iCloud

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

573 'iCloud' stories May 2011 - March 2018

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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

How to set up Family Sharing and create a child’s Apple ID on iPhone and iPad

Michael Potuck Mar 19 2018 - 2:30 pm PT

Family Sharing is a handy feature that Apple offers to let up to six people share things like iCloud Storage, Apple Music, iTunes purchases, apps, location data, and more. Whether you’ve never needed the feature before or just want to get it set up for the first time, follow along for how to start using Family Sharing.

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How to share one iCloud Storage plan with your whole family

Michael Potuck Mar 15 2018 - 1:45 pm PT

Apple’s Family Sharing iCloud feature was introduced back in 2014 with iOS 8, but for several years many users requested a way to share one iCloud storage plan with multiple accounts. Apple brought this option to users with iOS 11, but for many it’s not turned on by default. Follow along for how to share one iCloud Storage plan with your whole family.

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PSA: Today is when Apple switches over iCloud data of Chinese users to government-owned server

Ben Lovejoy Feb 28 2018 - 4:27 am PT

Starting today, Apple will be moving the iCloud data of Chinese customers to a server run by GCBD, a company owned by the provincial government …

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Apple confirms using Google servers for iCloud, but Google can’t access data

Ben Lovejoy Feb 26 2018 - 7:15 am PT

The iOS Security Guide was updated last month to indicate that Apple is now using the Google Cloud Platform for iCloud storage. The company has long used Amazon’s S3 alongside Microsoft Azure, but a reference to the latter service has been replaced by one to Google’s cloud storage service …

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Europe wants to force US tech giants like Apple to hand over electronic evidence across borders

Ben Lovejoy Feb 26 2018 - 5:04 am PT

The European Union wants to be able to force US tech giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft to hand over electronic evidence across borders when investigating serious crimes. The proposed law would apply to any company that does business within Europe, no matter where its data centers are based.

Tech firms argue that such cross-border arrangements would ‘undermine consumer trust in cloud services’ …

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Apple’s China data migration includes iCloud keys, making data requests easier for authorities

Chance Miller Feb 24 2018 - 7:18 am PT

Apple announced last year that it was moving Chinese customer iCloud operations to China in an effort to comply with local laws, with the move officially taking place at the end of this month. Reuters today reports that among the information being are iCloud customer keys…

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How iCloud helped investigators track down one of the world’s worst spammers

Chance Miller Feb 5 2018 - 4:39 pm PT

Apple played a surprisingly big role in helping track down one the world’s worst spammers, according to an affidavit unsealed today and picked up by The Verge. According to the document, Russian spam king Peter Levashov was tracked down in large part due to his iCloud usage…

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Several iCloud services down for a small number of users, including Find My iPhone, iCloud Backup, and iCloud Mail

Peter Cao Jan 26 2018 - 9:52 am PT

Update: Things appear to be back to normal an hour later

Apple’s System Status page states that several iCloud services are down for a small number of users. Notable services include Find My iPhone, iCloud Backup, and iCloud Mail.

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Messages in iCloud is back in iOS 11.3 beta 1

Guilherme Rambo Jan 24 2018 - 10:18 am PT

Apple announced in a press release earlier today several new features to come with iOS 11.3, including new Animoji and health records in the Health app.

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PSA: How U.S. iCloud users can ensure their data isn’t migrated to (vulnerable?) Chinese servers

Ben Lovejoy Jan 11 2018 - 4:23 am PT

While Apple yesterday warned Chinese customers that their data would be migrated to local servers managed by a government-owned company from the end of February, TechCrunch reports that some U.S. customers are also being caught up in the migration.

After talking to a number of users, we found that Apple has included iCloud accounts that were opened in the U.S., are paid for using U.S. dollars and/or are connected to U.S.-based App Store accounts in the data that will be handled by local partner Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD) from February 28.

Apple’s terms & conditions for the transition provide an explanation for the apparent anomaly, while a support document offers a solution …

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Apple to transfer Chinese customer iCloud operations to GCBD at the end of February

Benjamin Mayo Jan 10 2018 - 2:36 am PT

Apple has today announced a date for when it will hand over operations of iCloud data services for residents of mainland China to GCBD. The change was announced last year so that Apple can comply with local laws. GCBD will manage a new Apple data center in China that will eventually store all iCloud data for Chinese customers.

Affected customers are now being notified about the transition which will start on February 28. Apple reassured users that the data will be protected by the same encryption standards as its current US policies and that no special backdoors will be created.

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PSA: iCloud Notes and iWork sharing experiencing downtime

Michael Potuck Jan 2 2018 - 10:17 am PT

Some iCloud sharing features for iWork and Notes are currently down for some users.

