Posted on January 16, 2022
The Ongoing Battle to Get Politicians Out of My Exam Room
This article was written by Kimberly Mohabir on September 16, 2021. Find original posting on: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/the-ongoing-battle-to-get-politicians-out-of-my-exam-room
I am a board-certified family medicine physician who has been working with Planned Parenthood Federation of America as part of a fellowship focused on sexual and reproductive health policy. Patients come to me with certain expectations — importantly truth, empathy, and help.
“The relationship between a patient and a physicians based on trust, which gives rise to physicians’ ethical responsibility to place patients’ welfare above the physician’s own self-interest,”1 according to the American Medical Association (AMA),
Trust is under greater strain than ever as states continue to pass the harshest abortion bans and restrictions since Roe v. Wade. Health care conversations are no longer one-on-one between a patient and a trusted provider. The government has become an intrusive third party interfering in the relationship — intentionally eroding patient trust and our responsibility as providers to inform and deliver the highest standard of care.
I am unnerved by the relentless efforts of state lawmakers to pass harmful legislation to control our patients’ reproductive health decisions. Once and for all, it is incumbent upon providers, policymakers and advocates to affirm every individual’s right to full reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy and fight vigorously against any and all attempts by the government to restrict the ability of our patients to decide when and if they are ready to grow their families.
Abortion is a human right. It’s time our government upholds, protects and defends that right — and our ability as providers to honor our oaths to truth, empathy and help.
Truth
It takes four years of undergraduate school, followed by four years of medical school and up to seven years of residency to become a medical doctor. This education is necessary to ensure patients get the most accurate and effective medical care from a provider they can trust. . While abortion is among one of the safest medical procedures, in some states some providers are forced to counsel patients on disproven falsehoods, such as risks of breast cancer and mental illness, fetal pain, and infertility. Telling patients the truth in all circumstances, even when it contradicts with one’s own personal beliefs, is essential and foundational to building and maintaining trust in relationships with patients. No patient should ever have to piece together which information is correct, and no doctor should be forced to violate oaths and knowingly misguide patients with dishonest information.
Empathy
Patients come from all walks of life and from various backgrounds: 75% of patients in need of abortion have low incomes; many are already parents and worry that another child could threaten their family’s financial security. Some are survivors of sexual assault, and seek an abortion for a pregnancy that would force them to re-live an event they are working to overcome. Others seek an abortion simply because they have decided it’s just not the right time for them to grow their families. All of these reasons are valid, and no one has the right to intrude on this deeply personal decision. When someone considering abortion comes to me, my job is to listen without judgment and deliver care. Forcing providers to communicate to our patients that they will have to continue with their pregnancies or take unnecessary steps to get an abortion based on a politician’s moral beliefs is deeply unethical and violates the pledge to practice empathy for all patients regardless of circumstance. Further, the Turnaway Study — a research project that examined the short and longterm physical and emotional impact of individuals being denied access to abortion care — found that being denied an abortion can have a significant health toll on the individual and their families. Indeed, individuals denied access to abortion and forced to continue with their pregnancies are more likely to experience depression, severe pregnancy complications, and are more likely to stay with abusive partners. Studies show children are also affected by their parent’s inability to access an abortion, and are more likely to live in financially insecure households and have delayed childhood development. Practicing empathy as a provider, put simply, means doing no harm. When providers are forced to harm patients by denying them abortions, it can affect mothers, families, and the communities we serve.
Help
When I am asked why I went into medicine, my reflex response is “I wanted to help people.” But there’s more to it. I believe patients are more than their diagnoses. The goal of a physician is to help the patient get to their individual medical goals.
Let’s look at a real-life example. A young woman wants to know what is causing her painful and heavy periods. After careful and thorough examination and tests, I discover she has uterine fibroids. I discuss with her that there are medications to help with her symptoms, but she is not interested in starting these medications; her goal was simply to find out what was happening in her body and we have accomplished that.
Coercing patients into a treatment option they are not interested in pursuing is not only unhelpful; it’s unethical. Aside from severe extenuating circumstances, patients have the right to opt in or opt out of medical care. This same patient ultimately decided to have her fibroids surgically removed. Accordingly, I referred her to a surgical gynecologist who was licensed and skilled to remove her fibroids.
