How to securely back up your iPhone or iPad with encryption via iTunes

Yah, only do this if you are absolutely sure of your password. I've had many clients over the years who have forgotten AppleID passwords AND security questions and their two options are: call Apple and prove who you are to get a password reset email sent. Or, restore from an iCloud backup. Never had one yet who encrypted that backup which would leave them, then, with one choice.

It is worth noting that if you have wifi syncing enabled in iTunes then the iPhone / iPad doesn't need to be physically connected if it is on the same wifi network but the backup does still need to manually initiated from within iTunes on the Mac / PC. Obviously backing up over Wifi vs cable can have a significant impact on the time taken but wifi backups are possible.

Local iTunes backups do not require the iPhone/iPad to be physically connected to the computer. You can backup over Wi-Fi. You should be able to set the iPhone to backup automatically when it is being charged, as long as iTunes is running, and the iPhone and iTunes are on the same Wi-Fi network. Automatic local backups are suppressed when iCloud backup is enabled.

nicnac said:

Yah, only do this if you are absolutely sure of your password. I've had many clients over the years who have forgotten AppleID passwords AND security questions and their two options are: call Apple and prove who you are to get a password reset email sent. Or, restore from an iCloud backup. Never had one yet who encrypted that backup which would leave them, then, with one choice.

The problem with your scenario is the data isn't always encrypted so there will always be personal data someone can get to. I'm sorry if your clients can't remember things but without encrypting everything, they run the risk of losing everything. Find a trusted friend, an attorney, or someone your other friends won't know and put your encryption password(s) into a sealed envelope and have that friend store it. Putting it into a safe either at a bank or in your house only protects your password from honest people, not from thieves or the government. The issue I've seen is that people always find an excuse to not use passwords but always complain later when they either forgot theirs or someone hacks into their system because they have their computer auto logon. People need to take responsibility for their actions as well as their data. Apple makes it real easy to secure a Mac and all its backups as well as iOS mobile devices. Local backups are the easiest to secure (not described in this article), just right- or control-click on your external device and run the Encrypt process. You can use the same password as on your Mac or pick a different one. It's a good idea NOT to save that password in your keychain. You'll need to enter that password when mounting that disk but so what, it's just a few keystrokes. 

Most of us are mad at our government's desire to invade whatever privacy we still have left but until we actively secure our private data, the government will continue to demand access to it. We are protected from self-incrimination so you can always tell a police officer, a judge, and the FBI you're not going to give them your password or unlock you system. You have that right.

mfryd said:

You should be able to set the iPhone to backup automatically when it is being charged, as long as iTunes is running, and the iPhone and iTunes are on the same Wi-Fi network. Automatic local backups are suppressed when iCloud backup is enabled.

I'd completely forgotten about this automatic iTunes backup feature as I've been using iCloud backups for so long. Might have to have a play with it tonight...