That was, until I actually needed my backup. I'd been using them together for a while, but doing both seemed unnecessary. When I recently switched to an eero wifi system, I decided to drop Time Machine and go with just Backblaze. I've been using Time Machine with a Time Capsule for years, but it's not going to back you up when you're traveling, and Apple's Time Capsules are expensive and don't work terribly well. Something like Backblaze.When I heard about Backblaze, I was excited. This is the ultimate insurance policy you hope you’ll never actually need to use this. An off-site backup of your files that you can use when your life goes terribly, terribly wrong.A local backup of your files that you can use to restore from very quickly.An off-site synchronised copy of your files that you can retrieve very quickly if your Mac is offline, or that you can use for convenience, e.g.A ‘local’ copy of your files that you work on every day.The maximally ideal state is one where you end up with: Ideally you should combine these technologies. You could also store your Time Machine drive in the shed, at work, etc.) Similarly in the case where you deleted a file and then your house burnt down, a backup that didn’t burn down along with the house will allow you to retrieve that file. But your backup has a version of the previous file that you should - depending on available space and your defined backup rotation scheme - be able to go back and retrieve. ICloud Drive doesn’t help you here: the mistake you made has synchronised to the cloud. Next week you open it up and realise your mistake. Let’s say you edit really important file.txt and make a terrible mistake, but you don’t realise for a while what you’ve done. The main property that backups have that a copy does not is that they can go back through time. Because if you were to (accidentally) delete a file from your iCloud Drive and then immediately have your house burn down, the file has gone forever. That’s great - if your house burns down, you still have your files.īut it is not a backup of your data.

ICloud Drive is essentially an off-site copy of your data. The key is the difference between a copy and a backup.

Backblaze time machine backup