Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between IDrive Online Backup app and IDrive Photo Backup app?

IDrive Online Backup app is a cross-platform compatible backup and restore app for recovering your critical phone data in case of a disaster. Backup your contacts, calendar events, photos, videos on iOS, and even SMS and call logs, music and other files on Android. Mobile backup is available with all IDrive plans.

IDrive Photo Backup is a photo manager app for your mobile device. Store pictures and videos from your mobile device in original resolution. The app provides a simple user interface to view your Photos and Videos. It is a good alternative to Google Photos and iCloud; as a simpler, more cost-effective photo storage solution. You may also use the storage to backup files from your PCs and Macs!

Note: The IDrive Online Backup and IDrive Photo Backup apps include backup of pictures in full resolution by default.

How to complete your first Photos Backup ASAP?

Once you sign in to the app and allow access to all photos, leave the app open on the Supercharged Backup screen. It allows the app to upload all the photos and videos from your mobile device to the cloud.

For subsequent backups, IDrive Photos attempts to automatically upload your photos and videos whenever the app is in use or you can also start Supercharged Backup from Settings.

1. Tap to go to 'Settings'.
2. Tap 'Start Supercharged Backup' and leave it on the screen.

How do I know the backup is complete?

Once all the photos and videos are backed up to the cloud, the status is indicated by a tick mark.

See tips for completing backup >

How do I upload photos and videos manually?

In case you have disabled the 'Auto upload' option, you can upload photos and videos manually.

To upload a photo or video,

1. Tap the photo or video that you want to backup.
2. Tap .

To upload multiple photos or videos at a time,

1. In the 'Photos' tab, long-press on a photo or video that you want to backup.
2. Tap and select all the photos or videos that you want to upload.
3. Tap .

During initial backup, will IDrive^® Photos backup the iCloud photos in the original high resolution?

Yes, for the initial backup, your photos on iCloud will be downloaded to your iOS device and backed up to IDrive cloud in the original high resolution.

Note: Make sure your device has the required storage space to download the photos.

How do I get started with IDrive^® Photos?

1. Download and install the IDrive Photo Backup app from App Store on your device.
2. Sign in with your account credentials.
3. Allow IDrive Photos to access all the photos and videos in your device gallery.

Once access is allowed, all the photos and videos stored in your device will show up in your IDrive Photos gallery. The following icons indicate the backup status:

Can I use the IDrive^® Photos app without giving access to the required permissions?

IDrive Photos needs access permissions to your device media for successful use of the app.

To allow access permissions,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
   The permission screen will appear when you sign in for the first time.
2. Tap 'Allow Access to All Photos' from the permission screen to use the app. The following options appear on the screen:
• Select Photos - Provide access to selective photos and videos.
• Allow Access to All Photos - It is recommended to choose this option.
• Don't Allow - Deny access to your device gallery. Your photos and videos will not be backed up if this option is selected.

You can make changes to the app permissions any time from the device settings.

How do I automatically upload new photos and videos from my device gallery?

The 'Auto upload' option is enabled by default in the IDrive Photo Backup app. This ensures all the new photos and videos are automatically uploaded from your device to your account. If 'Auto-upload' is disabled, enable the option in the app settings.

To enable 'Auto-upload',

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Tap on the top left corner, to go to 'Settings'.
3. Tap 'Auto upload'.

Note: Leave the app open to complete backup.

Note: Leave the app open to complete backup.

How to add a photo or video as favorite?

To add a photo or video as favorite,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Long press the photo or video that you want to add as favorites.
3. Tab on the bottom bar.
   Alternatively, you can open the photo or video and tap .

To view favorites, click select 'Favorites' from the drop-down.

Can I search specifically for only photos or videos?

Your photos and videos are displayed in the order of the latest date starting first. You can use the timeline scroll bar to view media from a specific period. You can filter for only photos or videos. You can also filter photos and videos by a location.

To filter for only photos or videos,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Tap .
3. Tap 'Photos' if you want to see all the photos in your account gallery. To view all the videos in your account, tap 'Videos'.

To filter photos or videos by a location,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Tap .
3. Tap location. You can view all your photos and videos by the location that you have selected.

How do I restore a photo or video from my account?

