iCloud

iCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service developed by Apple Inc. It launched in 2011, and is designed to securely store and sync users’ data across their Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad and Mac.

The signature feature is storage. Users can place various types of files online — including photos, videos, documents, music, app data, and more — to be accessed from all their devices.  Each user gets a certain amount of free storage (5GB by default), with options to upgrade to larger storage plans for a monthly fee.

iCloud automatically syncs data across all of a user’s Apple devices, ensuring that changes made on one device are reflected on all the others. This includes contacts, calendars, reminders, notes, Safari bookmarks, and more.

In addition, the provides automatic backup functionality for iOS and iPadOS computers. When enabled, iCloud Backup backs up users’ device settings, app data, messages, photos, and more to the cloud, allowing for easy restoration in case of device loss, damage or upgrade.

iCloud Photos automatically uploads and stores users’ pictures and videos, making them accessible across all devices. It also includes features like Shared Albums for sharing photos and videos with friends and family.

iCloud is an important part of the  Find My service, which helps users locate lost or stolen devices, such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or AirPods. It also allows users to remotely lock, erase, or play a sound on their device to help locate it.

Most iCloud data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, ensuring that users’ data remains secure and private. Apple has implemented various security measures, including two-factor authentication, to protect users’ accounts and data.

Share passwords with your family on iPhone

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Share Your Passwords
This is an easier way to share passwords with your friends and family.
Image: Santeri Viinamäki/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can share passwords on iPhone automatically with your entire family, so you don’t have to reuse the same password everywhere or let everyone in your family know when a shared password is changed.

Setting up this feature is easy and saves the hassle of being texted “hey I can’t get into Amazon, what’s that password again?” and “I need you to send me the code.” When you set up shared passwords, two-factor authentication and passkeys are shared, too.

It’s a huge time-saver, and highly recommended.

Here’s how to set it up.

6 reasons to set up Apple’s Family Sharing ASAP

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iCloud Family Sharing
Share your services, locations, photos and more over iCloud.
Photo: Denis Lyamuya/Wikimedia Commons/Apple

If you have a family, odds are you share a house, furniture, car and more. But you might not give as much attention to what you share in your digital lives, even if your digital pictures and purchases are equally valuable.

Apple makes it easy to link your digital lives together with just a little bit of setup. Here are the top six benefits of using Family Sharing.

Today in Apple history: iCloud takes our files and photos to the sky

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Steve Jobs shows iCloud to the world.
Steve Jobs called iCloud Apple's hard disk in the sky.
Photo: Apple

October 12: Today in Apple history: With iCloud launch, Apple moves beyond its digital hub strategy October 12, 2011: Apple launches iCloud, a service that lets users automatically and wirelessly store content and push it to their various devices.

iCloud’s arrival marks the end of Apple’s Mac-centric “digital hub” strategy — and ushers in an age of inter-device communication and non-localized files.

Now you can upgrade your iCloud+ storage to a whopping 12TB

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iCloud+ Storage Capacity
You can store 6X as much with an iCloud+ subscription than was possible before.
Image: Apple

The maximum capacity of an Apple iCloud+ account just expanded from 2 terabytes to 12 terabytes. There’s also a new 6TB option. Either one is a heap of storage for Mac, iPad and iPhone user to hold images, videos and other files.

The storage plans also come with useful bonus features, many of which are focused on privacy.

Whose ‘Wonderlust’ predictions came true? [The CultCast]

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Wonderlust event hits and misses - The CultCast episode 612
What we got right -- and wrong -- about Apple's big "Wonderlust" event.
Image: Cult of Mac

Wonderlust 2023This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We dissect all the biggest reveals from Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, which brought us new iPhones, Apple Watches and more. And we stare unafraid at the results of our Wonderlust predictions. We have a winner!

Also on The CultCast:

  • Yes, we got new iCloud+ storage plans. And Erfon’s still complaining?!?
  • The new iPhone colors are … 🤷
  • The iPhone’s USB-C enables some cool new stuff.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

iCloud+ storage capacities expand to 12TB

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iCloud+ Storage Capacity
You can store 6X as much with an iCloud+ subscription than was possible before.
Image: Apple

Apple added two tiers to iCloud+ online storage, allowing Mac and iPhone users to keep as much as 12 terabytes of data on the service. That’s six times as much as before.

The storage plans also come with additional features, many of which are focused on privacy.

Apple explains why it dropped controversial plan to scan iCloud Photos for CSAM

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Apple drops controversial plan to scan iCloud Photos for CSAM
An Apple executive went in depth on why images in iCloud Photos are not scanned for child sexual abuse material.
Image: Apple

Apple gave a more complete explanation of why it cancelled a plan to scan iCloud Photos libraries for child sexual abuse material. It’s the same reason it gave back in 2022, but with more detail.

It all comes down to user privacy, and the potential for the system to be abused by hackers and repressive governments.

