iCloud

The best place for all your photos, files, and more.

573 'iCloud' stories May 2011 - December 2014

iCloud was launched in 2011 as the successor to MobileMe and is Apple’s current cloud service that allows iOS and Mac users to save and synchronize information. Apple includes 5GB of iCloud storage for free with all accounts and has paid options starting at $0.99/month for 50GB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTrO2wUxh0Q

iCloud is built into every Apple device. That means all your stuff — photos, files, notes, and more — is safe, up to date, and available wherever you are. And it works automatically, so all you have to do is keep doing what you love. Everyone gets 5GB of free iCloud storage to start, and it’s easy to add more at any time.

What is iCloud?

iCloud solved a problem that we were facing in 2011. Originally, Apple pitched the Mac as the digital hub to our life. Our iPods (and then iPhones) would sync over a cable to transfer information. As we added iPads, it became a mess. Steve demoted the Mac back to just a device and made the “cloud” the center of our digital life. Using the service, users could sync all of their data over the air. As an example, a Keynote document edited on your Mac would automatically be up to date with the latest changes on your iPad or iPhone. iCloud also allowed you to back up your iOS device for an easy path to change devices without having to set everything up manually.

The problem with this original iCloud pitch is it didn’t cover all of our photos. We didn’t get that until iCloud Photos came in iOS 8. It didn’t cover iMessage, as that didn’t come until a few years ago with messages in the cloud. It didn’t cover all of our files, but only those in the iCloud folder stored inside of app folders. We didn’t get seamless syncing of files until Apple added Desktop and Document folder syncing a few years ago.

Over time, Apple has continued to add features to iCloud, and it’s turned out to be a really robust and reliable service. Users can sync files, photos, notes, reminders, and Safari bookmarks to their Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV (photos).

iCloud Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble using iCloud, you may want to make sure it isn’t affected by downtime. Check Apple’s iCloud Status page here.

How much does iCloud cost?

Pricing can change at anytime (view Apple’s latest pricing page), but here are the current rates for a few countries.

United States
50GB: $0.99
200GB: $2.99
2TB: $9.99

Canada
50GB: $1.29
200GB: $3.99
2TB: $12.99

United Kingdom
50GB: £0.79
200GB: £2.49
2TB: £6.99

European Union
50GB: 0.99 €
200GB: 2.99 €
2TB: 9.99 €

Read below for all of our coverage

Phone Breaker iCloud-hacking software now supports 2FA, allows access to WhatsApp & iWork files

Ben Lovejoy Dec 18 2014 - 5:46 am PT

5 Comments

Elcomsoft’s Phone Breaker software, used by law enforcement agencies but also thought to have been used by iCloud hackers to access celebrity nudes, has been updated to support accounts using two-factor authentication, reports MacWorld. It can also now access WhatsApp message files and iWork documents.

It’s not as scary as it sounds – the software can only be used once the attacker already has an Apple ID and password, together with either a second trusted device or your recovery key. A phishing attack is the most common way to obtain these, so as long as you use strong, unique passwords and don’t click on links in emails claiming to be from Apple, you should be safe. But it does allow users of the software to download either entire iPhone backups or selected data direct from iCloud much more easily than having to go through a compromised device by hand.

The more security-conscious will, though, want to heed Apple’s advice not to store your account recovery code on any of your devices: the software can automatically scan both your Mac and any external drives for these.

If you don’t yet have a recovery code for your Apple ID, do get one: even an unsuccessful hack attempt can lock you out of your account, and without a recovery key, there’s no way back in.

Via Engadget

Did Apple drop Google Maps for good? Apple Maps now rolling out on iCloud.com

Jordan Kahn Dec 9 2014 - 9:47 am PT

21 Comments

Apple appears to have finally dropped Google Maps from iCloud.com, replacing it with its own in-house maps almost two years after removing Google Maps from iOS and most of its other products. Apple started slowly rolling out the feature to its iCloud beta site for select users earlier this year before pulling it, but it now seems to have replaced Google for all users of iCloud.com’s Find My iPhone feature (pictured above).
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PSA: Make sure you have a recovery key for your Apple ID – you’ll need it if you get hacked

Ben Lovejoy Dec 9 2014 - 4:23 am PT

4 Comments

If, like me, you skipped over the recovery key step when switching on two-factor authentication for your Apple ID, thinking that having the password plus a trusted device was sufficient, you’ll want to correct that.

