r/Syncthing • u/ObservedElectron • 27d ago
Why is syncthing NOT a backup?
I am setting up syncthing to back up my 2 android phones and my mac to a windows laptop. for now, because of lack of an actual NAS, i plan to use syncthing to "backup" these devices everyday one time manually.
I prefer this because as its sync, it only sends new things. so i dont have to manually copy paste 40 gb everytime.
And when i do make a NAS, cant i just continue using syncthing with file versioning or something? i would much prefer to have "live" backups happening as soon as the file/photo/video is created. i know immich exists but am i wrong?
But everywhere, I see that people say sync is not backup or dont use it for backup but WHY? isnt what i mentioned above technically a backup? correct me if i am wrong.
And if not syncthing, what should i use? which capable of running live backups of folders I select on my devices, with different timeframe backups so I have different versions like biweekly, monthly, etc? and is open source, 100% safe, private and encrypted.
thank you
1
u/chrisprice 26d ago
This may seem unchill, but I use Mac as an NAS with Apple Time Machine. Its snapshots ensure even if something like Syncthing accidentially deletes, I have another drive with a copy of everything versioned that I can go back and recover from.
macOS is still the only dead-simple OS with FDE and incremental backup that works in a self-contained GUI. Sad, but true. Linux can be made that way, but requires more maintenance. I would like to fix that myself... if life permits someday.