It is our duty as providers to center the patients’ health care needs and decisions and communicate all of their treatment options with medically accurate information. We are not to coerce and deter patients from seeking the care they decide best meets their needs — but many of us are being forced to do exactly that by lawmakers who oppose abortion.
As I go through residency at George Washington University, I remember the oath I made when I first decided to go to medical school. An oath to do no harm, to give only true and accurate information, to center the patient, and always have empathy. In medical school, we are taught that the doctor-patient relationship is a sacred bond and that above all else, must be protected in medicine.
In order to protect trust in the medical system, irrational restrictions that have no basis in evidence must be fought. Doctors must not be forced by anti-reproductive health legislators to manipulate patients. I am disgusted by the deliberate interference that many state governments are imposing between doctors and their patients. The only people that can decide the best course of medical action are the patient and the medical provider. To fight this interference and protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, I urge you to contact your member of Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect, defend, and expand abortion rights for all people regardless of the state they live in — and protect the rights of providers to give the most accurate information to patients and deliver only the highest standards of care. It’s time the government gets out of our exam rooms once and for all.
Posted on January 13, 2022
How to keep your phone running in tip-top shape
Getting the most out of your smartphone is important, whether you’re playing a fun new game, utilizing those blazing fast speeds, uploading a video to social media or storing all your precious photos.
But to enjoy all that your phone has to offer, you should make sure it’s running in tip-top shape so that your device is always performing at its best — and you may be able to even extend the life of your device.
In this week’s tip, we’ll show you a few ways to protect your investment and ensure your smartphone stays clean, damage free and continues running smoothly.
Update apps and turn on automatic updates
Updating your apps and operating system is a must to make sure your phone is performing at its best. These updates fix bugs, introduce new features, help prevent malware and ensure your phone’s software and applications continue to run as smoothly as possible.
Automatic updates should be turned on by default for both Apple and Android phones, but it’s a good idea to double check in case your phone has been inadvertently going for months without any updates.
Turn on automatic updates for your apps
- On iOS, go to Settings > App Store and make sure that App Updates is turned on.
- On Android, go to the Play Store and tap the profile icon. Tap Settings > Network Preferences > Auto-update apps, then choose how you want to update your apps.
Turn on automatic system updates
- On iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, you will be able to install it. You can also change the settings for Automatic Updates at the top of the screen.
- On Android, go to Settings > Software Update/System Update and turn on the setting for Auto Updates.
Note: Instructions for Android devices may differ by manufacturer and model
Your phone is probably dirty. Clean it today.
Face it, if you’re anything like us, your phone is probably filthy. That’s okay — but it does mean you do need to give it a good cleaning to ensure the ports, screen and camera glass are clear of dirt and fingerprints and to prevent nasty germs from multiplying all over your device.
We recommend that you do NOT submerge your phone in any kind of cleaner, but DO use 70 percent isopropyl alcohol with a microfiber cloth or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes to clean your phone. If you notice that your ports are dirty, a toothpick to scrape out the gunk should do the trick.
For more tips on keeping your phone clean, check out our tip “How to disinfect your phone and other household items.“
Prevent your phone from overheating
A hot phone can drain your battery quickly or annoyingly shut itself down, but it can also reduce your phone’s performance and battery life, melt internal components, or very rarely, cause a fire or explosion.
Make sure to keep your phone away from direct sunlight or a hot car, and use recommended chargers, since unapproved third-party chargers could damage your device.
Learn more about keeping your phone cool by reading last summer’s tip “6 tips to stop your phone from overheating this summer.“
Invest in a good case
One of the best investments you can make to protect your phone from accidental damage is protecting it with a sturdy smartphone case. We get it: Protective cases can sometimes get cumbersome or feel too big. But the alternative might be a cracked screen and a costly repair. Even slim cases do offer some protection from dings and scratches, so consider dressing up that naked phone with a new case.
Wirecutter recently reviewed a number of cases for iPhones, and Lifewire has case suggestions for the various Android models.
One more tip: You should also consider purchasing a protection plan through CREDO, your manufacturer or AppleCare (if you have an iPhone or iPad). Learn more about our insurance and service plans here.
Slow phone? Clean up some space
Is your smartphone not running as quickly as it used to? Is it acting slowly when you open new browser tabs or switch from app to app?
