Parachute Backup
Leitmotif GmbH parachuteapps.com $9.99 (iOS) / $14.99 (macOS) Price as of 05/24/2026 View on App Store →Parachute is a lightweight macOS and iOS backup tool that brings real control and local ownership to your iCloud data
As much as I live on my digital devices, you would think I would have a solid backup process. Alas, I do not, and I fully recognize that I should back up WAY more than I do. Just this week, I got a warning that my iPhone was full. I thought about deleting some files and videos, thinking that it was all backed up in iCloud. WRONG!
The truth is that iCloud storage is not a true backup of your data. It is a syncing system between your devices. What that means is if you lose one of your devices, your data is still protected because you can access it from another of your iCloud-registered devices. That’s great in practice, but what happens if a file becomes corrupt or you remove something you don’t intend to and it’s gone from all your devices? Apple provides some recovery options, but again, they are not a long-term archival solution.
In trying to design a backup system for myself, I identified this as a gap in my data storage needs. Since I keep so many valuable items in my iCloud Photo Library as well as my iCloud Files, I wanted to make sure that this area was covered in the best possible way. The best solution I’ve found is with Parachute Backup.
About Parachute Backup
Parachute is a backup utility designed to give Apple users more control over their iCloud data. Available for macOS, iPhone, and iPad, the app creates separate backups of iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, shared albums, and local folders to destinations you choose, including external drives, NAS storage, and cloud services. Parachute focuses on preserving original files, metadata, edits, and Live Photos while keeping backups accessible in standard folder structures.
Background
Parachute was originally created by developer Eric Mann out of a personal frustration with relying solely on iCloud to store decades of photos and files (very similar to my situation). While he appreciated the convenience of Apple’s ecosystem, he wanted a way to create independent backups of iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive without depending entirely on the cloud. That idea became Parachute.
Mann emphasized that the app was built to avoid consuming unnecessary disk space, does not require a subscription, and gives users more ownership and control over their data. The app later caught the attention of Florian and Michael from Leitmotif, both of whom have a strong interest in photography and had previously worked on photo-focused software, including the iOS app Photoscope. Michael had even experimented with an iCloud photo backup prototype before Parachute launched.
As the team evaluated projects for 2026, they revisited the idea of photo backup solutions and ultimately reached out to Mann about acquiring the app. As of March 25, 2026, Parachute Backup is part of Leitmotif GmbH.
A New Chapter for Parachute
According to the team, the transfer process proved more complicated on macOS than on iOS because some app migration behaviors are not fully documented by Apple.
One of their biggest concerns involved whether existing permissions for users’ photo libraries would survive the transfer. Their first update after the acquisition was intentionally minimal and mainly served as a test to confirm that photo library access remained intact after the app changed ownership. Once that was verified, the team released a follow-up update formally introducing the Leitmotif team to users.
Parachute currently supports macOS as well as iPhone and iPad, with the Mac version launching in June 2025 and the iOS/iPadOS version following in August 2025. The app is sold as a one-time purchase. The developers stress that user privacy is a major priority, noting that backup data is never accessible to them and is transferred only to storage destinations selected by the user, such as external drives or NAS systems. The app collects only optional telemetry related to app performance and feature usage, along with optional newsletter signups.
Customer support is currently handled through email, and the team says its immediate focus is on learning how customers use the app and addressing edge-case bugs before expanding the feature set further. They also mentioned plans to simplify parts of the interface over time, particularly around how iCloud Photos and data are presented within the app.
Pricing
Parachute Backup is a one-time purchase app with no subscription.
Mac version: $14.99 iPhone/iPad version: $9.99Installation & Setup
For both the Mac and iOS versions, installation is as simple as downloading the app directly from the App Store. Since Parachute is sold as a one-time purchase, users also do not have to worry about managing a recurring subscription. Getting started was straightforward and only required a few quick steps. After installing the app, I clicked the “Authorize iCloud Drive” and “Authorize iCloud Photos” buttons, selected a backup destination, and then chose “Run Backup Now.” From there, the app handled the rest of the process automatically. The onboarding experience felt clean and approachable, even for users who may not be familiar with backup utilities.
