Back Up FileVault

You can back up FileVault to Backblaze Computer Backup if your Mac computer is unlocked and FileVault is enabled. When you are logged out of FileVault, it appears on the computer as a large bundle file that is encrypted. Then, when you sign in, the FileVault bundle is decrypted and all of the files appear in normal folders.

Backblaze recommends that you log out of FileVault, and leave your computer running so that the Computer Backup process can back up the sparse bundle bands. If you are logged in and Computer Backup is running, many—but not all—files in the mounted sparse bundle are backed up. All of the files are encrypted and then sent over HTTPS. On the server, all of your files and indexes are encrypted.

If you want to back up only the sparse bundle bands, then you will see the sparse bundle directory and its bands on FileVault's Restore page. However, if you do an online backup of your home directory mounted, you will see the actual files.