TheNextWeb‘s Owen Williams recently found that if someone tries to hack your account, and you get locked out, there’s no way back in without a recovery key.

While Apple states on its website that a new recovery key can be generated so long as you know your password and have access to one of your trusted devices, this is not true once the account is locked. No recovery key, no access. No amount of pleading by Williams would persuade Apple to help. Apple increased its security measures following the phishing attack on iCloud.

In Owen’s case, he did have a key, he just couldn’t find it. It was only by digging it out of a Time Machine backup that he was able to regain access to his account.

So, if you don’t yet have a recovery key, or can’t lay your hands on one, here’s what you need to do:

Go to My Apple ID
Select Manage your Apple ID and sign in with your password and trusted device
Select Password and Security
Under Recovery Key, select Replace Lost Key

Panic’s Transmit App no longer allowed to ‘send’ files to other services, developers request reprieve

Seth Weintraub Dec 8 2014 - 1:16 pm PT

7 Comments

In a blog post today, Mac/iOS developer Panic explained why a recent version of its venerable Transmit FTP/File transfer app no longer uploads to iCloud, and it turns out, other services:

Transmit iOS 1.1.1 is out, fixing a few bugs in our surprisingly powerful file management app for your iPhone or iPad.

Also, at Apple’s request, we had to remove the ability to “Send” files to other services, including iCloud Drive.

In short, we’re told that while Transmit iOS can download content from iCloud Drive, we cannot upload content to iCloud Drive unless the content was created in the app itself. Apple says this use would violate 2.23 — “Apps must follow the iOS Data Storage Guidelines or they will be rejected” — but oddly that page says nothing about iCloud Drive or appropriate uses for iCloud Drive.

If the issue is just iCloud Drive, why did we remove the other destinations? We had no choice. iCloud Drive exists in this sheet.

The developers are taking their case public a few days after the app update was released in an effort to persuade Apple to change their minds in this case. Seems like a no-brainer. What say you Apple?

Apple releases Safari updates for OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion (Update: pulled)

Mike Beasley Dec 3 2014 - 2:15 pm PT

6 Comments

Update: Apple appears to have pulled this update. Apple previously pulled a Safari update when it accidentally released a beta to the general public, but this doesn’t seem to be the same type of situation. The security document for the update is still live.

Apple has released a small patch for the three most recent versions of Safari running on OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion. The new versions are 8.0.1, 7.1.1, and 6.2.1, respectively.

The updated builds include fixes for features like WebGL graphics running on Macs with Retina displays, and problems with iCloud Keychain and syncing of browsing history. There is also a new option for importing saved usernames and passwords from the Firefox browser.

You can download the updates from the Software Update tab of the Mac App Store. There are no standalone installers, as Safari is now bundled with OS X.

Hyper’s Black Friday: $50 off the world’s only external MacBook battery, $10 battery packs (Reg. $50), $2 iPad cases (Reg. $30), much more

Jordan Kahn Nov 27 2014 - 7:14 am PT

1 Comment

Hyper, the brand behind a number of popular Mac and iOS products we’ve reviewed in the past, is today offering its best deals ever for Black Friday. The sale includes big deals on external battery packs and other iOS accessories including the world’s only external MacBook battery.

Some of the notables: A $10 3600 mAh battery pack (Reg. $49), a $20 7200mAh battery pack (Reg. $70), and up to $50 off the company’s external battery for MacBooks. Head below for the full list of deals.
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iCloud reportedly held back by ‘deep organizational issues’ within Apple

9to5 Staff Nov 24 2014 - 2:41 pm PT

40 Comments

The Information has published a report that claims “deep organizational issues” within Apple are holding up iCloud development and complicating products. The cloud-based service, which helps keep data in sync between iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs, reportedly lacks from a centralized iCloud team at the Cupertino-based company.
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iCloud Photos upload support for images added to public iCloud site

