Keep Your iCloud Data. Forever.
Parachute is a set-and-forget backup companion for iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive.
It automatically backs up your memories—photos, videos, and documents—to your own storage (or another cloud provider), giving you peace of mind and full control.
Your Data, Your Way
• Back up your entire iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive (including shared albums)
• Your photos originals in full resolution, any adjustment data, and the current edited version (also full resolution) are all backed up
• Choose from manual or scheduled runs
• Supports full, mirror, or smart incremental backups
• Select custom folders on your Mac for backup in addition to iCloud Drive locations
• Works with your external drives, NAS, SFTP mounts or other cloud "drives' available in Finder (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
• Smart offloading: avoids filling up your Mac’s disk while keeping files available on demand
Why It Matters
• iCloud is great for sync — but not a true backup
• Accidental deletions, expired storage plans, or sync issues can lead to permanent loss
• Parachute protects your digital life from deletion and disaster
No Subscriptions. No Lock-In.
• One-time purchase — no recurring costs
• Your data stays in your storage, not ours
• No sign-ups, no telemetry, no bloat
FAQs
Q: How does Parachute save space while backing up iCloud?
A: Parachute downloads one file at a time from iCloud, backs it up to your chosen destination, and then re-offloads the file back to iCloud (if "Optimize Mac Storage" is enabled). This prevents your disk from filling up during backup.
Q: What backup modes are available?
A: Parachute offers three backup modes:
Full: Always copies all files, even if unchanged.
Mirror: Keeps the backup in exact sync with the source, including deletions.
Smart Incremental: Only copies new or changed files since the last backup.
Smart Incremental: Only copies new or changed files since the last backup.
Q: Are original and edited photo versions both preserved?
A: Yes. Parachute backs up both original and edited versions of your media when available.
Q: Will Parachute ever delete anything from iCloud?
A: No. Parachute is strictly read-only and will never delete files from iCloud.
Q: How do I restore my files?A: Your backups are just normal files and folders. Use Finder to browse and drag them back — no special app required.
Q: What happens with corrupt iCloud files?
A: If Parachute can't export a file due to corruption, it will notify you at the end of the backup. These files often cannot be recovered from iCloud or Photos manually either.
Q: Does it back up Shared Albums?
A: Yes. Parachute includes support for backing up Shared Albums and the media shared with you.
Q: Can I back up to a NAS, SFTP, or WebDAV mount?
A: Yes. Parachute supports local and remote destinations that are mounted on your Mac.
Q: Can I include non-iCloud folders in the backup?
A: Yes. You can add any folder on your Mac as a backup source using the Custom Folders option.
Q: Can I use Parachute Backup even if I don't use iCloud Photos?
A: Yes. Parachute will backup your photo library even if it's only local on your Mac.
This app has not received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Excellent backup solution for Apple Photo
alpha654321
I was always wary of using Apple Photos for my primary photo storage because of the difficulty in performing a reliable local backup. This application solves that problem perfectly and allows me to have daily incremental backups of all my photos to an external and NAS drive. I had to contact the developers about a minor issue in the first version I tried. They were very quick to respond and resolved the problem completely. I use the date range option initially to backup portions of my photo library at a time because backing up 30,000 photos in one go was a slow as each one is downloaded from iCloud.
Just what I needed
Beany1960
I had been looking for something to provide local backups of photos and documents we store on iCloud. When I found Parachute, it fitted the bill. It was easy to set up for both my user account and my wife’s, which means we have an extra layer of comfort should something go wrong. I set it to back up once a week. You just need to be aware that if your Mac is switched off when the scheduled backup is due, you will need to trigger a backup from the easy to use interface when you use the Mac again. I’ve had Parachute for about a month and so far, so good.
Backup iCloud to OneDrive
Ant Cooper
Switched to Parachute after Backblaze stopped backing up iCloud without telling me (!!). Backups run seamlessly to the 1TB of Business OneDrive I have and never really used. No extra subscriptions and peace of mind. The only feedback is the documentation is lacking, would be nice to see an explainer of typical backup setups and how to optimise on local disk space. For example, I keep the destination folder in ‘Free Up Space’ mode so I don’t use local HD space storing everything twice. If the developer is reading, I’d love a 3rd panel for ‘Apple Notes Backup’ option too :-)
Reassuring
ChoongMoo
Very useful app to provide the reassurance of a backup of your iCloud and Photos data. I used it to back the data up to a local NAS. If you have a large photo library, and already have storage optimisation enabled, then first backup will take a while as each item is downloaded (I found iCloud to be the bottleneck here). I like the fact it re-offloads files it downloads. I’ve used a Photos backup app before that downloaded the entire library. MacOS offloaded in due course, but this app handles that immediately.
Parachute Backup is ready for macOS 27. This update fixes problems reported by users:
• Files backups don’t include Photos libraries unless you explicitly include them per folder.
• Added a warning when trying to add the startup disk, home folder, or a system folder as a source.
• Fixed a case where two devices backing up the same library could store a photo twice.
• Two shared albums with the same name are now backed up into separate folders instead of being mixed into one.
• Other smaller fixes.
Version 1.9.5
The developer, Leitmotif GmbH, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Contact Info
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
