What does Time Machine keep for Notes, Contacts, Safari, Calendar, Reminders and Voice Memos?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 2 November 2026

Time Machine keeps an older copy of each of these apps’ data, because it backs up your user Library, but it keeps it as whole databases and folders, not as single contacts, events or bookmarks. The table below gives the location of each app’s data on macOS 26 and in an iPhone backup, so you know where an older copy would be. Most of these folders are protected, so reading them needs Full Disk Access.

Where each app keeps its data

App	On the Mac (relative to your home folder)	In an iPhone backup
Notes	Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes (NoteStore.sqlite)	AppDomainGroup-group.com.apple.notes (NoteStore.sqlite)
Contacts	Library/Application Support/AddressBook (AddressBook-v22.abcddb, plus a Sources folder per account)	HomeDomain, Library/AddressBook/AddressBook.sqlitedb, photos in a separate database
Safari tab groups	Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Safari/SafariTabs.db	HomeDomain, Library/Safari/SafariTabs.db
Safari bookmarks and Reading List	Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist	HomeDomain, Library/Safari/Bookmarks.db
Calendar	Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.calendar/Calendar.sqlitedb (not ~/Library/Calendars on macOS 26)	HomeDomain, Library/Calendar/Calendar.sqlitedb
Reminders	Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.reminders/Container_v1/Stores	Differs by iOS version: HomeDomain on iOS 15, an app group area on iOS 17
Voice Memos	Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings (audio files plus CloudRecordings.db)	Media, Recordings folder

The iPhone column is where the data usually sits in a backup; we checked Contacts, Safari bookmarks and Calendar on real iOS 15 and iOS 17 backups, and the others from the layout of the app data.

How long Time Machine keeps backups

Time Machine keeps hourly backups for 24 hours, daily backups for the past month and weekly backups for older months, until the disk is full. Then the oldest go first. A contact or event deleted a year ago may only be in a weekly backup, or in none.

What this means in practice

You can browse these folders in Time Machine and restore one to your Desktop. Restoring over the live folder swaps the whole app’s data, and iCloud may then override it; see why iCloud brings data back.
On macOS 26 a finished backup can appear as a “.previous” copy of the newest backup. That is the latest backup, not a broken one.
If an app’s data is only in iCloud and never on your Mac, such as a Voice Memo whose audio is only in iCloud, Time Machine cannot have it.
Time Machine local snapshots on the Mac’s own disk are a different thing from a backup disk.

Reading the databases without swapping them

NoteRescue reads each app’s data inside a Time Machine snapshot or iPhone backup, read only, and compares it with today. It makes private working copies of the databases in its own temporary folder and deletes them when you quit the app. The scan is free; recovery is unlocked per app.

What to do in NoteRescue

Open NoteRescue and allow Full Disk Access.
Press Scan; it finds the Time Machine disk and the iPhone backups.
Read the table: for each app, how many items are missing or changed compared with today.

Per-app unlocks start at USD 14.99; All apps is USD 39.99. Download NoteRescue

Questions

Does Time Machine back up Contacts, Calendar, Reminders and Safari? Yes, as part of your user Library, subject to what you excluded in Time Machine settings.

Where is my iPhone backup? In ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, not in Time Machine unless the Mac backs up that folder.

Can I restore one app’s data without the rest? You can restore its folder, but it replaces that app’s whole data.

Apple, Mac, iPhone, iCloud, Time Machine, Safari and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. NoteRescue is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple Inc.