Backup and Protect

How Mylio Photos+ Protects Your Library

Mylio Photos+ protects your library by connecting all your devices—computers, phones, tablets, external drives, NAS devices, and cloud services—into a private, synchronized system. Your photos and metadata stay consistent everywhere.

Each device contributes in different ways:

• Viewing devices (computers, phones, tablets) let you browse your library from anywhere. These devices typically use Optimized Images to save space while still giving you full access to your library.
• Storage devices (external drives, NAS devices, cloud services) can hold original files. Devices with enough space can be designated as Vaults, which contain a complete copy of your library.

Mylio Photos+ keeps these devices in sync so your photos, metadata, and organization stay up to date wherever you access your library. By combining different device types, you control where your originals live, how many copies you keep, and how your library is protected long-term.

How Mylio Photos+ Helps with 3-2-1 Backup

To protect your photo library from loss, damage, or hardware failure, we recommend following a 3-2-1 backup plan:

• Three copies of your data
• Two copies stored locally on separate devices
• One copy stored offsite

This approach gives you strong, layered protection. A second local copy protects against drive failure. An offsite copy protects against theft, fire, or natural disaster.

Most Mylio Photos+ users achieve this by combining:

• Two local Vaults (for example, two external drives)
• One offsite device or cloud service, like Mylio Drive+

Mylio Photos+ handles the syncing between these copies automatically once devices are added.

What is a Vault in Mylio Photos+?

A Vault is any device or cloud service that stores your entire Mylio Photos Library. A Vault includes:

• Full-resolution original files
• XMP sidecar files containing metadata
• Your Mylio Photos catalog (organization, face tags, edits, albums, etc.)

All Vaults Are Equal

Mylio Photos+ does not treat any single Vault as a “primary” or “master.” Every Vault contains a complete copy of your library, and all Vaults are considered equally authoritative. Because all Vaults are equal, if one Vault fails or becomes unavailable, your other Vault(s) still contain the full library. This is why we recommend maintaining at least two Vaults. Multiple Vaults ensure that you always have another complete copy available.

Choosing a Device to Use as a Vault

A Vault can be any device or service that has enough space to hold your complete library. Common choices include:

• External hard drives (HDDs)
• SSDs
• NAS devices
• RAID systems
• Cloud services like Mylio Drive+, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, an S3-compatible cloud storage provider (e.g., Backblaze B2, Amazon AWS, Wasabi, etc.)

When selecting a Vault device, consider:

• The size of your current library
• How quickly your library is growing
• How often the device will be connected
• Device durability and reliability

Learn more about hard drive and connections types here.

Adding a Vault

You add a Vault by adding a storage device to your Mylio Photos+ account. When you connect storage device, such as an external drive, Mylio Photos+ evaluates the available space and recommends an appropriate sync policy. If the device has enough capacity to store your entire library, Mylio Photos+ will suggest setting it up as a Vault. Once designated, the device receives originals and remains a full copy of your library as it grows.

Viewing devices, such as phones, tablets, and computers, default to the SpaceSaver sync policy to conserve storage by holding Optimized Images. If a viewing device has enough free space, you can change its sync policy to Vault at any time.

!WARNING: Any photo deleted in the Mylio Photos application on any device will also be automatically deleted from your Vault device(s). We recommend using a system backup utility such as Time Machine on macOS or a cloud backup utility such as Backblaze to protect against accidental data loss caused by a user.

!NOTE: If you use a third-party backup system such as Apple’s Time Machine to back up your Vault device, you may not need a secondary Vault device. Backup best practices recommend having at least two local copies of your data on separate devices. This could be two Vaults (two external hard drives), one Vault device, and one Time Machine backup. IMPORTANT: These must be on two external hard drives.

In This Chapter:

• Add Devices
  • Add a Computer
  • Add a Phone or Tablet
  • Add an External Drive
    • Using an SSD with USB-C iPhone or iPad
  • Add Mylio Drive
  • Add Mylio Drive+ with SecureCloud Storage
  • Add a NAS
  • Add a Guest Device
    • Setting a Guest Device to Limited Access Mode
    • Manage Guest Devices
  • Add a Cloud Service
    • Using Google Drive with Mylio Photos+
    • Use Microsoft OneDrive with Mylio Photos+
    • Use Backblaze B2 with Mylio Photos+
    • Use Wasabi with Mylio Photos+
    • Use Amazon AWS with Mylio Photos+
    • Set up an S3 Server on NAS
  • Remove Devices
• Keep Your Devices in Sync
  • Set a Device Sync Policy Preset
    • Create a Custom Device Sync Policy with SyncCollections
  • Understanding the Sync Panel
    • Adjusting a Sync Policy from the Sync Panel
• Manage Device Settings
  • Managing File System Changes with External Changes Policy
  • Handling Lost Originals
• Control Device Storage
  • Understanding the Storage Panel
  • Free Up Space by Clearing the Cache
• Store Specific Files Locally for Offline Access
• Store Specific Folders Locally for Offline Access
• Access Optimized Images from Other Devices
• Download Original or Optimized Images
• Manage Devices with Remote Control