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs acknowledges MobileMe failure

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MobileMepic
MobileMe was the failed precursor to iCloud.
Photo: Apple

August 4: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs acknowledges MobileMe failure August 4, 2008: Steve Jobs owns up to mistakes in launching MobileMe, spinning Apple’s bungled cloud service rollout as a learning opportunity.

“It was a mistake to launch MobileMe at the same time as iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store,” Jobs writes in an email to Apple employees. “We all had more than enough to do, and MobileMe could have been delayed without consequence.”

New Apple Watch Ultra, 30-inch iMac make us salivate [The CultCast]

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Apple Watch Ultra rumors on The CultCast episode No. 601.
Rumors about a new Apple Watch Ultra leave us pleasantly surprised. And a 30-inch (minimum!) iMac sounds pretty sweet, too.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: While it’s no big shock that Apple continues to work on new Macs and iPads, two new products reportedly in the pipeline actually do sound surprising — and surprisingly tempting. What are they? An iMac with a big, beautiful 30-inch-plus screen, and a next-gen Apple Watch Ultra.

Where do we place our preorders?

Also on The CultCast:

  • A purported iPhone 15 Pro Max case leak makes us extra worried about that huger-than-huge camera bump. How much is too much?
  • Apple bumps up iCloud+ pricing in some places, but refuses to offer bigger storage options. Erfon is not amused.
  • The EU keeps writing new regulations designed to rein in tech companies. Ill-advised or efficacious?
  • Our giveaway this week is for anyone who craves a clutter-free desk.
  • And finally … a new edition of “What We’re Into.” Griffin talks up an impressive new car, while Erfon and I fixate on the same Apple TV+ sci-fi show.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Today in Apple history: MobileMe gets to R.I.P.

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MobileMe
So long, MobileMe.
Photo: Apple

July 1: Today in Apple history: Apple shuts down MobileMe web service, pushes iCloud July 1, 2012: Apple shuts down its MobileMe web service, pushing users to switch to iCloud.

Launched in 2008, Apple’s subscription-based suite of online services and software includes features like Find My iPhone, a MobileMe photo gallery, chat facilities, an online calendar, storage and other cloud-based services.

After letting it limp along for four years, Cupertino finally decides to pull the plug, giving MobileMe users until the end of July to remove their data from the service.

Apple websites start implementing passkeys in place of passwords

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Apple websites use passkeys in place of passwords.
That’s open less password you’ll have to remember.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Our password-free future just took a step closer. Apple has begin rolling out signing onto its online store can with a passkey instead of a password. The change allows shoppers to access the site with Face ID or Touch ID. The same is true for iCloud.com and Apple’s dev site.

However, the feature is still in testing so it’s not available for everyone. It requires a beta of iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma.

WhatsApp may let you transfer chat history between iPhones sans iCloud

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WhatsApp logo
WhatsApp's 'Transfer Chats to iPhone' tool will bypass iCloud for chat migration.
Image: WhatsApp

WhatsApp is working on allowing you to transfer your chat history from one iPhone to another without iCloud. A local transfer tool will make WhatsApp chat migration faster and easier.

Currently, your WhatsApp history must be backed up to iCloud before it is transferrable to another device. This is a time-consuming process and also requires you to have enough free space in your iCloud account.

How to back up your iMessage history and save on storage space

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Back Up Just A Minute
Or, more accurately, back up your iMessage history.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can back up your text messages (and iMessages) with iMessage Exporter, a free tool for the Mac. Whether you want to preserve your family message history for sentimental reasons, or need to keep conversation records for business, iMessage Exporter will get the job done.

You might already back up your messages in iCloud, but Apple charges an arm and a leg for space. You can save space (and money) by making a local backup and clearing out your cloud storage.

Simple security hack keeps your iCloud account safe from iPhone thieves

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Can’t touch this (iCloud account)
Is this what the prolific Mr. Hammer was singing about? No.
Image: Jonathan Cutrer/Flickr/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Taking a moment to add an extra passcode to your iCloud account might save your skin if your iPhone is ever stolen by a shady character who’s eyeing you like a hawk. By default, your iPhone passcode is all someone needs to lock you out of your devices and wreak financial havoc on your life. And it’s not that difficult to capture your passcode if you tap into your phone in a public place.

In fact, a recent spate of coordinated scams have played out like this: A spy watches for anyone entering their iPhone passcode in a bar or other public place. Then, the device is yoinked out of the victim’s hands. And before they can do anything, they find themselves locked out of their own iCloud account. Soon, the criminals who stole the iPhone proceed to make unauthorized purchases, empty bank accounts and generally wreak havoc on the victim’s finances and personal life.

Luckily, setting up a second passcode just for iCloud can protect you from this type of criminal operation. I’ll show you how to keep these thieves at bay — and offer some additional advice for keeping your account secure.

How to back up your iPhone to iCloud

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iPhone lying on silver iPad with Apple Pencil and AirPods
Always backup your iPhone data!
Photo/Graphics: Rajesh/Unsplash/Rajesh

Backing up your iPhone to iCloud is the best way to keep its data safe and secure. You can always be at peace knowing your data is always recoverable, even if something happens to your phone.

