5 Best Practices to Implement to Stop Losing Your Data

On the occasion of World Computer Data Backup Day, we have collected 5 best practices for you to implement so you don't lose your data again. On programs: local backup, online backup, software backup or even upload your data to major social networks.

1. Make a local backup

Often considered the most secure method of storing data, local backups allow you to download data to your own storage device.

Local backup places are usually local hard drives, external hard drives, USB keys or even CDs and DVDs for the most ancient.

By using this type of backup, you minimize the risk of data loss due to Internet access problems. Often portable, local backup devices are quite handy because they don't take up much space.

But be careful, in case of loss, theft or damage, you risk losing the data stored there forever. It is therefore advisable to combine this method with online backups.

2. Make an online backup

At a time when the Internet is more than ever a part of our daily lives, online backups are essential, as they allow you to store your photos, videos, documents, files or even software, in any online storage space you can access from any device. too, thanks to a simple internet connection.

While entrusting your data to third parties can be daunting at times, online storage is now very secure. Indeed, accounts are password protected, and data sent to the cloud is fully encrypted.

Compared to local backup, online backup offers several advantages that should not be ignored:

Advantages of backing up online

Dematerialization: by choosing online backup, you minimize the risk of data loss associated with accidents (theft, loss, fire, damage, etc.).
There's no risk of forgetting either, as your data can be accessed from all your devices, regardless of the available storage space.
A more economical solution: no need to invest in external hard drives, USB keys and other sometimes expensive storage devices.
You can directly store your documents on online file storage platforms (which generally offer several GB of free storage, then offer reasonable prices for storage space tailored to your needs).
Simplified sharing: Online storage tools make it easy to share files securely. That way you can allow your collaborators access to your drive to exchange certain files (large or not).

However, nothing is without risk, and sometimes combining local backups and online backups is useful to ensure that you don't lose your most important files.

3. Use backup software

In addition to file storage platforms, there is backup software designed to save and restore files from your computer and mobile, as well as data from your servers.

This tool allows you to schedule automatic backups by specifying the desired frequency.

They generally offer tailor-made storage space, which offers the possibility to store all your data, including the most.

If a problem occurs or data loss occurs, you can immediately launch the restore procedure from the created backup.

Operating systems generally offer free native tools to back up your data locally to an external device, or online to a network location (Windows Backup, or Time Machine for macOS for example).

4. Perform regular backups

To ensure that all data lost in the event of an incident can be recovered, CNIL strongly recommends “performing regular backups of data, both in paper and electronic form”.

Indeed, in the event of data loss, only the most recent backup can restore everything (or almost). There are many reasons that cause data loss, and it can happen at any time.

If you are still reluctant to back up your data regularly, just imagine that your smartphone suddenly stops working, and imagine that all data is permanently lost if your last full backup is more than 6 months old.

5. Remember to download your data from the Internet

Social networks also offer a feature to download your data. Learn how to back up your Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok data.

How to back up Google data

Among the Google data that you can download, we find: emails, documents, calendars, photos or even YouTube videos.

Here are the steps to follow to save a copy of this data:

Log in to your Google account, and go to Google Takeout, the page dedicated to downloading data,
Uncheck the boxes you don't want to download (don't uncheck anything if you want to download all your data),
Click Next Step,
Select the desired delivery format, including: email, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive or Box,
Customize the export format by choosing from a one-time archive or scheduled export,
Customize the archive type by choosing from .zip and .tgz,
Validate your data archive download.

How to back up Facebook data

Social networks offer a special feature for downloading a copy of your information. You are free to choose which one you want to save or not, and you can choose the format from HTML and JSON.

To save your data, here are the steps to follow:

Log in to your Facebook account on the web,
Click the down arrow icon, at the top right of your screen,
Select Settings and privacy, then select Settings,
On the left, click Your Facebook Information,
Select View, then add or remove the information you want to include in your request,
and select an option (archive format, photo quality, desired period, etc.),
Click Create file to confirm the request, then wait for validation,
After Facebook notifies you that your information is ready, go to Available Copies,
Select Download your information, then click Download, and enter your password to confirm.
Once this procedure is complete, the download will start automatically.

How to back up Instagram data

You can easily recover all your published data on Instagram (photos, videos, profile information, etc.) in .zip archive form.

Please note that in order to make this request, you must have a confirmed email address and have access to it.

The steps are as follows:

Connect to the web version of Instagram,
Go to your profile and click the gear icon to access settings,
Select Privacy and Scroll down the menu and select Download Data,
Click Request download,
Get archives in your mailbox.

How to back up Twitter data

The platform lets you download an archive containing all the items you've published since your first tweet.

The steps to do a full backup are as follows:

Connect to Twitter,
Go to account settings by clicking More, then select Your Account,
Select Download your data archive,
Re-enter your password and click Confirm.
Verify your identity by confirming your email address or phone number,
Click Request your data,

Once the archive is ready, you will receive an email notifying you, go back to settings, and click Download data,

To validate the download, select Download.

The archive will be saved in .zip format. Twitter stipulates that the information included is: "your profile information, your tweets, your private messages, your moments, your media, your list of followers, a list of accounts you follow, your address book, lists you have created, where you are members or those you follow”.

How to back up TIK tok data

To download all your TikTok data, here is the procedure to follow:

Open the TikTok mobile app,
Go to your profile via the small icon located at the bottom right,
Select the burger menu (3 overlapping lines) located at the top right of your profile,
Click on the Privacy tab,
Tap Download your data,

Choose between TXT or JSON format, and validate by clicking Request your data,

The procedure can take some time (up to 4 days according to TikTok), and then you can download all the data in the ZIP archive.

Some of the data included in the archive includes: profile information, video history, comments, and settings information. Videos that you post or save in your draft are not included.

To save them, go to your profile and save them manually one by one using the following steps: