 2, you should type “cmd” in Search bar, right-click it, and select Run as administrator.

When you backup iPhone with iTunes, you could see iTunes backup both in “C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup” and “D:\MobileSync”, but actually it just exists in “D:\MobileSync”.

Backup iOS device with the best iTunes alternative

Want to backup your iPhone without effort and change backup location as you wish? AOMEI FoneBackup would be your choice. It is a free professional iPhone backup software and allows you to backup photos, videos, music tracks, contacts, and messages to computer.

Preview and Select: Unlike iTunes, AOMEI FoneBackup would let you know which content your backup includes. Preview and select the files you want.
Change Path: You could easily change the path with one click on the pane so as to store your backup file to the wanted destination or backup iPhone to an external drive.
Widely Compatible: It supports most iPhone models from iPhone 4 to the latest iPhone 14 and would be perfectly compatible with the latest iOS 16/15. It also supports iPad and iPod Touch.
2 backup methods: It is able to backup not only the whole iPhone content but also specific file types on your iPhone/iPad.

Selectively backup iPhone

Step 1. Download AOMEI FoneBackup for free. Connect your iPhone to computer and tap Trust on it.

Step 2. Click Selective Backup under More Features > Click each icon to choose the files you'd like to backup > Click OK to confirm.

Step 3. Click Backup Storage Path to choose a destination to save the backup files > Click Start Backup and it would backup your iPhone in seconds.

Backup of all iPhone data

Step 1. To backup all of iPhone data, click “Phone Backup“ on the left pane > Move the mouse to "Full Backup". Click "Get Started".

Step 3. Click "Backup Storage Path" to specify a backup location on your computer. If you want to backup private data, like Keychain, you can encrypt the backup.  Then click "Start Backup".

Conclusion

Hope you can find iTunes backup location on Mac and Windows PC with the help of this guide. Modifying the backup would make it corrupt. You could delete or move the whole folder, or change the default path by building a link between two folders. Of course, you could use an iTunes alternative, AOMEI FoneBackup, to easily change your backup location and customize your backup plan. If you like this article, you could share it to help more people.