# Why does my automatic backup say "No changes, nothing written"?

Because nothing in your vault changed since the last backup. The file from last time already holds everything, so PrivacyNotes does not write the same copy again. Your folder keeps more days of history this way, because an identical file never pushes out an older one. It counts as a good backup, and the next one is due one period later.

PrivacyNotes compares the number of items, the items in the trash, the time of your last edit, the settings a backup holds (such as your folders, themes and trackers), the backup type and the folder. If any of them changed, or if the last backup file is no longer in the folder, it writes a new file. "Back up now" checks the same way, so pressing it twice never fills the folder with copies of one day. To get a new file anyway, for example for a USB stick, use Settings > Backup > Manual > "Everything, encrypted (.pnbackupz)".

---
Source: https://privacynotes.app/help/backup-no-changes