Transfer Photos & Video from iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to PC or Mac

How to copy photos and videos on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad

Backing up your iOS device photos and videos to your computer can be done simply by following the steps below.

Step 1: Download and install TouchCopy.

Step 2: Run TouchCopy and connect your iOS device using your USB cable.

Step 3: On the "Photos" tab, select the photos and videos you'd like to save. If you wish to copy all your photos, choose your copy option without any photos selected, or select all photos by using Ctrl+A or Cmd+A keyboard shortcut.

Step 4: Press "Save to PC" or "Copy to Mac" (), and select a location on your PC or Mac for your media to be stored in.

By default, the photos will be transferred into a sub-folder named after the Album you're copying, for example "Camera Roll", "WhatsApp" or "Summer Holiday". If you don't wish TouchCopy to create a folder for each album, you can change your preferences in TouchCopy's Settings.

DOWNLOAD TouchCopy (PC)

DOWNLOAD TouchCopy (Mac)

If you wish to copy your iPhone pictures directly into the Photos app on your Mac, select an Album, Event or selection of photos and click "Copy to Photos" () button in the TouchCopy photos toolbar. If you leave the selection blank, all of the pictures will be copied into the Photos app.

TouchCopy will copy your photos in the same quality as they are stored on your device. The software will back up all image formats, from JPEG, .HEIC, animated GIFs and even Apple ProRaw photos! TouchCopy will copy RAW photos in a .DNG format, without modifying or converting the file.

If you are saving HEIC images to a Windows computer, check out our guid on how to view HEIC formatted photos on your computer.

See it in action

View full-size photos in TouchCopy

If you're not sure which photos to copy from the thumbnails in TouchCopy, you can view the full-size photos in the software. To view the photos on your iOS device click the "Photos" button in the category list.

TouchCopy lists all your photo Albums (folders) and Events on a list on the left. Clicking on one of these items will display all the items contained within that group.

To view a large version of any image, you can either...

• Double-click the photo entry in the photo list.
• Select a photo and click the "Preview" () button on the Photo toolbar.

To return to the thumbnail views, click the "X" button in the top-right of the TouchCopy Photos window.

You can also set your iOS device pictures as your Desktop Wallpaper. Simply, select one photo to copy to your Desktop on your Mac - click the "Set Desktop Image" () button on the Photo toolbar. TouchCopy will ask you how you would like to size the picture to your desktop. Make a selection and then click "OK".

How to Save New Photos from iPhone to computer

The "Export New Photos" feature in TouchCopy is awesome, and it is recommended for anyone who wishes to make regular backups of newly taken photos to their computer.

Using "Export New Photos", you'll designate a folder on your computer to be your photos backup folder. Then, TouchCopy intelligently lets you know which photos you need to back up (photos on your iPhone which you've not yet copied to your folder).

This is great because you will not end up with duplicate photos that you've backed up before. Let's see how to do it...

1. Launch TouchCopy and connect your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
2. In the photos section, click "Export New Photos" or the Export New Photos icon () on Mac.
3. Click Browse, then select or create a folder where you want to store your device photos.
4. Select the photos you wish to export (using the checkboxes on each photo or date, or the "Select All" button), then hit "Save to PC" or the Save to Mac icon ().

Now, whenever you connect your iPhone to TouchCopy and access Photos, TouchCopy will detect any new photos you have on your iPhone and ask if you'd like to back them up to your designated folder!

iCloud Photos

TouchCopy will display photos stored in iCloud with a cloud icon. You can filter out these photos, so they are not displayed in TouchCopy, by viewing the "Downloaded" report in TouchCopy Photos.

As iCloud photos are not stored locally on your device, TouchCopy is unable to copy them to your computer unless you download them to your device first. You can quickly download an individual iCloud photo to your iPhone by viewing it at full resolution on the device.

To download all iCloud photos to your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open the 'Settings' app on your iPhone.
2. Tap your account that is displayed at the top of the settings list.
3. Tap 'iCloud' and then 'Photos'.
4. Select Download and Keep Originals.

You will need sufficient space on your iPhone to save all your iCloud photos. Once all your photos have been downloaded to your device, copy them to your computer using TouchCopy.