Zac Hall Nov 21 2014 - 11:19 am PT

1 Comment

In addition to updating iCloud.com with support for eight new languages when using iWork for iCloud, Apple has also turned on the ability to upload photos to iCloud Photos from the web. Upload support for iCloud Photos on the web was previously rolled out to the beta.iCloud.com site at the beginning of this month. Video uploading currently isn’t supported by either version of the iCloud site..
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iWork for iCloud updated with eight new languages, easier document renaming and more

Ben Lovejoy Nov 21 2014 - 5:25 am PT

5 Comments

Apple has updated its iWork for iCloud web-based productivity suite with eight new languages, the ability to rename documents in the editor and a few minor additional enhancements.

Pages gets all eight new languages: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish – including bidirectional support for Arabic and Hebrew. Numbers and Keynote get all but Arabic and Hebrew …
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Adobe streamlines transition from Aperture to Lightroom with built-in migration tool

Ben Lovejoy Nov 19 2014 - 4:01 am PT

0 Comments

Aperture users worried about transitioning to Lightroom following Apple’s decision to cease support for its full-featured photo editing software will now find life a little easier. The latest version of Lightroom includes a built-in migration tool to import both photos and associated metadata from both Aperture and iPhoto.

Star ratings, keywords, color labels, face tags, GPS data, stacks, hidden files and rejects are all transferred into Lightroom to make the transition as painless as possible.

Apple announced back in June that it was ceasing development on Aperture in favor of a more basic Photos app launching next year – leaving pros and enthusiasts out in the cold. Adobe responded initially with a transition guide followed by a plugin migration tool. With Lightroom 5.7 (a free update for existing users), the migration tool is built-in.

Adobe also release DNG Converter 8.7, with support for 24 new cameras.

iOS 8 How-to: Remotely remove your credit cards from Apple Pay

Sarah Guarino Nov 15 2014 - 9:00 am PT

8 Comments

People have been enjoying using Apple Pay. Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payment system that allows you to pay for things in stores and through apps with different banks and credit cards. Using Apple Pay is more secure than swiping your credit or debit card because your card number, identity and CVV code are not visible to the merchant. Instead, with Apple Pay each card is assigned a unique Device Account Number that is encrypted and stored in the Secure Element, a dedicated chip in the device. Setting up Apple Pay is relatively straightforward and it is done through either Passbook or Settings. In this how-to article I will discuss how to remotely remove your credit cards from Apple Pay in case your iPhone or iPad gets stolen.

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Apple job listing hints at new Maps-related web experiences

Jordan Kahn Nov 12 2014 - 11:26 am PT

2 Comments

A new job listing posted by Apple shows that the company is working to bring its in-house Maps app, currently only available as native apps for iOS and Mac OS X, to the web.
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Box for iPhone app gets Touch ID support and new features geared to ease of use

Ben Lovejoy Nov 12 2014 - 4:42 am PT

0 Comments

Box for iPhone and iPad – an app designed to allow convenient access to more than 100 document types in the cloud – has been updated to allow unlocking via Touch ID and given a bunch of new features designed to make it easier to use.

Touch ID support should make a big difference to heavy users, who the company says typically use the app 50 times a day.

A Notification Center widget makes Box significantly more convenient, allowing you to view recent files and add new notes. A new Favorites feature allows fast access to frequently-needed files without having to load them into the app first.

What’s New in Version 3.5.0

Now use Box from your Today view in Notification Center to quickly and easily create Box Notes, view recent documents and more (requires iOS 8)

Use your fingerprint to unlock the Box app at the touch of the home button with Touch ID (compatible devices only, requires iOS 8)

Add files and folders to a Favorites list for easy access without having to download any data ahead of time with our new Favorites feature

In-folder search capabilities

Box Bookmarks are now accessible

Support for previewing password protected Office and iWork files

Automatic photo upload for Personal Pro subscribers and Enterprise users

Additional stability improvements and bug fixes

Box appears to be a favored app at Apple, featured in Best New Apps and used to demonstrate app extensions during this year’s WWDC.

Box for iOS is a free download from iTunes, with 10GB of storage included. An in-app purchase of $79 a year for the Pro version boosts storage to 100GB and allows individual files of up to 5GB to be uploaded.