We know how frustrating it can be — but don’t worry! The fix could be something as easy as cleaning up some space, clearing out your cache or deleting unused apps. Following these steps can clear up space and prevent some apps from running in the background — and help your phone run a little more quickly.
To clear cache on Apple’s Safari:
- Go to Settings > Safari
- Tap Clear History and Website Data, then confirm.
To clear cache on Chrome on Android:
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Chrome app.
- At the top right, tap three dots for More.
- Go to History > Clear browsing data.
- At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
- Next to “Cookies and site data” and “Cached images and files,” check the boxes.
- Tap Clear data.
Deleting apps on your device is even easier. On Apple devices, long-press each individual app that you don’t use until you see a drop-down menu, then choose “Remove App.” On many Android devices, you can also long press the apps you want to remove, then choose “Uninstall”
To learn how to clear app cache and temporary files for other mobile browsers along with other ways to speed up your device, visit our previous post “How to instantly speed up a sluggish smartphone.”
Consider upgrading your phone
It’s been a few years. Your phone has had a good life, but it’s just not performing like it used to. We all reach that point, too. It’s simply time for a new phone.
You’re in luck! We are offering some amazing deals on the latest smartphones — and your phone bill will help empower climate justice, civil rights and economic justice, at no extra cost. Visit CREDOMobile.com and find the phone that’s right for you!
Posted on January 11, 2022
How Planned Parenthood is working to protect reproductive freedom
Planned Parenthood was founded over 100 years ago on the revolutionary idea that women have the right to access the information and care they need to live healthy lives.
That’s why, for more than 35 years, CREDO has been honored to fund Planned Parenthood, its Action Fund and affiliates as they fight to protect that right — totalling $3.6 million.
Right now, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is working hard to protect abortion access from the unconstitutional attacks on reproductive freedom happening across the country and support efforts to establish a statutory right to abortion.
Please take a moment to read more about how Planned Parenthood is working to protect care for millions of people and how you can take action — then vote to fund the organization this month.
Attacks on access to safe, legal abortion are escalating across the country. The six-week ban in Texas is only the latest in a long line of dangerous, unjust, and medically unnecessary bans and restrictions on abortion access. By allowing this unconstitutional law to go into effect, a majority of the Supreme Court has turned its back on 50 years of precedent, rendering Roe v. Wade effectively meaningless in Texas.
That’s why Planned Parenthood Action Fund is advocating for the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act, critical legislation that would help protect the right to abortion throughout the United States and guard against the bans and restrictions state politicians are pushing.
The U.S. House passed the legislation last September, but the bill remains stalled in the U.S. Senate. We urge you to join our allies at Planned Parenthood Action Fund to contact your senators to support this important legislation to protect access to safe, legal abortion across this country. Click here to send a letter to your senators.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund is also one of three great organizations on our donations ballot this month — and you can vote today to help us distribute our January donation. Visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote for PPAF, Action for the Climate Emergency and People’s Action today! 
Posted on January 5, 2022
Vote for Action for the Climate Emergency, People’s Action and Planned Parenthood Action Fund this January
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This January, you can support climate justice, economic justice and reproductive rights by voting to fund Action for the Climate Emergency, People’s Action and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Action for the Climate Emergency
Each year, ACE educates millions of teens about the climate emergency through original media, supports its 750,000 youth members to participate fully in our democracy, and trains hundreds of youth climate organizers to end the era of fossil fuels.
Generous funding from CREDO members will support ACE to educate millions of teens about the climate emergency, support its 750,000 youth members with everything they need to cast their first ballot, and to train a new generation of climate leaders.
People’s Action
People’s Action is a grassroots-powered force for democracy and economic fairness. The organization uses issue campaigns and voting to put community over corporations, justice over racism, and people and planet over profits and polluters.
A grant from CREDO would help build power to move economic, climate, gender and racial justice policies; develop the leadership of thousands of grassroots leaders; and fight against white nationalist disinformation that threatens our democracy.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Planned Parenthood was founded over 100 years ago on the revolutionary idea that women have the right to access the information and care they need to live healthy lives. Today, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund fights to protect that right.
At this crisis point for abortion access, funding from CREDO members will help the Planned Parenthood Action Fund fight for reproductive health care and rights for all.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by January 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
Posted on January 5, 2022
New phone? Here’s how to transfer all your data from your old smartphone to your new one
Did you get a brand new phone for the holidays — or have plans to buy one soon — but you’re not sure how to transfer all your photos, email, apps and other important data over to the new device?
