2 minutes
Backup your Android Phone without ADB
Intro:
I have been looking for a way to backup my android phone regularly and easily. For security reasons I dont want to enable android developer options like usb debugging. My backup strategy is to store the data locally on my hard drive and then pack and encrypt the files and uploading them into my cloud.
Link to the awesome adbackup script by BojanStipic
Example
You have to create the same folder structure like your phone generates by connecting in MTP mode.
fnz@os:/run/user/1000/gvfs/mtp:host=ANDROID_PHONE$ tree -L 2
├── Card
│ ├── Alarms
│ ├── Android
│ ├── DCIM
│ ├── Documents
│ ├── Download
│ ├── Memes
│ ├── Movies
│ ├── Music
│ ├── Notifications
│ ├── Podcasts
│ ├── Ringtones
│ ├── Sync
└── Phone
├── DCIM
├── Documents
├── Download
├── Pictures
├── Podcasts
├── Ringtones
filesystem example with selected folders for backup
fnz@pop-os:/media/fnz/Volume/backup/phone$ tree
.
├── Card
│ ├── DCIM
└── Phone
└── DCIM
now just launch the script with the given path to your backup folder adbackup /media/fnz/Volume/backup/phone
output should look like this:
fnz@pop-os:~/code/sh/adbackup$ adbackup /media/fnz/Volume/backup/phone
Device:
Backup root directory:
/media/fnz/Volume/backup/phone
Leaf directories found:
sed: -e expression #1, char 11: unknown option to `s'
Continue? [Y/n] Y
sending incremental file list
./
Camera/
Camera/20200606_194225.mp4
Camera/20200607_162134.jpg
Camera/20200607_162139.jpg
...
CONCLUSION
the script will create incremental backups when run repeatedly. It is suitable for those who do not want to share developer / usb debugging permissions for their android smartphone. in case of theft and the possibility of future android debugging exploits, it is for me a reliable and secure way to backup my android phone.