Automatic Photo and Video Backup using Tonido iOS app

One of the most important features of public cloud services like Dropbox,  iCloud etc is the ability to automatically upload photos and videos of the mobile devices without user intervention. This is a very convenient feature and knowing that your photos and videos are always  tucked away in a safe  location is a great feeling. Unfortunately, with the amount of photos and videos generated by the mobile devices, the storage size can balloon resulting in a) costly storage fee b) requiring constant management of images/videos to free up more space. Further, your personal photos are stored in a 3rd party server where your data privacy, security and ownership is a big question mark.

ALL that changes with Tonido, where you own your storage and is completely run and managed by you!

With the latest Tonido iOS App and Tonido server (Both free upgrades of course!) you can now get this feature in your very own private cloud. No more storage fee, No more subscriptions, privacy concerns! you simply slap in a cheap hard disk and point it to Tonido to use it for backing up your photos and videos.

This functionality is currently available only in the Tonido iOS app and will soon be coming to the Android version as well.

So, What is needed?

1. The latest Tonido iOS app from Apple appstore (v7.0).

2. Latest Tonido server (As of Feb 10, it is v4.77.0.25919) . To update, simply go to Settings->General -> “Check for Updates” and follow prompts.

and here is how to enable it

 Tonido Server side

In your Tonido server browser UI,

1. Log into your Tonido server and go to Settings->Misc

2. Under “Mobile Media Backup”, Check if the current “Media Store Location” is the place you want the images/videos to be stored (This is selected by the app automatically if nothing was set by the user). If not, set a correct folder.

Tonido iOS App side

Open your iOS App,

You will see a new icon on the bottom left . Tap that icon to open the Camera Upload settings

The camera upload settings will have a number of options, you need to tap the “Server” to select the Tonido Server to backup the photos and videos to.

If you have multiple Tonido servers that support and have enabled Mobile Media Backup, then they will show up int his list. Tap the server to select it as the backup target.

Thats it! Watch it do its thing..

FAQs

How often is the backup done?

The iOS app cannot operate (or start automatically) in background, so when the user starts the app, it will check and initiate the backup

What happens if the Tonido App goes to background after starting?

I want my photos/videos on all my computers like iCloud. How do i do that?

Just point the media store location to your Sync folder. Your photos/videos get synchronized to all your computers.

What happens if a file in the remote location is deleted or renamed or moved?

If a photo or video is present in the iOS device but not in the remote Tonido server, The iOS app will treat those conditions as new local image and will upload it. The only way to prevent upload is to manually delete file in the iOS device itself.

Is there a size limit on the photo or video to be uploaded?

No. There is no limit on the number or size of photos or videos that can be uploaded to Tonido. The only requirement is, you need to have enough free space to allow the app to import the photo or video first and then upload (For example, if you have 100MB video file, then you must have at least 110MB of free space. Once upload is completed the temporary file will be deleted)

What happens if remote store folder is not available or is full?

In cases where the remote store folder is not available or deleted or is full, the iOS app will not upload any more photos/videos until that issue is resolved. The status will be set to “Exception” in the app.

What about other platforms?

The next platform to get this support will be Android. After that, depending on user demand, we may port it to Windows store and Window Phone apps.