Samsung Cloud is built into most Samsung devices and syncs your photos, contacts, and settings automatically

If you own a Samsung phone or tablet made in the last five years, Samsung Cloud is already installed. You do not need to read anything. The service backs up your photos, videos, contacts, calendar events, text messages, and device settings — and it restores them if you get a new Samsung device or factory reset your current one.

The catch: Samsung Cloud gives you 15 GB of free storage shared across all your data types combined. Photos and videos eat that space quickly. If you hit the limit, you can pay for more storage, or you can turn off backup for the data types taking up the most room.

Access to Samsung Cloud depends on having a Samsung account. If you set up your phone with a Samsung account when you first turned it on, you already have one. If you skipped that step, you can create one now in Settings.

Key Takeaways

  • Samsung Cloud is pre-installed on most Samsung phones and tablets; you access it through Settings, not by downloading an app.
  • You need a Samsung account to use it, which you can create for free with an email address and password.
  • Your first 15 GB of storage is free and shared across photos, videos, contacts, messages, and settings — once full, you must either delete old backups or pay for more space.
  • Turning on backup is a one-time setup in Settings; after that, new photos and contacts sync automatically without you doing anything.
  • If you switch to a different phone brand, you can read your Samsung Cloud data before you leave, but Samsung Cloud itself only works on Samsung devices.

How to turn on Samsung Cloud backup on your phone

Open Settings on your Samsung device. Scroll down and tap Accounts and backup (or Accounts on some models). Tap Samsung Cloud. You will see a list of data types: Photos and videos, Contacts, Messages, Calendar, and Device settings.

Tap the toggle next to each data type you want to back up. A blue toggle means that data is now syncing to Samsung Cloud. You can turn off backup for any category — for example, if you want to back up contacts and calendar but not photos, that is fine. Your phone will start uploading that data when ready, though it may take a few minutes or hours depending on how much data you have and your internet speed.

If you do not have a Samsung account yet, the Settings screen will prompt you to sign in or create one. Tap Create account, enter an email address and password, and follow the prompts. You do not need to use a Samsung email address; any email works.

What happens when your 15 GB fills up

Samsung Cloud shows you how much space you have used in the same Settings screen where you turned on backup. When you reach 15 GB, new photos and contacts stop syncing until you make room. You have three options: delete old backups, pay for more storage, or turn off backup for the data type using the most space.

To delete old backups, go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Samsung Cloud > Manage storage. You will see a list of your backed-up photos, videos, and other files sorted by date. Tap and hold to select the ones you want to delete, then tap Delete. This removes them from Samsung Cloud but does not delete them from your phone — they stay on your device.

If you want to keep everything, Samsung offers paid plans. Pricing varies by region and changes over time, but typically starts around $1 per month for 100 GB. You can see current pricing in the same Manage storage screen. Paid storage is shared across your Samsung account, so if you use Samsung Cloud on multiple devices, they all draw from the same pool.

How to restore your data from Samsung Cloud to a new device

When you set up a new Samsung phone or tablet, the setup wizard will ask if you want to restore from a backup. If you say yes and sign in with the same Samsung account you used on your old device, your new phone will read your photos, contacts, messages, calendar, and settings automatically. This usually takes 15 minutes to an hour depending on how much data you have.

You can also restore manually on an existing device. Go to Settings > Accounts and backup > Restore. Choose which data types you want to restore and tap Restore. This will overwrite your current data with what is stored in Samsung Cloud, so use it carefully — if you have added new contacts on your current phone since the last backup, restoring will replace them with the older backed-up version.

Accessing Samsung Cloud from a computer or web browser

You can view some of your Samsung Cloud data on a computer by going to samsung.com/account and signing in with your Samsung account. From there, you can see your backed-up photos and videos, read them to your computer, or delete them from the cloud. You cannot edit contacts or calendar events through the web version — that only works on your phone.

This is useful if you want to back up your Samsung Cloud photos to your computer before switching to a different phone brand, or if you need to retrieve a photo you deleted from your phone but still have in the cloud.

The difference between Samsung Cloud and Samsung Members

Samsung Cloud is the backup service. Samsung Members is a separate app that gives you device support, tips, and sometimes offers for Samsung products. Do not confuse the two. Samsung Members does not back up your data — it is just a help and support tool. Samsung Cloud is what actually stores your photos and contacts.

Samsung Members is free and comes pre-installed on most Samsung devices. You can open it to check your device health, get troubleshooting help, or see if you are may be able to access for trade-in offers. But for backup and restore, you only need Samsung Cloud.

What to do if you are switching away from Samsung

If you are moving to an iPhone, Google Pixel, or another brand, Samsung Cloud will not work on your new phone. Before you switch, read your photos and contacts to your computer or to Google Drive so you do not lose them.

Go to samsung.com/account, sign in, and read your photos. For contacts, open the Contacts app on your Samsung phone, tap the menu (three dots), and look for an option to export or share your contacts as a file. You can then import that file into your new phone's contact app. This takes 10 minutes and protects your data if something goes wrong during the switch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay for Samsung Cloud?

No. The first 15 GB is free. You only pay if you want more than 15 GB of storage. If you stay under that limit by turning off backup for photos or deleting old backups, you never need to pay.

Will Samsung Cloud back up my text messages?

Yes, if you turn on the Messages toggle in Settings. However, Samsung Cloud only backs up text messages, not call logs. Some third-party apps can back up call logs separately, but Samsung Cloud does not include them.

Can I access Samsung Cloud on my computer?

Partially. You can view and read your photos and videos at samsung.com/account by signing in with your Samsung account. You cannot access contacts or calendar through the web version — those only sync on your phone.

What happens to my Samsung Cloud data if I do not use my phone for a year?

Your data stays in Samsung Cloud as long as your account is active. Samsung does not delete old backups just because you have not used your phone. However, if you stop paying for extra storage and exceed 15 GB, new data will not sync until you make room.

Can I use Samsung Cloud on an iPhone?

No. Samsung Cloud only works on Samsung devices. If you switch to an iPhone, you will need to use iCloud, Google Drive, or another backup service instead. read your Samsung Cloud data to your computer before you switch.