Possible Apple-Alibaba partnership could lead to greatly accelerated rollout of Apple Pay in China

Ben Lovejoy Nov 11 2014 - 4:19 am PT

0 Comments

The potential partnership between Apple and Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba could facilitate a far more rapid rollout of Apple Pay in the country than if Apple goes it alone, suggests a piece in the WSJ. Tim Cook first revealed that he was in talks with the company at the WSJ Digital conference last month.

One possible scenario is for Alibaba’s financial affiliate, which owns the Alipay electronic-payment business in China, to provide back-end services for Apple’s Apple Pay payment system, allowing iPhone users to pay with Apple Pay using the money from their Alipay accounts, Mr. Tsai said.

Such an arrangement would be significant for two reasons …
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Pangu jailbreak for iOS 8.0-8.1 now “stable enough” for use, says Cydia creator

Ben Lovejoy Nov 7 2014 - 7:41 am PT

9 Comments

[tweet https://twitter.com/saurik/status/530454505994076161]

Cydia creator Jay Freeman (better known as Saurik) has tweeted that the Pangu jailbreak for iOS 8.0 to 8.1 is now “stable enough” for use.

We first saw a developer version of the jailbreak last month, with a user version released a week later, complete with Cydia installer. The installer is Windows-only, but it’s an untethered jailbreak, so once it’s done you won’t need to reconnect to a PC following a reboot …
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iCloud.com Photos beta gains image uploads, iMovie for iOS gains iCloud Photo Library support

Mike Beasley Nov 6 2014 - 4:00 pm PT

13 Comments

Apple has updated the beta version of its iCloud Photos web app with support for uploading images to a user’s iCloud Photo Library. The feature will likely roll out soon to everyone on the public version of the service soon, but for now is limited to the beta site.

The change adds a single “Upload” button to the upper-right corner of the page, which shows a standard image picker when clicked. From there, users are presented with the progress indicator seen above, and the image becomes available on all of their devices. At this time, video uploads don’t appear to be supported.

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Thanks to iCloud, California cop busted for stealing nude photos from suspect’s iPhone

Ben Lovejoy Nov 3 2014 - 4:04 am PT

11 Comments

A California policer offers has been charged with Theft and Copying of Computer Data after looking through the photos on a female DUI suspect’s iPhone, and sending nudes to himself and two other officers. He is also charged with the same offense in regard to a second woman.

CNET reports that the suspect unlocked her phone to look up a contact she wanted to call to advise of her arrest. With the iPhone unlocked, Officer Sean Harrington of the California Highway Patrol in Dublin, California, sent as many as six nude images to himself and two colleagues.

On Friday, Harrington was charged with two felonies. One pertained to the original complainant, only named as Jane Doe No. 1 in court documents. The second involves a different woman, named as Jane Doe No. 2 […]

A text message obtained during investigations of the incident has Harrington texting another officer: “Her body is rocking.

The CNET report says that “the incident only came to light because 23-year-old Jane Doe No. 1 had her iPhone synced to Apple’s iCloud,” with Gizmodo adding that Jane Doe No.1 spotted the messages on her iPad.

Apple’s iCloud actually uncovered the plot since the suspect synced messages from her smartphone with her iPad. She soon noticed that photos had been sent to a number she didn’t recognise.

Harrington has resigned from the California Highway Patrol, and if found guilty faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in jail.

A Virginia court recently ruled that suspects cannot be compelled to hand over their passcodes to police, but that fingerprints can be used to access phones.

Tim Cook talks Apple Pay, Apple Watch and security on final day in China

Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 5:36 am PT

4 Comments

On the final day of Tim Cook’s four-day visit to China, he told state news agency Xinhuanet that Apple Pay was top of the list of things the company wanted to take to China.

“China is a really key market for us,” said the CEO. “Everything we do, we are going to work it here. Apple Pay is on the top of the list.”

