How do I actually own my data?
Keep copies you control: regular exports, backups in more than one place, and formats you can open without a specific app.
Start here
Owning your data means you can get to it, move it and keep it even if a service shuts down or locks your account. That comes down to three habits: export, back up and choose open formats.
Export
Most major services let you download your photos, documents, messages and contacts. Do it on a schedule, not just when something goes wrong.
Back up
- Keep at least two copies, in different places.
- One can be a drive at home. Another should be somewhere else.
- Test a restore now and then. A backup you cannot open is not a backup.
Choose readable formats
Plain text, common image formats and widely supported document types will still open years from now. Files locked inside one app may not.
Reduce dependence
Ask of every service: if this vanished tomorrow, what would I lose? Fix the biggest answer first.
Part of our ownership guides. Related: buying versus subscribing.