By default, iTunes will make a backup of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch when you sync your device on your Mac or PC. You can also initiate backups manually in iTunes when upgrading or restoring a device. This makes keeping a secure copy of your iPhone’s data easy, but as iDevice storage capacities have increased, so too have the size of backups. If you sync or backup multiple devices to a single computer, these backups can take up dozens or even hundreds of gigabytes.

Here’s how you can view and delete iPhone backups in iTunes, potentially freeing up lots of storage space. To view iPhone backups (or iPad and iPod touch backups), open iTunes and navigate to iTunes Preferences Devices. Here, you’ll see a list of all devices you’ve backed up to this computer (by device name) and the date and time of the last backup. If you have multiple devices with similar names, or if you’re just not sure which backup corresponds to which device, simply hover your mouse or trackpad cursor over one of the entries. A small window will pop up providing unique information about the device, such as serial number and associated phone number (if applicable). From here, things diverge a bit in OS X and Windows, so we’ll address each operating system separately, below. Delete iPhone Backups in OS X To see the size of your iPad or iPhone backup, right-click (or Control-click) on the desired backup and select Show in Finder.

A new Finder window will open revealing the folder containing the backup. You won’t be able to read any of the information in this folder without third party tools, but you can use a Get Info command to ascertain the backup’s size. In our case, a well-used 64GB iPhone 6 Plus has a backup size of more than 20GB.

If you have multiple devices with backups of similar size, you can see how they can quickly consume valuable space on your Mac or PC’s drive. To delete a backup, head back to the iTunes Preferences window, highlight the backup in the Devices list, and click the Delete Backup button. ITunes will ask you to confirm your choice; click Delete to do so. Delete iPhone Backups in Windows Things aren’t so simple with Windows, as right-clicking on a backup in iTunes won’t reveal any options. You therefore need to locate your backups manually. In Windows Vista and higher, you can find your iOS backups by clicking Start (or hitting the Windows key in Windows 8 to launch the Start Screen), typing%appdata%, and pressing the Enter key.

This will open your current user’s AppData folder. Alternatively, you can navigate to C: Users User AppData Roaming but you’ll need to have enabled the “” option in Windows Explorer in order to see the AppData folder. Once in the AppData/Roaming folder, navigate to Apple Computer MobileSync Backup. Here, you’ll see a list of folders, each referencing a unique iPad or iPhone backup (if you’re a multi-platform user, this is the same data that was accessed via the “Show in Finder” command in OS X). As mentioned earlier, you can’t directly read this data without third party tools, but you can right-click on a given backup and select Properties to view its size.

To delete an iPhone backup in Windows, delete it from this folder and then close and reopen the iTunes Preferences window. The backup will no longer be listed in the Devices tab. Why Delete iPhone Backups? As mentioned earlier, iOS device backups can take up a lot of space, especially if you’re syncing multiple devices to a single PC or Mac.

Delete Itunes Backup On Pc

Many users never even look in the iTunes Preferences to keep track of their backups, and end up keeping old backups from devices they no longer have. Further, new backups are created when a device is restored, so you may also unintentionally possess redundant backups that are no longer useful. By clearing these backups from iTunes, you can save space and simplify your backup list, which makes it easier to know which backup to choose when restoring or replacing a device. You can also use local iTunes backups as a companion to iCloud backups by performing frequent backups to the cloud and saving complete backups to your Mac or PC only occasionally. Regardless of your desired strategy, it’s important to note that deleting iPhone backups from iTunes is not like deleting a regular file on your computer.

The backup isn’t placed in Trash or the Recycle Bin and can’t be easily recovered after it’s deleted. Therefore, be careful as you manage your iPad and iPhone backups, as you may accidentally delete the only copy of your iOS data in the event of a lost or damage device. Want news and tips from TekRevue delivered directly to your inbox? Sign up for the TekRevue Weekly Digest using the box below. Get tips, reviews, news, and giveaways reserved exclusively for subscribers.

By now, you probably know that your iPhone and stores the locations you've visited in a backup folder on your computer's hard drive. The files are unencrypted, which means anyone with access to your computer or device can retrieve the information, which is downright scary.

But Pete Warden and Alasdair Allan are making it fun with their application, which lets you map out everywhere you've been with your smartphone. But what if you don't want that information on your computer? What if you don't want to risk others seeing it, knowing your every move? Then it's time to your backup files. Some of you may want to do this for security reasons, but most of you will want to because of the real killer—. Every time you sync your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch with iTunes, a backup folder is automatically created on your computer. This backup contains your location data, along with other files and can be as large as 64GB for each iOS device.

Factor in the amount of iDevices you have and the potential number of backup files, and you might have over 200GB of valuable hard disk space missing. If you have a small hard drive, cleaning this junk up could be vital. There are a couple of ways to go about it: Step 1 Delete Using iTunes This is the easiest and quickest method of erasing those hefty iOS backups. No matter if you're on a Mac or PC, the process is the same. Open up iTunes.

Click on iTunes in the menu. Click on Preferences. Go to the Devices tab. Click on the backup you want to remove, then Delete Backup. Confirm by pressing Delete. Repeat for any other backups you want to delete. Tips.

It's a good idea to clear out all the older backups, but you should keep the newest backup for each device. For some reason, if you need to restore your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you won't be able to if you deleted all of the backups. Always keep the newest one!. If you deleted all of them, don't worry—the next time you sync your device with iTunes, a new backup will be created. If you have a ton of backups and would rather delete them all in one swoop. Step 2 Delete Directly from the System On Mac and PC, Apple stores your iTunes iOS backups in your file system. You can find your backup archive in the following folders ( represents your user directory):.

Mac: /Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. Windows: Application Data Apple Computer MobileSync Backup When you navigate to the Backup folder, you'll find that they contain a bunch of folders with gibberish names and seemingly random content. There's no easy way to identify them, but in list view, you can sort by date modified and send all of the old ones to the trash. Then empty to delete and see how much space you just resurrected. Warnings.

Do not delete all backup folders. If your iOS device falters, you won't be able to restore it—you'll have to start anew. If you upgrade to a better device, update your firmware or get a replacement device, you can easily set it up to make sure you have the same content you had when last synced with iTunes—so make sure to keep a backup handy!. Continue backing up your iOS devices.

Regular backups makes sure that you're always safe from malfunctions and glitches destroying your data. Just delete the older ones once you perform a new update.

You can prevent iTunes from automatically creating a backup of your device, but you shouldn't do that unless you want to perform manual backups from time to time. Photo by Related.