iPhone / iPod Touch Backup Extractor

What does it do?

This application converts the iPhone / iPod Touch backups that are created by iTunes into readily usable Mac OS X files. It is designed to run on Mac OS X 10.5 upwards.

The current version works with iOS 6 or lower and requires an Intel Mac running OS X 10.5 or higher.

What's it used for?

Extracting application resources for developers to help them investigate bugs.
Exploring files that are created by third party applications using Finder.
Decoding the SQLite database files that are stored on the iPhone / iPod Touch, such as Call History, SMS messages, and Notes.

How do I get it?

Click on the image above, or just click here to download this application.

Lost your photos? Check out Picturescue — it's faster and easier to use than the backup extractor.

iOS developers: Tokens makes promo codes actually-usable.

Help

I've kept this tool updated since the very first iPhone. If it has helped you, please make a donation towards future development and maintenance.

Help!?

You can e-mail me at the address below. If you have supported this project by donating, you may expect technical support.

The backup encryption option must be off (and must have been off when the backups were made). I have no plans to support encrypted backups.

About The Author

I am a Cocoa developer named Pádraig. I also built Castro, Tokens, Buscouver, Mountee and Picturescue. Drop me a line via or you can follow me on Twitter.