There are many free and commercial tools available to analyze data from unencrypted backups. These tools analyze the manifest.db
database, restore the filenames, and create the file structure that users see on the iOS device. Some popular tools include the iBackup Viewer, iExplorer, and commercial tools such as BlackLight, AXIOM, Physical Analyzer, and more.
iBackup Viewer is a free tool for both Windows and macOS, which can be downloaded from http://www.imactools.com/iphonebackupviewer/.
The tool expects the backup to be located in the default location, but you can change it to the location of your choice, for example, an external drive.
To extract the backup, follow these steps:
- If the backup you want to analyze is not saved in the default location, click on the
Preferences
hyperlink on the main screen, and choose the right location:
Choosing the backup location
- You will see the backups available in the location you chose. Click on the one you want...