You’re in luck — this week’s tip is just for you!
Whether you’re transferring your data from an old Android phone to a new device, an old iPhone or iPad to a brand new one, or even between iOS and Android, we’ll run through how to move your data and settings to a new device in just a few simple steps.
Moving data from an old iOS device to a new iPhone or iPad
Apple has made moving your data from one phone to another incredibly easy with a system called “Quick Start.” Here’s how to automatically move your important data to your new device.
Before you start:
- Have your Apple ID and password ready.
- If you have an Apple Watch, unpair it from your old phone.
- Make sure you have a backup of your old device before beginning. Here’s how to back up your phone.
Transfer your data (courtesy of Apple)
- Choose a time when you will not need to use both your old and new devices. The process may take a little while.
- Plug in both devices; ensure your old phone is turned on. Place both devices near each other, and turn on your new device.
- A screen appears on your current device that offers the option of using your Apple ID to set up your new device. Make sure that it’s the Apple ID that you want to use, then tap Continue. If you don’t see the option to continue on your current device, make sure that Bluetooth is turned on.
- Wait for an animation to appear on your new device. Hold your current device over the new device, then center the animation in the viewfinder.
- Wait for a message that says Finish on New [Device]. If you can’t use your current device’s camera, tap Authenticate Manually, then follow the onscreen steps.
- When asked, enter your current device’s passcode on your new device. Then follow the instructions to set up Face ID or Touch ID on your new device.
- When you see the Transfer Data from [Device] screen, tap Continue to begin transferring your data from your previous device to your new device. Or you can tap Other Options to transfer apps, data, and settings from your most recent iCloud backup or transfer from a backup on your computer.
Quick note: This method is only available if your devices are running iOS 11 or later (Here’s how to check).
If you are unable or do not want to use Quick Start to move your data, you can also check out how to use iCloud or iTunes or Finder from Apple’s website
Moving data from your old Android device to a new one
Transferring your data from an old Android to a new one is just as easy. You will still need to backup your old phone, but the process to transfer your data is quite simple.
Before you begin:
- Charge both phones
- Double-check that you are able to unlock the old device
- On your old phone, go to Settings and sign in with your Google account.
- Backup your data: Go to Settings > System > Backup, then choose Backup Now > Continue. (Note that these instructions may be different depending on your device’s manufacturer)
Transfer your data (courtesy of Google)
- Turn on your new phone.
- Tap Start. If you don’t see “Start,” you can copy your data manually.
- When asked, choose to copy apps and data from your old phone.
- If you have a cable to connect your phones, follow the on-screen instructions to copy your data.
- If you don’t have a cable:
- Tap No cable? > Ok.
- Tap A backup from an Android phone.
- To copy your data, follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are having trouble, you can copy your data manually from one phone to the other. Here’s how.
How to transfer your data from iOS to Android — or Android to iOS
Some new and existing CREDO members sometimes make the switch from Android to a new iPhone, or vice-versa. While transferring data to a new operating system isn’t difficult, it does involve a few extra steps.
That’s why we have a separate blog post to walk you through this painless migration. Check out our previous post “How to migrate your phone’s data from Android to Apple iOS — and back.”
Posted on January 4, 2022
Our December grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups working for climate justice, reproductive rights, voting rights. In December, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Carbon180, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Vote.org.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our November grant recipients thank you.
Carbon180
$43,151
“Thank you for supporting Carbon180 in championing the carbon removal solutions we need to address climate change and create an equitable, carbon-removing future.” – Erin Burns, Executive Director
To learn more, visit www.carbon180.org.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
$54,647
“With abortion access under unprecedented threat, it’s more important than ever to fight for our fundamental rights. Thank you for helping us do this critical work to protect reproductive freedom for every body.” – Adrienne Kimmell, Acting President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
To learn more, visit www.prochoiceamerica.org.
Vote.org
$52,202
“Thank you for your support! Vote.org operates on a national scale, and CREDO members like you allow us to provide digital voting resources for all 50 states and D.C., deploying proven tactics and multiple strategies to rapidly increase our reach.” – Andrea Hailey, CEO, Vote.org
To learn more, visit www.vote.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in December, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on January 4, 2022
6 apps to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions
Happy New Year! As we say hello to 2022, it’s also time for many of us to make some New Year’s resolutions.