To restore a backed up item,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Open the photo or video that you want to restore.
3. Tap .

To restore multiple photos at a time,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Long press the photos or videos that you want to download.
3. Tap .

Note: Leave the app open to complete restore. The selected item will be downloaded and stored in the device gallery.

How do I restore the entire photo gallery from my IDrive^® Photos account?

To restore entire photo gallery,

1. Tap to go to 'Settings'.
2. Go to 'Restore' and tap 'Start Supercharged Restore' and leave it on the screen to download all the backed up photos and videos from the cloud to your mobile device.
   The restore progress will be displayed on screen.
   

To cancel the ongoing restore process,

1. Tap 'Exit Supercharged Restore'.
2. Tap 'Stop Restore' in the confirmation popup.

Where does IDrive^® Photos store the restored photos and videos on my device?

The photos and videos restored from IDrive Photos are stored in the device gallery of your device.

How do I share photos or videos from the IDrive^® Photos app?

To share a photo or video,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Tap to open the photo or video that you want to share.
3. Tap in the bottom bar.
4. From the apps list that appears, choose the app to share the link with.

Note: Items present in your local storage can be shared directly or via share links. Items not present in your local storage can only be shared via share links.

To share multiple photos and videos,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Long press on the photos or videos that you want to share.
3. Tap on the bottom bar.
4. From the apps list that appears, choose the app to share the link with.

Note:

• Sharing option is only available for accounts with default encryption.
• Items present in your local storage can be shared directly or via share links. Items not present in your local storage can only be shared via share links.

Where are my shared links located?

IDrive Photos provides a centralized location for all your shared links. To manage the shared links,

On the IDrive Photo Backup app home screen, tap > 'Shared Files'. You can view the list of shared links.

Can I edit my photos and videos?

Yes, you can add suggestions, apply filter, change orientation, crop, adjust the color paramters etc. of the photos/videos stored in your IDrive Photos account.

To edit the photos and videos,

1. Log in to the IDrive Photos application.
2. Tap on the photo/video that you want to edit.
3. Tap and you will find the following edit options:
   • Suggestions: Enhance, Warm, Cool. Adjust the color temperature of the photo/video
   • Filter: Choose a filter to elevate the mood depicted in the photo/video.
   • Orientation: Rotate the photo/video to left or right and flip it to vertical or horizontal.
   • Crop: Change the dimension of the photo/video to 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 or keep the original size choosing Free option.
   • Adjust: Adjust the brightness, contrast and saturation of the photo/video.
4. Tap 'Save as copy' to make a copy of the edited item or 'Save as original' to save the changes made to the original photo/video.

How do I delete a photo or video from my account?

To delete a photo or video,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account.
2. Tap to open the photo or video that you want to delete.
3. Tap in the bottom bar.
4. Tap 'Delete' to confirm the deletion.

To delete multiple items,

1. Long press the photos or videos that you want to delete.
2. Tap in the bottom bar.
3. Tap 'Delete' to confirm the deletion.

Note: Deleting will remove selected items permanently from your device and account.

Can I free up space on my iOS device using IDrive^® Photos?

Yes. You can easily reclaim storage on your iOS device by identifying and removing all backed up items, duplicates, similar photos, blurry images, screenshots, large files, and videos - without worrying about losing them, as they are already backed up to IDrive cloud.

To free up space on your iOS device,

1. Log in to the IDrive Photos application.
2. Tap on the top left corner of the application, and go to 'Settings'.
3. Under 'Local device storage cleanup', the app will automatically start scanning your device library.
   Note: Scanning starts after metadata processing and fetching of backed-up photos and videos are complete.
4. Review categories like all backed up items, duplicates, similar photos, blurry images, screenshots & screen recordings, large files, and videos.

To delete all backed-up items,

1. Tap 'Delete'.
2. The 'Allow IDrive Photos to Delete 'x' Items' permission screen will appear.
   Note: The item count in the 'Local Cleanup Menu' displays all uploaded items. However, during deletion, the number can differ as some items may be duplicates.
3. Tap 'Delete' to remove all backed-up items from your iOS device.

To delete selected items from other categories,

1. Review the groups of duplicates, similar photos, blurry images, screenshots & screen recordings, large files, and videos.
2. Select the items you want to delete.
3. Tap 'Delete Selected Items'.
   
