Anyone on the free, 5GB iCloud storage plan knows that that's not a lot of space at all. You'll fill it up fast, so you need to be judicious about what you store in an iCloud backup. This is especially true if you have, say, both an iPhone and an iPad.

One way you can free up some additional storage to use elsewhere is by manually choosing what app data gets stored, and what won't! Or you can of course upgrade your iCloud storage plan if you want to store all your things, all the time — there are a ton of options to choose from! But here's how you can selectively back up your data over iCloud.

How to choose what app data gets backed up to iCloud for iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Apple ID banner.
3. Tap iCloud.

4. Tap Manage Storage.
5. Tap Backups.
6. Tap your iPhone or iPad under Backups.

7. Tap Show All Apps if the apps you want to manage aren't among the first five displayed.
8. Tap the switches next to any apps that you no longer want to back up to flip them to the white "off" position.

Note that turning off app data doesn't mean that app won't return to your device during an iCloud restore, it just means the app's data will not return.

Typically, games or photo- and document-centric apps are the most storage-hungry. If you decide to turn these off, just make sure you're okay with losing the data within them in the event of a restore. We'd suggest saving any documents or photos to your computer frequently to free up storage space.

Best to back up

If you want the best iPhone and iPad experience and don't want to spend any money on additional iCloud storage, you're probably going to have to manually manage what data gets backed up into your free 5GB allowance. Thankfully, it's easy to do.

It's always best to have a copy of any data that is important to you in case something bad happens to your device, though, so we don't advise you just switch iCloud backups off completely and forget about it. Instead, back up your iPhone or iPad to your computer or use a third-party service like Google Photos or Dropbox.

Updated April 2022: Updated for iOS 15.

Apple has a cloud-based storage service, called iCloud, that you can use to store and sync photos, documents, movies, music, and a whole lot more. You can find all of your iCloud content on any of your Apple devices using the same Apple ID, from re-downloading apps and games to watching TV shows and movies. Here's everything you need to know about iCloud on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

How to set up, sync, back up, and restore with iCloud

The very first thing you'll need to do before you can use iCloud is set it up. This involves choosing what data you want to sync and what you want to back up. You'll also need to decide whether or not you need to buy additional iCloud storage space, which we'll help you with as well.

If you're already using iCloud on one Apple device and need to know how to get all your stuff to a new device, this is the guide for you. We will walk you through setting up a device as new, restoring from a backup, and lots more. You'll walk away feeling confident you have complete control over your iCloud data, how it's stored, and what you need to do in order to recover it.

How to use iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Photo Library is available to anyone with an iPhone or an iPad. iCloud Photo Library keeps your entire photo and video library in sync between any iPhones, iPads, and Macs you own. This is done through the Photos for iOS and Photos for Mac apps. Create an album on your iPhone, it's instantly synced to your Mac, and vice versa. iCloud Photo Library can also help you free up tremendous amounts of storage space on your best iPhone or iPad by streaming photos and videos instead of physically downloading them. A great compromise for anyone who wants the best of both worlds.

How to use iCloud Photo Sharing and My Photo Stream

iCloud Photo Sharing and My Photo Stream are both parts of the Photos app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac as well. iCloud Photo Sharing lets you create shared photo albums that friends and family can view, add to, comment on, and like. It's a great way to share photos with only a small group of people, no social network required.

My Photo Stream can automatically store your last 30 days of photos, or most recent 1,000, whichever is larger. These are then available across any device that supports Photo Stream. It doesn't store videos like iCloud Photo Library but may be enough for some people. Check out our guide to learn some of the most important differences between the two.

How to use Find My

The Find My app lets you locate any Apple devices that you may have misplaced. Things mean devices like your iPhone or Mac, but also accessories like AirTags Not only can you send an alert with a message to a device you can't find, you can also remotely wipe data from it if worse comes to worst. The best part is that if you have Find My enabled, potential thieves won't be able to turn it off without your iCloud password. We highly recommend enabling and learning everything you can about how this free service can help you protect your devices and your personal data.

How to use Family Sharing

Family Sharing lets you share iTunes and App Store purchases with other members of your household. Even better, parents can take advantage of the "Ask to Buy" feature which requires young children to request purchases. You'll get a notification and can approve or reject their request remotely. Family Sharing also adds convenient tracking features which are handy for children in the household. When they're old enough to be on their own plan, you can hand their Apple ID over to them to manage on their own.

We can walk you through how to set up child ID's, track someone's lost device in your Family Sharing group, and anything else you need to know about Apple's Family Sharing service.

How to use iTunes in the Cloud

iTunes in the Cloud lets you access, stream, and re-download content you've purchased from iTunes. This includes items from the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBookstore. If you have an Apple TV in your home, you can access all your purchased movies, tv shows, music, and more just by logging in. They'll be instantly available for streaming. And if you have Family Sharing enabled, you can also stream purchases belonging to someone else in your Family Sharing group.