Once the initial setup is complete, Parachute can be configured to run backups automatically at whatever interval works best for the user. One of my favorite features is the ability to choose between Incremental and Full backup modes. Incremental backups only save files that have changed since the previous backup, which helps reduce backup times and storage usage, while Full backups create a complete copy every time the utility runs. I selected incremental backup and then let it run while I worked on other tasks.
Quiet in the Background, Always Working
To be clear, I don’t use Parachute Backup every day. I do want to say that reviewing this app has put things into perspective for me in terms of data protection. It has sort of opened my eyes about how I should approach different types of data, and all digital information is not created (or stored) equally. The fact that iCloud Photos is a tightly integrated library system makes it difficult to deduplicate or manage files at a granular level without relying on Apple’s built-in tools.
Not to get on a rant about that, but I bring it up to say that part of my process is now to complete the iCloud Photos backup using Parachute and then utilize another utility like VaultSort to clean up any duplicate files. Because Parachute provides users with an accessible folder structure instead of a that archive-style structure I mentioned, it makes it possible for users to not only browse their backups, but also to use additional data cleanup tools.
Parachute has been incredible in terms of operation. The manual process on an ongoing basis is what I described in the setup section, but the utility also provides a scheduling option so that you can run backups at prescribed times and make sure you are always covered. So far, I have not experienced any problems with scheduled backups failing to run properly. I love that Parachute will run unassisted and not need any manual intervention because I love it when things just work.
A Clean Look that Just Gets Out of the Way
One of the features of the app that I really value highly is its user interface and design. An app that performs well but looks old and like it was designed in 1995 is automatically a turn-off to me. Parachute Backup is neat, clean, and modern. It’s very intuitive and refreshingly simple to understand. “Dirty” apps can make things more confusing than they have to be, and that’s not the case with Parachute.
The main window gives you just a few options to tweak. Once it’s working, you can close the main window, and it keeps running in the background, and you can always monitor it from the menu bar. I would say that I would like to see a more pronounced menu bar icon. It is pretty small in comparison to other icons I have. Because Parachute is streamlined in this manner, it helps the app feel approachable rather than overwhelming, which is especially important for users who may not have much experience with backup software.
Evaluation
To test how well the backup process runs, I set up my 2024 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro to use Parachute. I connected to one of our NAS devices and selected the iPhotos Library to be backed up. I started the one-time backup and Parachute began the daunting task of archiving more than 21,000 files from my iCloud library to the NAS (Synology 1821+) over our network. We have high-speed fiber as the base of our network, but the process was still estimated at approximately 22 hours to complete. In reality, it took approximately 15 hours to complete, since this was the first full backup. I believe that the app continuously evaluates the estimated completion time as new files are copied. Overall, it’s a very smooth process.
I do find that the iOS app, while easy to set up, could include one more feature. Because I was backing up my iCloud Photos Library using my MacBook Pro, I didn’t need to back up the photos on my phone because it’s the same library (I synced it before I started the backup). What I did need to do is back up the files that were on the iPhone exclusively. There doesn’t appear to be an option to turn off the photos or the files from backing up so you can do one or the other. A simple toggle on/off for either source would be great.
One thing I was very excited about is how lightweight Parachute is on the system. Even when it was backing up both the Photos and Files libraries, it still only consumed 12-20% of the CPU usage. For an active backup, that is pretty modest. The memory usage was around 204 MB, which is also quite low considering applications that process media libraries often consume several hundred megabytes depending on caching behavior. Since this usage was observed during the initial backup, I am expecting it to be much less on subsequent backups.
When the backup was complete, I did spot check the files on the NAS to confirm the files were transferred correctly. The files and folder structure appeared intact and complete.
Conclusion
Parachute Backup stands out as a practical solution for users who want more control over their iCloud data without overcomplicating the process. It bridges an important gap between Apple’s sync-focused ecosystem and the need for true, independent backups stored on user-owned hardware like external drives or NAS systems.
While there are a few areas that could be refined the overall experience is strong. For users who rely heavily on iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive, Parachute offers a reliable, low-friction way to create real backups that remain accessible and usable long term.
For more information, visit parachuteapps.com
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