Backblaze updates its Mac uploader for faster speeds, smarter data handling

How to back up your Mac to an online backup service (Image credit: Joseph Keller/iMore)

What you need to know

The Backblaze Mac app has been updated to version 8.
The new update includes support for more upload threads, better throttle management, and more.

Popular backup solution Backblaze has today updated its Mac app to version 8, adding some new tweaks that make it better at doing what it does best — taking data and uploading it to the Backblaze servers for safekeeping.

Announced via blog post, the release brings a performance boost by increasing the number of threads that users can choose from 30 to 100. Management of that throughput is intelligent as well, with the app reducing the number of threads if it detects it's impacting overall system performance.

The added smarts are also part of the new throttling system, ensuring data uploads don't impact the overall use of an internet connection. Throw in improved management of local data to reduce reading and writing to your storage device, and it's a great update.

We've also re-architected the way we handle file copies. In our previous 7.0 version of Backblaze Computer Backup, the client app running on your laptop or desktop made a copy of your file on your hard drive before uploading it. In version 8.0, this step has been removed. Now the client reads the file, encrypts it in RAM, and uploads it to the Backblaze data center. This results in better overall system performance and a reduction in strain on HDDs and SSDs on your laptops and desktops.

All of this is available as part of the Backblaze 8 download that's available for you from the company's website now. Looking to get started with Backblaze? Here's how to back up your Mac to online services like it and others.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.