How to use iCloud Music Library

iCloud Music Library lets you compare your entire library with the iTunes music catalog: If it finds the same song, it lets you stream or download it from iTunes, to any of your Apple devices, immediately or for as long as you stay a subscriber. If it doesn't find the same song, it uploads your version and lets you stream it just the same. Because your music is always available on Apple's servers, it works like a backup, making sure you don't lose your collection even if you lose your device.

How to use iCloud Keychain

iCloud Keychain tries to bring sanity to password management. If you save a password in Safari on your Mac for use later, iCloud Keychain can sync that same convenience to Safari on your iPhone or iPad. iCloud Keychain can also store credit cards, addresses, and other personal details so you can easier fill out forms when you need to. Need to generate a strong password for a new account? iCloud Keychain can do that too!

Don't forget iCloud+

When you pay for iCloud, rather than using the free version Apple offers, you'll get access to iCloud+.

Cloud+ brings with it some new features, though, namely the privacy-focused Hide My Email and Private Relay, plus enhanced HomeKit Secure Video storage. iCloud+ also comes with custom email domains for iCloud Mail accounts. So be sure to check it out, to see if it's for you.

What you need to know

• Apple says it has fixed iCloud sync and CloudKit problems that have been an issue for developers.
• Third-party apps have been suffering from sync issues for some time thanks to iCloud instability.
• Developers have been told that the issues have been fixed.

Apple says that it has fixed an iCloud sync and CloudKit issue that caused third-party apps to suffer from syncing instability. That instability often caused apps to be unable to sync data which users saw as a problem with the app itself. As a result, some developers went so far as to add new pages to their apps that showed whether iCloud was functioning correctly, or not.

Despite developers reporting the problem to Apple on numerous occasions, nothing seemed to improve. However, following media reports of the problem in recent days it seems Apple has taken notice and fixed whatever was causing the problem. As one developer noted on Twitter, sometimes running to the press does work after all.

Apple isn't specifically saying what it did to fix the issue, nor what it was in the first place, but developers are unlikely to care too much. Having sync working once more is a big deal, especially for those who had users complain of missing data due to sync being unreliable.

The integration of iCloud is one of the best iPhone features that Android doesn't quite match, but it isn't perfect. Issues like this show how opaque Apple can be when problems crop up and, like in this instance, persist with seemingly no sign of a resolution. It's unfortunate that it took the story appearing in the media for Apple to take note.

What you need to know

• Some European carriers want iCloud Private Relay to be banned.
• Carriers claim iCloud Private Relay prevents them from managing their network.

Update, January 10 (9:20 pm ET): T-Mobile is blocking iCloud Private Relay for T-Mobile and Sprint customers in the United States.

Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature is designed to prevent anyone from snooping on what you're doing on the internet, but a number of European cellular carriers want it banned. They claim that iCloud Private Relay prevents them from properly managing their networks.

That's according to a Telegraph report, with carriers saying that the feature has "significant consequences in terms of undermining European digital sovereignty." Quite what that actually means isn't immediately obvious.

Here's what iCloud Private Relay actually is, according to our guide:

But despite being a VPN, European carriers including Vodafone, Telefonica, Orange, and T-Mobile say that the feature "will impair others to innovate and compete in downstream digital markets and may negatively impact operators' ability to efficiently manage telecommunication networks."

While it's true that VPN services also have the same impact, it's likely the carriers are concerned about iCloud Private Relay because of its potential reach. While still listed by Apple as a beta, the company will surely enable it by default at some point in the future — potentially locking carriers out of the data they say they need across their entire iPhone-using customer base.

Whether the carriers are telling the whole truth here is something else that isn't clear. By locking carriers out, Apple also potentially impedes their ability to sell data-shaping services.

iCloud Private Relay is just one of Apple's privacy-based features and with privacy being one of the best iPhone selling points it could be a hard sell for carriers when they try and argue against it.

Update, January 10 (9:20 pm ET) — T-Mobile is blocking iCloud Private Relay for T-Mobile and Sprint customers in the United States

In an updated report from 9to5Mac, it appears that T-Mobile and Sprint customers in the United States are noticing that iCloud Private Relay is no longer working when connected to cellular.

Those who are noticing the issue are getting the following error message in the Settings app:

A report from The T-Mo Report says that the issue could be related to users turning on service-level filtering features like Web Guard, but 9to5Mac says that users who reported the issue had those turned off.

We'll need to wait to hear more from T-Mobile and Apple to understand if the carrier plans to end support for iCloud Private Relay or if this is more of a misunderstanding due to certain T-Mobile features in the country.

What you need to know

• Apple released iOS 15.2 beta 3 to developers and public beta testers yesterday.
• Changes have been made to the way iCloud Private Relay is described to make it more obvious what it does.

