Why do I have to open the app to backup my photos?
iOS is designed to optimise your phone’s battery life, and one way it does this is by limiting how much time apps can run in the background. Unfortunately, we can’t bypass these restrictions. While we do our best to upload your photos during the brief background time iOS allows, you’ll likely need to open the app from time to time to keep the backup process going.
Tip: For your initial photo backup, we recommend connecting your phone to Wi-Fi and a power source, and keeping the app open for the best results.
How does it work?
After closing the app, iOS typically allows around 30 seconds of background activity before suspending it.
If you force quit the app (swipe it away from the app switcher), we don’t get any background time at all.
iOS may occasionally grant small bursts of background time (10–30 seconds), based on factors like how often you use the app, whether you’re on Wi-Fi, and whether your phone is charging.
Apple doesn’t disclose the exact logic behind these rules, so we can’t predict precisely when background time will be granted.
If you’re uploading a large number of photos or videos, the most reliable way to ensure everything gets backed up is to keep the app open and the phone connected to Wi-Fi and power.