We also know it can be very challenging to keep those plans to exercise more, eat healthier, do good in the world or be a better steward of our planet. In fact, research shows that roughly 80% of people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by mid-February.
So how can we stay motivated for longer? There are many useful apps that can help keep you on your path this year, so we’ve curated a list of some of our favorites for you to try out. We hope you enjoy, and good luck on your journey in 2022!
Headspace — to manage stress and anxiety
As we enter another year of uncertainty and challenges, stress and anxiety can really start to take its toll on our mental health. That’s why it might be a good time to try out an app that can help manage our day-to-day stresses.
Headspace continues to be one of our favorite apps to help us cope with the stresses of work, family and life, especially during this prolonged pandemic. Headspace teaches you the basics of meditation and offers a library of courses and single session meditations that you can take anywhere. The company boasts a 40 million person user base and offers scientific claims — along with an in-house science department — that its app can reduce stress, increase focus and improve sleep.
Headspace offers a two-week free trial, before a $69.99 yearly subscription. Download the app from Google Play or the App Store.
Joyn — for body-positive fitness routines
If you’re looking to work out from home in the New Year and would like a body-positive experience, try Joyn, a no-cost, no-judgement fitness program that provides body-inclusive and body-neutral movement routines for all people. The site offers low-impact yoga, tai chi, stretching, pilates and other classes streaming in HD quality taught by instructors with a wide range of body types and backgrounds.
Joyn is completely free to join and use. The service doesn’t have its own standalone app, but the site is mobile-friendly; you can add the it to your smartphone’s home screen and stream to other devices via Airplay and Chromecast. Learn more and sign up here.
Strides — to track your goals & habits
If you’ve made one or more New Year’s resolutions — maybe to drink more water, eat healthier, or take up a new hobby — but you’re not sure how to keep track of it all, Strides could be the right app for you. Strides is a flexible goal tracking app with four unique tracker types that essentially lets you customize your habits and goals the way you see fit, whether that’s saving a little more money every month or keeping track of that new project you’ve been wanting to start.
Strides is free to use, but the small, self-funded team is happy to take donations. Right now, Strides is only available on iOS from the App Store.
Habitshare — share your goals & stick to your routines
As the pandemic continues, we’ve spent less time with friends — which can really take a toll on our motivation, especially if we’re trying to keep a New Year’s resolution. That’s where Habitshare can help us stay connected to friends and family while keeping our motivation high.
Habitshare helps you set and track goals and lets you share your progress with friends and a social network. This way, you and your friends remain accountable to each other and stay connected with your loved ones, which has been particularly difficult lately.
By default, your progress and habits remain private, but you can choose what and with whom to share your goals and updates to add personal accountability with friends and family.
Habitshare is free and available from Google Play and the App Store.
Coin Up — to give back to the causes you care about
If you’re a CREDO customer, you’re doing your part every day just by using our products and services — because we donate millions of dollars to the causes you care about, at no extra cost to you.
So what if you’ve resolved this year to do just a little bit more to help the organizations doing important work across the country and globe?
With the Coin Up app, you can choose your favorite charities to receive a rounded up donation every time you make a purchase. It’s that easy. Coin Up has partnered with hundreds of well-known non-profit groups working on hunger and poverty prevention, girl empowerment, childhood education and more. Check out the list of eligible groups here.
Download the app from Google Play or the App Store.
ShareTheMeal — to help fight world hunger
Roughly 9 percent of the world population — nearly 700 million people globally — go to bed hungry every night. So what if you could help fight world hunger directly from your smartphone?
With the ShareTheMeal app, you can “share your meal” with children experiencing hunger across the world. Developed at the United Nations World Food Programme, ShareTheMeal allows users to donate just $0.80 to help feed one child for a day, and with a subscription, you can join a community of tens of thousands of others who are sharing their experiences and receiving personalized updates from families that they’ve helped.
To date, ShareTheMeal has shared more than 133 million meals worldwide. To get started, download the app from Google Play or the App Store.
Posted on December 22, 2021
CREDO’s Word Search Challenge: Can you find the 12 hidden words?
You don’t need to search for very long to know that CREDO Mobile stands for the values we all care deeply about.
But what about when those words that represent our progressive values, like justice, equality and peace, are hidden in a word search game?