Apple's release of iOS 15.2 beta 3 brought with it a few changes but one of them involves rebranding iCloud Private Relay — at least as far as the feature's explanation in the Settings app is concerned.

The feature, which is still in beta, prevents websites from tracking you by hiding your real IP address. How it does that is a story for another time, but it seems Apple is concerned that people don't really understand what it does — and iOS 15.2 hopes to fix that by changing the description in the Settings app.

The change sees Apple switch the text "iCloud Private Relay" swapped out for "Limit IP Address Tracking" when you're in the Settings app. The screenshot below is the screen that houses the settings for my Wi-Fi network.

Nothing has changed in terms of functionality, and iCloud Private Relay is still one of the best iPhone features for people who want to keep their IP address a secret. But it's interesting to see Apple switch things up in this way. There's little doubt that the new toggle label and accompanying text make it more obvious what's going on here, too.

There's no indication of when iOS 15.2 will be made available to the public and it's possible this change will be reverted or iterated on before then, of course.

What you need to know

• iCloud's terms and conditions might be illegal according to an Italian antitrust regulator.
• The regulator has a number of issues with the document including Apple's ability to change it at any time.

Apple's iCloud terms and conditions have been picked up as potentially being illegal by an Italian antitrust regulator, with a number of points raised relating to the content of the document.

In its most basic terms, the issue appears to be that the Italian regulator believes the terms are too favorable to Apple, giving it the power to make changes at any time, although that might not be specific to Apple.

Another example of the issues raised by the Italians relates to iCloud storage and how secure it actually is. The regulator believes Apple's users would expect their data to be safe in iCloud, but despite Apple marketing it as a secure storage option for data, it doesn't actually explain how that is managed. The terms and conditions also paint a significantly different picture, pointing out that data can be deleted by the company when it deems it no longer needed.

Today's report comes after an investigation was carried out following complaints related to iCloud, with the Autorità Garante Della Concorrenza E Del Mercato publishing its findings as part of a larger document that also included the likes of Amazon. It isn't clear where the story will go from here, either. No text steps appear to have been outlined, for example.

There is no shortage of cloud storage options if you'd rather not use iCloud, of course. Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box are just some of the best cloud storage apps that are available in the App Store today.

What you need to know

• Russians are reporting that iCloud Private Relay is no longer supported in their country.
• The iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey feature is supposed to help keep users' data private during internet usage.

Apple's upcoming iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey updates will bring iCloud Private Relay to the masses — but not in Russia after Apple seemingly disabled the feature over the last day or so.

As spotted by people on Twitter and reported by iPhones.ru, the feature was available but now no longer works, with Apple telling users that iCloud Private Relay is not supported in the country.

Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature is designed to help keep users' browsing data private by first connecting you to an Apple-owned relay, then back out to the internet via a third-party-owned relay, before forwarding you to the website you want to see. That prevents anyone from seeing which websites people you're accessing. Anyone really looking will see that someone is connecting to a website, but they won't know who. We have an iCloud Private Relay explainer if you're looking for the technical details.

Why Apple has disabled the feature in Russia isn't clear and we don't yet know whether this is a temporary situation or a change in policy. Apple has already said that iCloud Private Relay won't be available in all countries, but it seems odd to make it available and then remove it during the beta process.

Apple will make iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 available on Monday, September 20. Who knows whether Apple will have re-enabled Russian access to its internet privacy feature by then.

iMore has reached out to Apple for comment on the reasons behind disabling iCloud Private Relay and awaits a response.

What you need to know

• Apple is reportedly losing a "notable" number of people from three of its most important teams.
• Health, iCloud, and AI teams are reportedly losing people, including some big names.

Apple is reportedly seeing people leave from three of its most important teams at a "notable" rate, with Health, iCloud, and AI all losing bodies.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing for his weekly Power On newsletter, Apple has also lost a couple of big names to Google and a university.

The reasons for this aren't clear, although it's impossible not to wonder how much of the current churn is related to Apple's stance on allowing people to work from home. The company continues to stand by its hybrid work model, allowing people to work outside of the office two days per week. Employees want more, and it's possible some engineers are keen to take the opportunity of remote work elsewhere.

That's a potential reason that Gurman himself believes could be in play.

While we don't know exactly how many people have moved on and from which specific teams, it's clearly enough people to draw attention from those around them.

You only need to listen to the way Apple executives talk and take a look at its website to know that services are very important to the company. Apple makes a lot of money from those services and Tim Cook has successfully steered it away from being a company reliant on iPhone sales to one that now has a huge cash cow to help prop it up. With iPhone, services, and wearables, Apple has three huge businesses inside one company. But which of those services is most important to you?

