How to back up your phone photos to your computer, no cloud needed

Cloud storage is handy, but a copy on your own computer costs nothing and works offline.

You need: your phone, its charging cable, and a computer with some free space.

1. Plug the phone into the computer with the cable.
2. On the phone, tap the USB notification and pick File transfer (Android) or tap Trust (iPhone).
3. On Windows, open File Explorer, click your phone, then open DCIM. Your photos are in the folders inside it. On a Mac, open the Photos app or Image Capture instead.
4. Make a folder on your computer named by year and month, like 2026-10 Phone.
5. Copy (not move) the photos into it. Wait until the copy finishes before unplugging.
6. Open a few of the copied photos to check they work.

Make it a habit: do it on the first day of every month. Once a year, copy that whole folder to an external drive too. Two copies in two places is the minimum for photos you care about.