How to know what is backed up in local backup? (esp. Health Data)

Question

I don't use iCloud and want to back up my iPhone on my Mac. I followed this guide to do so and checked the "Encrypt local backup" box, since I also want to back up my health data from my iPhone and Apple Watch.

One big question is, is my health data really backed up? I think so, but I wanted to make sure, since this data is really important to me, and on the website it said "If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch..." but then it didn't even give me a choice/overview where it specifically said it's backed up.

Here is the overview of my screen:

Thanks a lot in advance!

Answer 1

Yes, when you choose to encrypt the local backup, the Health and Activity data will be backed up.

Had you chosen not to encrypt your local backup, the Health and Activity data would not have been included in the backup.

Always remember when dealing with backups: You haven't really backed anything up before you have tried restoring it.

Answer 2

This is one irritation I don’t get why Apple doesn’t solve it for us in a way that’s easy to manage and understand.

No one wants a backup, everyone wants to know the restore from a defined point in time will work. Apple didn’t show us the date of the backup to iCloud until just recently and still doesn’t make it easy to know the backup actually happened and what the time stamp is to Mac.

Yes - we know it “should” happen and apple has a KB that says it happens automatically - but we all know automatic things work for years until they don’t. Especially with health data - I wish there were a very clear indication that health data is copied and verified as correct with a date/time stamp.

It’s just not feasible to have a second device to test the restore since to check your backup, you have to erase the phone to get it ready for the restore. That’s no way to design a backup verification system in my eyes - there’s a saying about babies in bath water that covers the iOS 14 design implementation accurately.

I would recommend you enable iCloud and back up the health data only so you know it’s backed up and get a date/time that you can see on your phone before you wipe it. Apple does let us choose what data to back up and health data should fit well within the free tier if you turn off all the other buckets.

• Back up your Health data on iPhone