Is it Apple Music? The music streaming service has millions of songs for you to listen to, after all. The recent release of lossless music and Spatial Audio has taken things to a new level, too. Apple Music is a worthy competitor to Spotify.

Or is it Apple TV+? Priced at just $4.99 per month you could argue that Apple's streaming video service is one of the biggest bargains in tech — and it's only getting better.

What about iCloud Drive? Once the poor relation to options like Dropbox and Google Drive, iCloud Drive is built into the very core of macOS and iOS nowadays and works so well most people probably forget it's there. But it is, and it's doing its thing just fine. It's perhaps the best Mac syncing solution for most people.

Then there's the newcomer — Fitness+. Whether you're following along with some running exercises or cooling down with some mindfulness techniques, Apple Fitness+ is a great way for people to keep fit and follow along with an instructor without ever leaving their home.

There are more, too. iCloud itself has all kinds of mini-services like Calendar, Mail, Photos, and more. All of those little things are actually big things — they're just housed under an even bigger big thing that goes by the name iCloud. Any one of those could be important to you — and bundled together, they're invaluable.

Me?

I couldn't live without Apple One. Yes, I know that's a bundle of services rather than a single service and yes, I'm aware it could be considered cheating. But this is my game so I make the rules. I also have an explanation.

I just reeled off a list of Apple services and it wasn't even a full list, either. They're all pretty great when used in isolation, but they really start to shine when they're all under one umbrella, working together. That umbrella is Apple One, a single subscription that includes Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, and iCloud Storage all together as one. Sure, there are different tiers available but it's when you throw yourself into the ecosystem and take everything that the magic really starts to happen.

Now, yes. This is arguably the very definition of platform lock-in and there are probably antitrust lawyers among you already sharpening your pitchforks. In truth, you probably have a point. But lock-in is only a problem when you want out. I don't want out and so long the services keep working and improving, I don't imagine wanting out any time soon, either.

iCloud is the most recent (and longest-lasting) iteration of Apple's online services for its customers, including email, contacts, calendars, content sync, and online storage, à la Dropbox or Google Drive. The service is accessible from both iOS and macOS devices, as well as Windows and the web, and features a variety of storage tiers to choose from. 

Here's everything you need to know about iCloud.

What is iCloud?

iCloud is Apple's cloud solution for keeping your digital life in sync across your devices. iCloud can store and sync everything from calendar events to the photo album for your most recent vacation so that you can access that content anywhere on any Apple device.

Additionally, iCloud also powers syncing for a lot of third-party apps on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, keeping documents, lists, podcasts, and more up to date on the relevant devices.

What does Apple store or sync with iCloud?

Almost all of Apple's native apps on iOS, as well as their Mac equivalents, stay in sync using iCloud. These include:

• Mail
• Photos
• Contacts
• Calendar
• Notes
• Reminders
• Messages
• News
• Home
• Health
• Wallet
• Books
• Find My
• Maps
• Shortcuts

Your Safari bookmarks and open tabs can also be synced so that you can continue your web browsing on any of your iCloud devices with Safari installed. iCloud can be used to securely store and sync your log-in information for various websites with iCloud Keychain, too.

If you're looking for general online storage, you can use iCloud Drive, which will store and sync anything you put into it, making documents, images, audio files, and much more accessible across your iOS and macOS devices. 

As previously mentioned, iCloud can also sync data from third-party apps so that your entire digital life stays up-to-date across your devices, and third-party apps can access iCloud Drive for storage as well.

We have a how to set up and access iCloud Drive on the Mac guide that's essential if you want to use Apple's cloud storage service from your laptop or computer.

What is iCloud+?

At WWDC 2021, Apple announced an update to its iCloud offering in the form of iCloud+. Unlike the company's other Plus-branded service offerings, iCloud+ is not actually an extra tier or premium add-on and is instead more of a rebrand of iCloud itself.

iCloud+ adds some new features, namely the privacy-focused Hide My Email and Private Relay, plus enhanced HomeKit Secure Video storage. If you are on a paid iCloud plan, you already have iCloud+ and get these extra features at no additional cost.

Is iCloud free to use?

You can use iCloud for free, though you might not have the best experience even if you're running the best iPhone or iPad.

You can set up and use an iCloud account free of charge but you start with a small (quite frankly, too small) amount of storage: 5GB. This data will quickly be eaten by your photos, videos, iCloud Drive content, and your iCloud backups. Once filled, you won't be able to store more without upgrading to a paid iCloud storage plan. We have a handy guide that helps you decide which iCloud storage plan you should get. Or you will need to delete old iCloud backups.

What do iCloud storage plans cost?

iCloud has a few different storage plans that you can pick from and the arrival of iCloud+ has not changed the prices or storage tiers. Here's how they break down.

