# Is sync not already a backup?

No. Sync keeps every device the same, so when a note is deleted on one device, it is deleted on all of them. A mistake, a bug or a stolen device can remove notes everywhere at once, and sync cannot give them back.

A backup is a copy from an earlier day that sync does not touch. [Automatic backups](https://privacynotes.app/help/automatic-backups) write that copy into a folder you pick and keep several days of copies. If a backup holds far fewer items than the one before, PrivacyNotes keeps the older copies until you confirm, so a vault that was emptied by accident does not push out your good backups.

---
Source: https://privacynotes.app/help/sync-not-backup