What better day than World Backup Day to set up and enable iCloud backups for your iPhone then? Read our guide to see what iCloud backups entail and how to get started.

How to control what your iPhone backs up to iCloud

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icloud backup
Keep things safe with iCloud backup.
Photo: Gabriel Wasylko/Unsplash

It’s World Backup Day, a good opportunity to take a close look at the backups your iPhone makes to iCloud. Are you running out of iCloud storage space? Living with a slow internet connection? Worried about privacy? In any of these cases, you might want to exclude some apps from your iCloud backups. Doing so will save iCloud storage space and conserve bandwidth.

The good news is that it’s easy to exclude pretty much anything you like from your iCloud backups in iOS. Here’s how.

App Store, Apple Music and many other services all suffer outage [Updated]

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Apple online services having technical problems
Apple reports that over two dozen Apple services are having an "outage." That includes many of the most-used ones.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Linnaea Mallette/PublicDomainPictures.net

Apple is having a major outage of its online services. No less than 29 of them are reporting major problems, including the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Podcasts, and some iCloud services.

So it’s not just you. Stop rebooting your computer trying to fix it.

Update: Apple was able to quickly fix some of these, so the current total is eight services still having problems.

Update 2: All problems with Apple online services have now been resolved.

How to make iCloud more secure with Advanced Data Protection

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You now have the option to have more of your iCloud files encrypted, including images. Here's how.
The latest versions of Apple's operating systems give you the option to encrypt more of your iCloud files, including images.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple recently added end-to-end encryption for more types of iCloud data. Now, you can turn on Advanced Data Protection to encrypt iCloud Photos, Notes and more. Activating this new security feature is easy … once you find the switch buried in Settings.

We can save you some time. Here’s how and why you should activate it.

Apple drops controversial plan to scan iCloud Photos for CSAM

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Apple drops controversial plan to scan iCloud Photos for CSAM
Images in iCloud Photos will not be scanned for child sexual abuse material.
Image: Apple

Apple completely abandoned its previously announced plan to scan iCloud Photos libraries for child sexual abuse material. The company will not go through users’ pictures on its cloud-storage servers looking for CSAM images.

Instead, Apple is going the opposite direction by enabling users to encrypt pictures stored in iCloud Photos.

Elon Musk vs. Apple: Tech battle for the ages! [The CultCast]

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Elon Musk versus Apple on The CultCast podcast: Well, that escalated quickly!
Well, that escalated quickly!
Image: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After new Twitter CEO Elon Musk began publicly questioning some of Apple’s policies, he went mano-a-mano with Tim Cook. Maybe Musk’s meme-y declaration of war was a bit premature …

Also on The CultCast:

  • The sad state of iCloud storage.
  • A Twitter phone? Really?!?
  • 2023 MacBook Pro benchmarks reveal a big fat surprise.
  • A totally weird tale about the dangers of walking the streets of New York City with hundreds of iPhones.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Use the all-new iCloud online web app

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Find your photos and files online.
All of your photos and files are in the cloud anyway — with iCloud.com, you can access them from any computer.
Image: Matthew Bowden/Wikimedia Commons, D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can use iCloud online to access all of your online Apple services from any computer, tablet or phone. This includes Find My, Mail, Photos, Files, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Notes, Calendar and Reminders. It’s really convenient if you need to find a lost device, print a file or download a picture from a different computer you’re not signed into.

The site has just been redesigned to make it easier to use than ever before. Let me show you how it works.

Windows 11 Photos app can now access images in iCloud

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More Apple services coming to Windows 11
Windows users get get a touch of sweet iCloud Photos goodness
Screenshot: Microsoft

Thanks to cooperation between Apple and Microsoft, the Windows 11 Photos app is now able to access photos and videos from iCloud.

This is one of several recent cross-platform collaboration moves by the two tech titans.

How to share an iCloud Photo Library

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Apple learned how to share!
Sharing a photo library with your family is finally possible in iOS 16.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

After a weekend getaway or vacation, my wife and I inevitably take half an hour when we get home to share our pictures back and forth. With iOS 16, that is no more. You can finally enable a shared iCloud Photo Library — and it’s really straightforward.

More Apple services coming to Windows 11

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More Apple services coming to Windows 11
Windows users get get a touch of sweet iCloud Photos goodness
Screenshot: Microsoft

Microsoft and Apple are cooperating to enable the Windows 11 Photos app to access photos and videos from iCloud. In addition, the Apple Music and the Apple TV applications are also coming to Windows.

The Apple vs. Microsoft war is truly over.

Apple fixes the iCloud sync issues tormenting users and developers

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iCloud
Data syncing should be stable again.
Image: Apple

Apple says it has eliminated the iCloud sync issue that has been causing all kinds of disruption inside third-party apps.

The problem first surfaced late last year, soon after iOS 15 made its debut, and sporadically prevented many apps from syncing data through iCloud — much to the frustration of users and developers. But it is said to be eliminated now.