• 5GB - Free
• 50GB - $0.99 per month
• 200GB - $2.99 per month
• 2TB - $9.99 per month

You can manage your iCloud storage via one of your Apple devices at any time if you want to change, upgrade, or downgrade the amount of storage you have for your iCloud account.

If you're not sure which of the different options is right for you, read our which iCloud storage plan should you get guide.

Is iCloud included with Apple One?

Yes, Apple's services bundle, Apple One, includes iCloud alongside other offerings like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Fitness+.

The amount of iCloud storage included will depend on the Apple One bundle you go for: Individual, Family, or Premier which offer 50GB, 200GB, and 2TB of iCloud storage, respectively. If you use a couple of Apple's other services, it probably makes sense to bundle them together with Apple One to get some savings.

What is an iCloud backup?

In essence, an iCloud backup is a copy of your device's data that is saved off-device. If your phone was lost, stolen, or damaged, you'd be able to quickly get a new one set up with all of the same information and content. It's a good idea to regularly back up your iPhone or iPad (or any device, for that matter) in case the worst should happen.

By default, your iPhone or iPad will back up to iCloud automatically each day provided your device is connected to Wi-Fi and on charge. For most people, this process will happen overnight which is when your phone is most likely to meet these conditions for an extended period of time. You can also manually back up your iOS devices from the Settings app at any time.

When restoring your iOS device or setting up a new one, you can choose to restore from a recent iCloud backup which will put everything saved from that date and time onto the device.

Exactly what's included in an iCloud backup?

This is Apple's official list of what is included in an iCloud backup:

• App data
• Apple Watch backups
• Device settings
• Home screen and app organization
• iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages
• Photos and videos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
• Purchase history from Apple services, like your music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books
• Ringtones
• Visual Voicemail password (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup)

Your backups only include information stored on your iOS device. Content such as Calendars, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, your iCloud Photo Library, and iCloud Drive content, are constantly kept in sync via iCloud, and thus don't need to be included in your backup. Even if you set a device up 'as new,' i.e. not from a backup, you'll still see this type of syncing data once you sign in with your iCloud account.

Where can I use iCloud?

iCloud support comes built-in on every modern Apple device and has since its introduction in 2011. You can manage your iCloud account in the Settings app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV as well as System Preferences on macOS. You can also manage everything, and even restore certain lost items, using iCloud.com.

Can I access iCloud on the web?

Indeed you can. iCloud.com lets you access Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Notes, Reminders, and Photos from the web on any modern browser. You can also check out iCloud Drive and what you have stored in there, as well as web-based versions of the iWork suite, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

Each of these web apps offers most of the same functionality as their iOS and macOS counterparts, including photo management in Photos, creating and managing events in Calendars, and even making documents and collaborating with others on projects in the iWork apps.

Furthermore, iCloud.com is very useful in conjunction with Find My so you can locate lost devices, AirTags, or see where your friends and family are at.

Can I use iCloud on Windows?

Yes, you can. iCloud is officially supported on Windows, and you can download the official iCloud for Windows app onto your PC in order to set up iCloud syncing.

iCloud for Windows can be configured to sync items to iCloud Drive, send images to your iCloud Photo Library, sync your mail, calendar, and contacts with Outlook, and even sync your bookmarks with a browser of your choice.

Can I use iCloud on Android?

As of right now, there is no official solution for using your iCloud account with Android devices to sync contacts and calendars, store photos in iCloud Photo Library, or keep content in iCloud Drive.

That being said, you can use your iCloud email address on Android within various email apps, so if you do need to use an Android device, you can at least get your email messages. You can also access iCloud.com via Android web browsers.

Can I share iCloud storage with my family?

Yes, you can. If you set up Family Sharing, in addition to being able to share App Store purchases and an Apple Music subscription, your family members will be able to share your iCloud storage. Apple stresses that when you choose to do this, all photos and documents stay private, and family members won't be able to snoop on what others have stored in iCloud.

How do I sign up for an iCloud account?

You can create a new iCloud account on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac. When you set up a new device, you'll be given the option of using a current Apple ID for iCloud or setting up a new Apple ID to use with iCloud.

You can easily create a new Apple ID on your iPhone or iPad or set up new Apple ID on your Mac if you don't already have one and use it with iCloud. 

iCloud is basically a safety net for Apple users. By simply allowing iCloud to do its thing and keeping your devices regularly backed up, your important data is always at your fingertips. Anytime you buy a new device, you'll feel confident knowing that everything you need will be there.

What you need to know

• It isn't just you, Apple Mail is down.
• Apple is aware of the issue and investigating.

Have you noticed that you can't access your iCloud Mail accounts? You aren't the only one, with Apple confirming via its System Status page that things are broken right now.

The good news? Apple is aware of the issue and it's already investigating. Apple also says that only "some users are affected" which suggests the problem might not befall you at all.

