FizzleFoil for iPhone & iPad
Your photos, safe on your own drive. Using a Mac? Read the Mac guide.
1. What FizzleFoil does
iCloud keeps your photos in sync across your devices, but it isn't a backup: if something is deleted on one device, it goes from all of them. FizzleFoil copies your photos, contacts and calendars onto a drive you plug into your iPhone or iPad, so you always have a copy of your own.
- It never changes your library. It only reads. The one exception is Restore to Photos, which only ever adds, and only when you ask.
- Every copy is checked. Each file is read back from the drive and compared before it counts as safe.
- Nothing on the drive is thrown away. When something changes or is deleted, the old copy is set aside rather than deleted.
- Readable anywhere. Your backup is ordinary files and folders that any computer can open.
This is a separate app from FizzleFoil for Mac, with its own backup. If you have a Mac, it can back up iCloud Drive and run on a schedule too.
2. What you need
- An iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or later.
- A USB drive. Newer iPhones and iPads have a USB-C port, so a USB-C drive plugs straight in. Older iPhones with a Lightning port need Apple's Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.
- Large drives, especially spinning hard drives, may need their own power: an iPhone can only power small, low-power drives (USB sticks and most portable SSDs).
| Drive format | On iPhone and iPad |
|---|---|
| exFAT | Recommended. Works with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows, and has no file-size limit. Most new drives come like this. |
| APFS | Works. Only opens on Apple devices. |
| FAT32 | Avoid: it can't hold any file over 4 GB, so long videos won't fit. |
3. Getting started
- Allow Photos. Tap Continue and choose Allow Full Access. FizzleFoil only reads your library.
- Plug in your drive, then tap Choose Drive…. In the Files window, tap Browse, pick your drive under Locations (or a folder on it) and tap Open. FizzleFoil makes a “FizzleFoil Backup” folder inside, and recognises the drive whenever you plug it back in.
- Choose what to back up. Photos is ticked to begin with. Turning on Contacts or Calendars asks for permission straight away.
- Tap Back Up Now. Before the very first backup, FizzleFoil works out how much needs copying and asks before starting.
4. What gets backed up
| Item | What's saved | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | Every photo and video in full size, with edits, Live Photos and RAW files. Albums become folders. | If your iPhone uses Optimise iPhone Storage, full-size originals are fetched from iCloud as it goes, so use Wi-Fi. |
| Shared Albums | Albums you share and ones shared with you, as folders. | Apple only keeps smaller copies in shared albums, so that's what is saved. |
| Contacts | Everyone, from every account, in one standard contacts file. | The notes on each contact aren't included: Apple keeps them private. |
| Calendars & Reminders | One standard calendar file per calendar and reminders list. | Subscribed calendars and Birthdays are skipped. |
iCloud Drive isn't included in the iPhone and iPad app. FizzleFoil for Mac backs it up.
5. While it backs up
- Keep the drive plugged in. The first backup is the big one; later backups only copy what's new, so they're quick.
- You can switch to another app. On iOS 26 and later the backup keeps going and shows its progress; on earlier versions, keep FizzleFoil open (the screen stays awake while it works).
- For a big first backup, plug the iPhone or iPad into power too.
- If the backup is interrupted (the drive comes out, or you tap Stop), nothing is lost: the next backup carries on from where it stopped.
iPhones and iPads can't back up on a timer to a drive that's usually unplugged, so instead FizzleFoil reminds you: if a week passes without a backup, you get a notification. You can turn this off in Settings.
Unplugging the drive: iPhones and iPads have no Eject button. Just unplug it once FizzleFoil isn't backing up or checking.
6. What's on your drive
The hidden .fizzlefoil folder is FizzleFoil's own record of what's on the drive. Leave it alone; it's what makes later backups fast. On exFAT drives the album folders may be skipped, but every photo is still saved and its info file lists its albums.
7. Checking your backup
Drives can fail quietly. Check Now reads every file on the drive and compares it with the fingerprint taken when it was copied. If anything is damaged, Repair sets the bad copies aside and copies fresh ones. Missing files are put back by the next backup.
8. Getting things back
Photos
Tap Restore…. FizzleFoil lists photos that are in your backup but missing from Photos, by month. Tick the months you want, choose whether to restore edits and albums, then tap Restore. Restored photos keep their dates and places, and nothing already in Photos is doubled up or changed.
Contacts and calendars
Open the Files app, find FizzleFoil Backup/Contacts/All Contacts.vcf on your drive and tap it to add the contacts. Tap a file in Calendars to add its events to the Calendar app.
9. Settings
Tap the gear icon at the top right:
- Backup drive: choose a different drive.
- Weekly reminder: on or off.
- Help: this guide and the privacy policy.
- Delete: delete the backup from the drive.
10. Removing FizzleFoil
Press and hold the FizzleFoil icon and choose Remove App. iOS deletes everything FizzleFoil keeps on your iPhone or iPad. Your backup stays on the drive.
To delete the backup as well, do it first: with the drive plugged in, open Settings (gear icon) and tap Delete the Backup From This Drive…. Drives plugged into an iPhone or iPad have no Bin, so this can't be undone. You can also delete the “FizzleFoil Backup” folder yourself in the Files app.
11. Privacy
FizzleFoil has no account and no servers, and collects nothing. Your photos, contacts and calendars go from your iPhone or iPad to your drive and nowhere else. Privacy policy.
12. Questions and problems
My drive doesn't appear in the Files window
Unplug it and plug it back in, and check it shows under Locations in the Files app. If it never appears, it may need its own power, or be in a format iPhone can't read (for example NTFS from a Windows PC).
“Plug in your backup drive”
FizzleFoil remembers your drive but can't see it. Plug it in and come back to FizzleFoil. If it still isn't recognised, choose it again in Settings.
Why is the first backup slow?
It copies everything, and with Optimise Storage much of it has to download from iCloud first. Later backups only copy what's new.
Can I use the same drive as FizzleFoil for Mac?
Yes, but give each its own folder on the drive. The two apps keep separate backups.
Can I use the drive for other things too?
Yes. FizzleFoil only works inside its own “FizzleFoil Backup” folder.