Cook said that Apple would be working to understand the steps needed to bring the new service to China before meeting with local carriers, banks and merchants …

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Tim Cook meets with Chinese vice premier in Beijing following iCloud phishing attack

Ben Lovejoy Oct 22 2014 - 4:54 am PT

3 Comments

Two days after evidence emerged of a phishing attack on iCloud, allegedly due to the Chinese government firewall redirecting traffic to a fake login page, the Chinese state news agency Xinhuanet is reporting a meeting in Beijing between Tim Cook and Chinese vice premier Ma Kai.

Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday exchanged views on protection of users’ information during their meeting in Zhongnanhai, the central authority’s seat. They also exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in information and communication fields.

The Chinese government censors access to the Internet by deploying a country-wide firewall which blocks certain sites and which can redirect traffic from sites the government dislikes to officially-sanctioned ones …

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Apple responds to iCloud network attacks with guide on verifying browser security

Benjamin Mayo Oct 21 2014 - 11:03 am PT

3 Comments

Following the recent attack by Chinese institutions on iCloud.com to attempt to steal account information, Apple has posted a new how-to article about verifying the page you visit when you type iCloud.com into your web browser is the genuine Apple site.

The page doesn’t offer a fix per se, but walks through how to check the certificates of the page in Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

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Chinese government apparently phishing iCloud account info with man-in-the-middle attack (Update: Apple confirms)

Benjamin Mayo Oct 20 2014 - 6:51 am PT

13 Comments

Update: Apple is aware of the attack, via CNBC. As expected, Apple’s own servers were not compromised.

Although unconfirmed, GreatFire is reporting that Apple is now the subject of Chinese government hacking attempts. According to the report, the government is using the institutional firewall to redirect traffic directed at iCloud.com to a fake page that resembles the iCloud.com interface almost perfectly.

Like other phishing attacks, this page is pretending to be Apple’s portal but instead intercepts entered usernames and passwords for other means. Although some browsers in China are set up to warn users about these kind of man-in-the-middle attacks, many don’t and (assumedly) many citizens disregard the warnings as the site appears quite genuine otherwise.

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Yosemite & iOS 8 How-to: Send and receive phone calls from your Mac and iPad

Sarah Guarino Oct 19 2014 - 12:00 pm PT

124 Comments

Now that Yosemite is out, with iOS 8 running on your iPhone, you can send and receive phone calls from your Mac and your iPad (also running iOS 8). This is one of the features of Continuity, which further integrates and connects your Mac and iOS devices. Continuity also includes Handoff, Instant Hotspot, AirDrop and SMS Relay (as part of the iOS 8.1 update).

Sending and receiving phone calls from the Mac and iPad is a benefit because sometimes when your iPhone rings it’s not where you are, but instead you are on your Mac or iPad. Now you can pick up the phone call directly from the Mac or iPad and don’t have to worry about stopping what you are doing to rush and find the phone. In this how-to article I will discuss how to set up and disable Phone Relay, how to send and receive iPhone Cellular Calls.

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iCloud Photos on the web goes live leading up to iOS 8.1 release

Stephen Hall Oct 18 2014 - 1:24 pm PT

30 Comments

While iOS 8.1 isn’t officially going to be released to the public until Monday, several reports across the internet are saying that Apple’s Photos app within the web-based iCloud website has now gone live for those using the iOS 8.1 beta. The interface looks a lot like that of the Photos app on iOS, letting you view your library as organized by either Moments or Albums.

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Yosemite & iOS 8 How-to: Set up and use Handoff

Sarah Guarino Oct 17 2014 - 9:00 am PT

118 Comments

Now that Yosemite is out, with iOS 8 devices you are now able to use Handoff. Handoff will allow you to seamlessly start a task on one device, and pick it up on another device. So for example you start writing a paper on your iPad and then you want to continue it on your Mac, or you start writing an email on your iPhone and want to finish it on your iPad, this is what Handoff does. When signed into the same iCloud account and Bluetooth is turned on, Handoff will allow you to transition your work flow from one device to another.

On the Mac, you will have an additional dock separate from the main dock indicating what is running on the iOS device. On the iOS device on the lock screen you will have an icon indicating the app that is being used on the Mac. Currently it works with Apple’s apps including Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Safari, Reminders, Messages, Maps, Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Developers can also add Handoff to their apps as Things and other apps have already done. In this how-to article, I will discuss how to set up Handoff and how to use it.

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