I've checked and I'm told that no, this doesn't mean that everyone can go home, and again, no it doesn't mean work is canceled for the day. In that case, we better hope Apple gets its ducks in a row soon, before everyone starts to panic and the meetings get out of hand.

In the meantime, why not check out our collection of the best iPhone deals while you wait? You might as well be saving some money while you wait for your email to come back online, right?

What you need to know

• iCloud+ will include support for custom domain names for iCloud Mail users.
• Poeple will be able to invite others to use the same domain name.

Apple's big WWDC opening keynote saw a ton of things announced yesterday with iCloud+ just one of them. The new name for iCloud's paid tiers brings with it its own new features, including one that wasn't announced during that event – support for custom domain names when using iCloud Mail.

The feature is mentioned on the iOS 15 preview page on Apple's website, but that's as much as we have. It does sound promising though, with Apple also noting that we'll be able to invite other people to use the same domain on their iCloud Mail accounts as well.

The addition of support for custom domains could change the game for many, especially those who have had to deal with using Google and Microsoft products when they'd rather use Apple's.

We don't know any more than that at this stage and there doesn't appear to be any kind of interface relating to this in the initial iOS 15 beta that I can find. It's still early days however and Apple will no doubt be adding – and removing! – things as we work our way through the long and winding beta process.

One thing we do know is that the new M1 iPad Pro is super duper awesome. It isn't cheap though, so make sure you snag one from our list of the best iPad Pro deals on the internet. Everyone likes saving money, right?

What you need to know

• Anyone sharing a shortcut from the Shortcuts app via iCloud is out of luck right now.
• Users are receiving errors suggesting the destination shortcut could not be found.
• Apple says it is working on a fix.

Update, March 25 (07:50 am ET): Service is now being restored with some iCloud links working as expected.

Update, March 25 (05:00 am ET): Apple has released a statement confirming it is looking into the problem.

One of the great things about the Shortcuts app on iOS and iPadOS is the fact you can share your shortcuts with other people via iCloud links. Except, as of right now, not so much. As a ton of people are finding out right now, iCloud shortcut sharing is very broken.

As spotted by people on Reddit and across Twitter, clicking an iCloud link that should open a shortcut is instead throwing an error message.

That's particularly problematic for sites like MacStories which have a huge – and hugely useful – library of shortcuts that can (normally) be accessed via such links. But again, today none of those links are working and there's nothing anyone can do about it until Apple rolls out a fix, Whatever that fix may be.

My uneducated assumption right here, right now, is that Apple changed something server-side that has invalidated every iCloud shortcut link that exists. Whether Apple knows what that change was remains to be seen. At this point in time it isn't even clear whether Apple knows it has a problem to fix. I've reached out to Apple and asked the question and I'll update this post if and when I receive an answer.

Shortcuts can come in handy for all kinds of things, not least making smart gadgets work with Siri even if they don't support HomeKit!

Update, March 25 (05:00 am ET) — Statement from Apple.

In a statement to iMore, Apple has confirmed it is aware of an issue where previously shared shortcuts are currently unavailable. Apple says that newly shared shortcuts are still available, and says "we are working to restore previously shared shortcuts as quickly as possible."

Apple today shared details on how its services fared during 2020 and it makes for interesting reading. You can check out the full story yourself, but the gist is simple – people are buying, downloading, and streaming more and more. If there was any doubt that Apple is a services company going into 2021, that doubt should now be dead and buried. But the thought of Apple, the company behind MobileMe, being so strong in services is an alien concept to those of us who remember that debacle.

MobileMe was, ultimately, an unmitigated failure. Things were so bad that Steve Jobs reportedly went on something of a tirade, reprimanding those in charge. Eddy Cue was put in charge and MobileMe was gone soon after. iCloud replaced it and despite its foibles, has been a much better service from top to bottom.

Just how bad was MobileMe? Steve Jobs really didn't like it, emailing the entire Apple staff to say so. When MobileMe went live, nothing worked. To call the service unstable is charitable, to say the very least. And that's ignoring the fact that Apple said its email, contacts, and calendar features included support for 'push' only for that to not be the case at all.

It was a mess, as TechRadar reported.

Jobs went on the warpath.

And learn, it did. Since then we've seen the launch of Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, iCloud, Apple Arcade, and even Apple Card. Not only are these services here and working, but they're popular, too. The recent bundling of them all into Apple One will bring more of those services to more people, too. And while Apple still isn't on the same level as an Amazon or Google, its server-side chops are much improved over those dark days of MobileMe.

If Apple is to continue transforming itself into a services company, those chops are going to need to continue to improve, too.

iCloud Music Library is Apple's service for storing your personal music library online by "matching" your tracks to songs listed on the iTunes Store (or uploading tracks directly, if there's no match available). You can then stream and download them — DRM-free — to up to ten other registered devices in your possession.