If you’re looking for a fun and quick game to play over the holidays, try your hand at our new progressive word search challenge — either on-screen or printed out — then check your answers on our blog.
Try your hand at our new word search below, then scroll down for the answers. Don’t cheat!
Posted on December 20, 2021
Thanks to CREDO members, we’ve donated $93 million to the causes you care about
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Thanks to loyal CREDO members like you, we are excited to announce that, since our founding more than 35 years ago, we have donated $93 MILLION to the amazing causes we all care so deeply about.
Since 1985, CREDO members who use our products and services every day have helped us donate — at no extra cost to them — more than $1 million every year to empower climate justice, civil rights, economic justice, women’s rights, voting rights and peace.
This year, our members funded groups including Friends of the Earth, Transgender Law Center, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Black Voters Matter, Planned Parenthood and so many, many more. During this holiday season, you also helped us donate 250,000 meals to families experiencing hunger through our partnership with Feeding America.
This month, you can help us distribute our monthly donations among three important civil rights organizations: Carbon180, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Vote.org. Click here to vote for one, two or all three great organizations at CREDODonations.com.
We wouldn’t be able to celebrate this amazing milestone without you, our loyal CREDO members — so thank you for everything you do to empower the change we want to see in the world and help make our planet a better place.
Posted on December 15, 2021
Don’t lose your photos and data. Here’s how to easily backup your phone
We all know it’s important to back up our devices. No one wants to lose years of photos, contacts, emails and all our other important data.
Unfortunately, accidents happen — we see it all the time — and years of memories and other data can become irretrievably lost. But who has the time to backup an entire phone?
Luckily, keeping your iPhone or Android device backed up is easier than ever before. So if you have a couple minutes of downtime over the holidays (yes, that’s all it takes!), check out our quick guide on how to easily backup your phone to the cloud.
Backing up your iPhone
There are a number of ways to backup your iPhone to safeguard your data, including over the internet to a cloud service or directly to your computer. The easiest method, by far, is backing up your device to Apple’s iCloud service.
Backing up your iOS device to iCloud
If you have an iPhone, iPad or other iOS device, Apple recommends using their iCloud service to backup your device. You probably already have an iCloud account, but if you’re not sure, visit this help article from Apple.
All iCloud accounts come with 5GB free data storage, although if you have a lot of photos, saved music or other data that exceed this limit, you may need to purchase more storage.
Backup iPhone manually
- Connect your phone to a WiFi network.
- On your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup
- Tap on Back Up Now.
Backup iPhone automatically
Alternatively, you can set your device to backup your data every day automatically when your phone is plugged into a power source and connected to a WiFi network.
- Plug in your phone and connect to WiFi.
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup
- Toggle the switch next to “iCloud Backup”
- Ensure your screen is locked.
Backing up your Android device
Backing up an Android phone got a lot easier this year, when Google rolled out its “Backup by Google One” cloud service, which makes it more streamlined to backup your important photos, documents and other data. Alternatively, you can backup your data directly to your other Google services, like photos and data, automatically.
Backup your Android with Google One
This summer, Google rolled out its “Backup by Google One” service, which is a unified way to backup your device all in one place, which replaces Android’s older backup tool. It allows you to backup all your data in one place, making it easier to restore your data if you lose or break your device. A quick reminder that all Google accounts include 15GB of free storage, so you may need to buy more storage if you exceed that limit to use this service (see plans here). Here’s how to get started:
- Download and install the Google One app.
- Open the Google One app > Back up device data > Set up data back up
- Choose Back up now, or choose Backup settings which can help you turn on automatic backups.
Alternatively, you can continue backing up your photos and other data within the different apps on your device:
Backup your photos and videos to Google Photos
- If you haven’t already, download the Google Photos app to your Android device.
- Open the Google Photos app and sign-in to your account if prompted.
- Tap your photo or initial in the top right.
- Select Photos settings > Back up & sync.
- Tap “Back up & sync” on or off.
Backup other data to Google Drive
- If you haven’t already, download the Google Drive app to your Android device.
- Open the Google Drive app and tap on the “+” button
- Tap Upload
- Then, select the files to backup
Backup your apps and settings
- Open your device’s Settings app
- Scroll down and tap “system” or “accounts and backup”
- Tap on ‘Backup and restore”
- Toggle on “Back up my data” and add your account
