Short answer
AmberTime is not limited to the Photo Library. You can create a custom folder task, choose a folder exposed through Files, select a destination on an external drive, and run an incremental backup for that folder.
When this is useful
This is useful for creator media that does not live in the Photos app: DJI clips, Blackmagic footage, camera imports, downloads, audio projects, editing exports, documents, or app folders that are visible through Files.
Separate tasks keep different workflows organized. A user can have one task for the Photo Library, another for a DJI folder, and another for project media, each with its own backup record.
What AmberTime does
- Uses security-scoped access for selected Files folders and destination folders.
- Scans folders recursively and compares files with the task backup record.
- Streams files to the drive instead of loading large files fully into memory.
- Preserves file timestamps where the OS exposes them.
- Writes completed files to the selected external destination.
Things to know
The source folder must be available through the iOS Files app, and the destination drive must also be visible to Files. AmberTime is designed around external physical storage such as USB drives and SSDs.
For large creator files, use APFS or exFAT when possible. FAT32 has a 4 GB single-file limit, so very large video files may be skipped or warned about on FAT32 drives.