If you subscribe to Apple Music, you'll get iCloud Music Library included as part of your $9.99 monthly subscription; otherwise, you can subscribe to Apple's iTunes Match service and pay $24.99 a year to store your iTunes library (up to 100,000 songs) in iCloud.

Are you looking for a new gadget to listen to your tunes? Check out our recommendations for the best iPhone!

Here's how iCloud Music Library works, how you can subscribe, and how you can get the most out of it!

How iCloud Music Library works

Here's how iCloud Music Library works, how you can subscribe, and how you can get the most out of it!

If you have an Apple Music account, you can take advantage of iCloud Music Library and subscription music; if you have a stand-alone iTunes Match subscription, you only have access to your iCloud Music Library.

• Apple Music vs iTunes Match: What's the difference?
• Do I still need iTunes Match if I have Apple Music?
• iTunes Match: The ultimate guide

To save space and upload time, any track in your library that's also available in the iTunes Music Store catalog will "match" to the catalog version; this means that when you play that track on your iPhone or another Mac, you'll get the iTunes Music Store version (a DRM-free, 256kbps-quality AAC file, for those wondering), rather than your original file. Apple uses metadata matching and audio fingerprinting to match your songs to iTunes Store versions. It's not perfect, and you may run into issues with live or rare tracks matching to studio versions — for most users, however, you should be able to use the service without any problems.

Any songs that don't match to the iTunes catalog will be uploaded to iCloud in their original form, save for tracks that are too low-quality (under 92kbps), too long (over two hours), too big (over 200MB), or you aren't authorized to play (say, a song from another user's iTunes account that you don't have the username and password to unlock).

If you have a song in your library encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF, those may be transcoded into an AAC 256 Kbps file when uploaded to iCloud; the original file in your iTunes library won't change.

After your songs are uploaded, they get stored or matched to your iCloud Music Library; any device you own (up to 10) can stream or download songs back from it.

Note: Currently, you'll need an iTunes library with 100,000 songs or less in it for iCloud Music Library to work correctly; if you have too many songs, here's how to create a secondary iTunes library.

If you're an Apple Music subscriber, it also allows you to add songs and playlists from the subscription catalog to your library; you can then save those tracks for offline play.

If you've already enabled it and you don't have all your music locally on one computer, don't panic: Make sure your music shows up as Matched or Uploaded and not Apple Music, then download all the tracks you're missing to your main Mac.

You bet. You can even use iCloud Music Library with some devices and not others. More info here:

If you don't have a backup, there are other things you can try, from chatting with Apple Support to resetting your iCloud Music Library. We suggest checking out our Apple Music troubleshooting guide.

What you can and can't do with iCloud Music Library

Now that we've explained what iCloud Music Library is, here's a quick rundown of what it can and can't do.

• Stream your Mac's library to up to ten different devices you own (including up to 5 Mac or Windows PCs).
• Delete matched tracks you own on your Mac and redownload them to get high-quality 256kbps DRM-free versions from the iTunes Store (useful if you have low-quality ripped tracks).

• Manually sync music from iTunes to your iPhone: It's all done over the air now.
• Use your iCloud Music Library with Family Sharing: Each Apple ID (and their iCloud Music Library) is separate; you can download any purchases from iTunes, though.
• Match or upload more than 100,000 tracks from your library that weren't purchased from the iTunes Store: If you still want to use iCloud Music Library but have too many tracks, make a secondary iTunes library.
• Use it in every country: Here's Apple's list of supported countries for iCloud Music Library.

Note: If you're only using the $24.99/year standalone iTunes Match service, iCloud Music Library won't give you access to music from the Apple Music catalog: You need an Apple Music subscription for that.

How to enable iCloud Music Library on your computer

If you have an Apple Music account, you should check out our other guides.

If you're interested in subscribing and using iCloud Music Library with iTunes Match:

1. If you're signed in to your iTunes account, open the Music app on your Mac (or iTunes app on Windows) and navigate to the Account menu
2. Click Sign Out.
3. Choose iTunes Store on the left.
4. Scroll down and select iTunes Match under Features.

5. Select Subscribe for $24.99 per year.
6. Enter your Apple ID and password.
7. Choose Use iCloud Music Library after your subscription goes through.
8. Click Add This Computer to upload and match your computer's music library to iCloud Music Library. (This step may happen automatically, so don't panic if you don't see it.)

Adding Mac or Windows PC is similar to the initial signup process for iTunes Match users; it's also a great way to unify a music library if you've been accidentally building separate collections on your personal and work machines — once you enable iCloud Music Library on both machines, you can download all the songs from your secondary PC or Mac onto your primary computer.

