Written by Generation Archives. We make a family tree app, and this plan assumes you use one, but nothing in it depends on our product. The principles apply to any program, spreadsheet, or box of prints.

How to back up your family tree: a 3-2-1 plan

Published by Generation Archives on November 5, 2026.

Years of family history can disappear in one afternoon: a failed laptop, a closed account, a house fire, a deleted folder, a service that shuts down. The good news is that backing up a family tree is simple, and the rule that works for most people is easy to remember. This guide explains what to back up, where to put it, how often, and how to check it works.

What you are protecting

A family tree is more than one thing. Think about each part separately, because each backs up differently.

Part	Examples	How to back it up
Structure	People, dates, places, relationships	Export a GEDCOM
Text	Notes, biographies, stories, citations	Included in many exports, but check. Also keep a separate copy of important writing
Photos and files	Scans, documents, recordings	Copy the original files
Layout and extras	Positions on the canvas, photo tags, colors	Usually not exportable. Plan to rebuild, or export a picture of the tree
Access	Who you invited and their roles	Make a note of it

A GEDCOM file does not contain photos. What is GEDCOM explains what it leaves out. That is why a backup needs at least two parts: the GEDCOM and the photos.

The 3-2-1 rule

The 3-2-1 rule is a common way to think about backups.

3 copies of your data: the working copy, plus two backups.
2 different kinds of storage, such as your computer and an external drive, or a drive and a cloud service. Different kinds do not fail the same way.
1 copy somewhere else, away from where you live, so a fire, flood, or theft does not take everything.

For a family tree, that might be:

The working copy: your tree in the app, and your photo folder on your computer.
Backup 1: an external drive at home with a dated GEDCOM export and a copy of the photo folder.
Backup 2 (off-site): a cloud folder or a drive kept at a relative's home, with the same files.

Step 1: export a GEDCOM

Export your tree as GEDCOM 5.5.1, which almost every program reads. In Generation Archives, open Import / export on the tree toolbar and choose a GEDCOM export. It also offers GEDCOM 7.0 and GEDZIP. GEDZIP carries picture links, not the image files, so it does not replace your photos. How to export a family tree as GEDCOM has the details.

Name the file with the tree and the date, such as whitfield-2026-11-05.ged.

Step 2: back up your photos and documents

Your original scans are the most important part to protect, and the hardest to replace. A tree app's photo storage is not a replacement for a copy of your own originals.

Keep a folder of originals with consistent names. How to organize family photos for a tree shows a simple scheme.
Back up that folder as you would any important files.
Keep the scans of backs of photos. They often hold the only record of a name or date.
Back up recordings of interviews.

In Generation Archives, you can link photos you already store at a public address, which costs nothing, or host them with us at $1 per GB per year in prepaid credit. Either way, your own folder is the master copy. If hosted media credit runs out, hosted media becomes inaccessible and is deleted after six months, so a copy of your originals is not optional. See pricing.

Step 3: keep a copy of your writing

Biographies and stories are the part that is hardest to recreate. Copy long pieces into a document and keep them with your backup. This also makes them easy to print or share.

Step 4: pick a schedule

How often depends on how much you would hate to redo.

Active period (adding a lot): export after each session, or weekly.
Steady work: monthly.
Slow period: every few months, and after any big change.
Before a risky step, such as an import, a merge, or a big cleanup. How to merge duplicate people starts with a backup for this reason.

A calendar reminder on the first of the month is enough.

Step 5: keep several versions

Do not overwrite the same file each time. If a mistake gets exported, you want the earlier file. Keep:

The last three monthly exports
One export from each year

Names with dates make this easy.

Step 6: test the backup

A backup you have never opened is a hope. Test it.

Open the GEDCOM in a text editor. Check that it has people in it.
Import it into a new tree or another program, and compare the number of people. See how to import a GEDCOM.
Open a few photos from the backup folder.
Repeat once a year.

Step 7: protect the backups

Backups contain everything in the tree, including living people. Treat them with the same care as the tree itself.

Do not leave a GEDCOM in a public folder.
Be careful with shared cloud folders. Check who can open them.
Consider encryption for backups kept on a drive you might lose.
Tell someone where the backups are. A relative who knows can help if something happens to you.

See how to share a family tree safely.

A simple plan for most families

If you want a plan to copy:

Once a month, export GEDCOM 5.5.1 and save it with the date in the name.
Copy the new export and any new scans to an external drive.
Copy the same folder to a cloud folder or to a relative's drive.
Once a year, open the oldest and newest exports and check them.
Keep paper charts and printed photos in a different room or home from the drive.

That takes ten minutes a month.

What about the paper originals?

Prints and documents can also be lost. Scanning is a kind of backup, and so is giving copies to relatives. Original photographs, letters, and Bibles should be kept somewhere dry and stable, not in an attic or basement. If you hold an heirloom that matters to the whole family, consider telling the other relatives where it is, and who will inherit it.

Common backup mistakes

Backing up only the GEDCOM. Photos are not in it.
Keeping all copies in one place. A backup beside the computer is not protection against fire or theft.
Relying on one service. Any service can change or close.
Overwriting old backups. You lose the ability to go back.
Never testing. Discovering a corrupt file in a crisis is too late.
Forgetting the photos' backs. The writing on the back is part of the record.

Frequently asked questions

Is a GEDCOM export a full backup?

No. It holds people, relationships, and many notes, but not photos or files, and not layouts or app-specific details. It is one part of a backup.

Do I need to back up if the service says it backs up for me?

It is wise to keep your own copy anyway. A service's backups protect against its failures, and do not protect against your mistakes or the service ending.

How much storage will I need?

A GEDCOM is small, typically a few hundred kilobytes for a large tree. Photos are what take space. A few thousand family photos can be tens of gigabytes.

Where should the off-site copy go?

A cloud folder, a drive at a relative's house, or a safe deposit box. Pick somewhere you can reach.

Can I automate this?

Partly. You can schedule a copy of your photo folder with backup software. Exporting a GEDCOM is usually a manual step, so a calendar reminder helps.

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