4. The 'Allow IDrive Photos to Delete 'x' Items' permission screen will appear.
5. Tap 'Delete' to remove the selected items from your iOS device.

The selected files will be removed from your device and moved to the 'Recently Deleted' album in your Apple Photos app, where they will remain for 30 days. Until items are removed from 'Recently Deleted', the storage space may not be fully reclaimed.

To free up storage space immediately,

1. Open the 'Photos' app on your iOS device.
2. Go to 'Recently Deleted' album.
3. Delete the items permanently.

Important: Deleting photos and videos from your iOS device using this feature will also remove the corresponding items on all synced devices.

To recover deleted photos and videos,

1. Open the 'Photos' app on your iOS device.
2. Tap 'Recently Deleted'.
3. Select the photos or videos you want to recover.
4. Tap 'Recover'. The items will be restored to your device library.

Note: If an item is not available in the 'Recently Deleted' album, it may have been permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Can I access and share my photos and videos via web?

You can sign in to your IDrive Photos account from the web to access, share and restore your backed up photos and videos. All the backed up media files are displayed in the 'Timeline' view, sorted according to date.

To share photos and videos,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account from the web.
2. In the 'Photos' tab, select the required items and click .
3. In the 'Share' pop up, click 'Advanced Settings' to define the following parameters:
   
   
   • Set a password - You can set a password for accessing the link.
   • No. of Downloads - You can specify a limit for the number of downloads. The maximum limit is 25.
   • No. of Days - You can specify the duration for which the link remains active. The maximum duration is 30 days.
4. Click 'Create share link'. A share link will be created and you can access it from the 'Shared' tab.

5. Click 'Copy link' to copy the link to clipboard. Share the link with the intended recipients.

Recipients can open the shared link and view or download the shared items, based on selected permissions. Downloading multiple items at once is not allowed from the shared link.

To restore photos and videos,

1. Sign in to your IDrive Photos account from the web.
2. In the 'Photos' tab, select the required items and click .

Can I backup live motion images with IDrive^® Photos?

Yes, live motion images (photos with motion) can be backed up from iOS devices.

What is two-factor authentication?

The two-factor authentication provides additional security to your account and helps in preventing unauthorized access. The two-factor authentication provides additional security to your account and helps in preventing unauthorized access. Once two-factor authentication is enabled via web, in addition to your password, you will need to enter a verification code sent to your email address or phone number or generated via Time-based OTP authenticator app, while signing in to your IDrive account. Read more on how to enable two-factor authentication for your account.

How do I sign in to my IDrive^® Photos account once two-factor authentication is enabled?

To sign in to your account after two-factor authentication is enabled,

1. On the IDrive Photo Backup application sign in screen, enter your username and password and tap 'Sign in'.
2. If you have selected Email address or Phone number as the preferred method of receiving one-time verification code, enter the same and tap 'Verify'.
3. If you have selected Time-based OTP Authentication as the preferred method of receiving one-time verification code, enter the one-time code generated by the Time-based OTP Authenticator app in your mobile device and tap 'Verify'.

Can I change the encryption settings for my IDrive^® Photos account?

Your IDrive^® Photos account is created with Default Encryption, which means a pre-defined key is used to encrypt your photos and videos.

In order to change your encryption from Default to Private Encryption, you must reset your account by signing in to web.

To set Private Encryption,

1. Sign in to your IDrive^® Photos account from the web.
2. Navigate to 'My Account'.
3. Click 'Reset my account' under 'Account Summary'.
   
4. Enter your account password for authentication.
   
   Note:
   • Resetting your account allows you to choose a new encryption method, and permanently deletes all your backed up files and folders.
   • If you have opted for local backup, you will lose access to the locally backed up files, so delete them before resetting your account.
5. Click 'I want to reset my account'. All your backed up data will be deleted and the account will be reset.
   
6. Click 'Re-configure Now!' to set up encryption.
   
7. Select 'Private encryption key'.
   
8. Enter your encryption key and confirm.
   Note: IDrive does not store your private encryption key on its servers. It is recommended that you archive it safely to backup and restore your data.
9. Click 'Continue' to set private key encryption for your account.