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Third person linked to 2014 iCloud hack that exposed explicit images of dozens of celebrities

Chance Miller Oct 23 2017 - 7:33 pm PT

A third person has been charged in the iCloud and Gmail hack that exposed explicit photos of dozens of celebrities in 2014. According to Deadline, a Chicago man agreed to plead guilty to hacking over 550 computers, most of which were those of female celebrities…

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Apple’s head of iCloud infrastructure technology departs the company

Chance Miller Oct 6 2017 - 1:44 pm PT

A new report from CNBC this evening claims that the Apple executive responsible for the company’s iCloud infrastructure has left the company. Eric Billingsley was Apple’s director of internet services operations, overseeing much of the iCloud backend…

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Apple says ‘intermittent issues’ with many cloud services, inc Apple Music, Apple TV, iTunes Store, App Store

Ben Lovejoy Oct 6 2017 - 5:20 am PT

Apple’s system status page is displaying problems with a significant number of cloud services. At the time of writing, it is showing ‘intermittent issues’ for ‘some users’ for the following services:

App Store
Apple Music
Apple TV
iTunes in the Cloud
iTunes Store
iTunes U
Mac App Store
Volume Purchase Program …

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iCloud Mail seemingly experiencing widespread downtime

Chance Miller Sep 7 2017 - 2:19 pm PT

Update: iCloud Mail is back up after the downtime.

Apple’s iCloud Mail service appears to be experiencing a widespread outage this afternoon. Many users on Twitter report being unable to access their iCloud Mail accounts, while several 9to5Mac employees are seeing the same…

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Apple notes importance of services by adding it to descriptions of both business strategy & R&D

Ben Lovejoy Aug 4 2017 - 3:54 am PT

We noted this week the growing importance of services to Apple’s bottom line …

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Apple’s iCloud Backup feature has been down for some users since yesterday

Chance Miller Jun 28 2017 - 3:19 pm PT

Apple this evening has updated its System Status webpage to reflect that a small number of people are unable to use iCloud Backup. According to Apple, the feature has been inaccessible since early yesterday morning, though it affects a small percentage of users…

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Sporadic reports of ‘Verification failed’ messages on iCloud as Apple acknowledges Mail & Notes issues

Ben Lovejoy Jun 20 2017 - 5:08 am PT

We’re seeing sporadic reports of ‘Verification failed’ messages when attempting to login to iCloud on devices, with one user told by Apple that the issue is affecting a limited number of users …

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As Apple boosts iCloud storage to 2TB, Amazon drops unlimited Drive down to 1TB

Ben Lovejoy Jun 8 2017 - 4:42 am PT

Just as Apple doubled its 1TB iCloud storage tier to 2TB for the same price, Amazon has dropped its unlimited storage tier down to 1TB. The change takes effect immediately for those who don’t have an existing unlimited data plan.

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Amazon Echo gains iCloud Calendar support ahead of rumored ‘Siri Speaker’ competitor introduction

Zac Hall May 31 2017 - 7:40 am PT

While Apple may be planning to unveil its ‘Siri Speaker’ next week at WWDC, Amazon is updating its Echo ecosystem to work with iCloud Calendars. Amazon’s Alexa app can now link Apple iCloud Calendars to enable Echo integration.

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Tips and tricks for iCloud email

Michael Potuck May 26 2017 - 1:31 pm PT

iCloud offers a lot of convenience, and if you have an icloud.com or me.com email address you can use one account for access to your device backups, photos and videos, purchases, email, and more. Follow along for some basic tips and tricks for iCloud Mail, where to login with your iCloud account, and more.

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Apple allegedly retaining deleted iCloud notes past the 30-day grace period

Chance Miller May 19 2017 - 12:51 pm PT

Russian software company ElcomSoft has made headlines in the past for making discoveries related to how Apple handles cloud data. Now, the company claims that Apple is holding onto deleted notes well past the thirty-day grace period during which they’re kept in the “Recently Deleted” folder…

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App specific passwords will be required to sign in to iCloud with third party apps from June 15, here’s how to make them

Benjamin Mayo May 16 2017 - 2:58 am PT

In its ongoing efforts to ensure strong security for customers, Apple will require the use of app-specific passwords from June 15th. This affects you if you use a third-party app that logs in with an iCloud email and password (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc) to access contacts, calendar and mail messages.

If you don’t migrate to app-specific passwords by the June 15 deadline, then those apps will stop working. Luckily, it’s easy to fix: read on for step-by-step instructions on how to make app-specific passwords for your Apple ID.

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