1. On your secondary Mac, open iTunes and navigate to the Account menu.
2. Click Sign Out.
3. Click on the Match tab that appears in iTunes (or go to Account > iTunes Match).
4. Select Subscribe for $24.99 per year.
5. Enter your Apple ID and password. (You may have to enter it twice.)
6. Select Use iCloud Music Library to use it on this computer.
7. iTunes will remind you that you've already subscribed to iTunes Match and ask you whether you want to activate it on this computer. Click Add This Computer to connect your computer's music library to iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library.

How to enable iCloud Music Library downloads over cellular

If you want to stream songs from your iCloud Music Library over your cellular data connection as well as over Wi-Fi, you can do so by following these steps.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
2. Tap on App Store.
3. Toggle Automatic Downloads under Cellular.
4. Choose how much space you'll accept for cellular downloads.

Keep in mind that this option not only enables your iCloud Music Library over LTE or 5G, but it also turns on cellular data for automatic downloads and Apple Music. If you'd rather avoid that, you can disable automatic downloads on your devices or only enable the Use Cellular Data switch when needed.

How to see your local music on your Mac

There are two ways to see your locally-stored iCloud Music Library tracks on your Mac. The easiest way is as follows:

1. Open the Music app.
2. Select Song or Albums from the menu on the left under Library.
3. Choose the Only Downloaded Music under the View menu at the top.

How to see your local music on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Open the Music app.
2. Tap on the Library tab.
3. Tap on Downloaded. If you don't have any downloaded music, the option won't show up here.

To return to viewing all your music, tap the Library tab again.

For my money, Family Sharing is one of the best features of iCloud. It allows every member of a family to share their purchases of apps, movies, books, TV shows, and music with other family members. There are other benefits, too: pooled iCloud storage, a shared family calendar, and photo album, and an easy way to know the location of all family members — and their devices.

How to share photos with Family Sharing and iCloud

Usually, only people 13 and older can have an Apple ID. But kids under 13 can be added to a family sharing account with their own Apple ID. It's simple; here's how to do it.

Adding a child account to Family Sharing on a Mac

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Click Family Sharing.

3. At the bottom of the list of family members click the + button.
4. Choose the option to Create an Apple ID for a child and click Continue.

5. Enter the child's information, including creating a new Apple ID, and click Next. If the Apple ID you want to create is already in use by someone else, you'll be notified to make another attempt.
6. Confirm by clicking Create again.

7. Follow the onscreen instructions and enter the verification code. Click Next.
8. Read the Parental Privacy Disclosure and click Agree.

9. Enter security questions and answers.
10. Click Next.
11. Agree to iCloud and Game Center Terms and Conditions.

12. Agree to iTunes Terms and Conditions.
13. Enter your password to view account details.
14. Click Continue.

Adding a child account to Family Sharing on an iOS device

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap Family Sharing.

4. Tap Add Family Member....
5. Tap Create a Child Account.
6. Tap Next.

7. Enter the child's birthday.
8. Tap Next.
9. Tap Agree.

10. Enter your credit card security code.
11. Tap Next.
12. Enter the child's First Name and Last Name.
13. Tap Next.
14. Create an Apple ID.
15. Tap Next.

16. Tap Create.
17. Enter a password for the account and verify it.
18. Tap Next.
19. Enter a security question and answer.
20. Tap Next.

21. Repeat Steps 19 and 20 for two more security questions and answers.
22. Choose whether or not to turn on Ask to Buy. (Hint: There's a reason why it's on by default).
23. Tap Next.
24. Choose whether or not to share location with your family.
25. Tap Agree for the iCloud and Game Center Terms and Conditions.

26. Tap Agree.
27. Tap Agree for the iTunes Terms and Conditions.
28. Tap Agree.

One big happy family

There are significant benefits to having everyone in your family under one iCloud roof. For me, Ask to Buy is the killer feature. What's yours? Tell us in the comments below.

What you need to know

• Jane Horvath, Apple's chief privacy officer spoke at CES yesterday.
• Horvath said Apple uses technology to screen for specific photos.
• Images found are "reported."

This story has been updated to reflect a change made to the original story from The Telegraph. From the source article: "This story originally said Apple screens photos when they are uploaded to iCloud, Apple's cloud storage service. Ms Horvath and Apple's disclaimer did not mention iCloud, and the company has not specified how it screens material, saying this information could help criminals."

Jane Horvath, Apple's Senior Director of Global Privacy, spoke during a CES panel yesterday and confirmed that Apple scans photos to ensure that they don't contain anything illegal.

The Telegraph reports:

Apple updated its privacy policy last year, but it isn't clear exactly when Apple started scanning images to ensure they are above board. It does have a web page specifically dedicated to child safety, too.

While there will surely be people who have an issue with this, Apple isn't the first company to scan images in this way. Many companies use software called PhotoDNA – a solution that was specifically designed to help prevent child exploitation.

Now that's surely something we can all agree with.

Apple requires all third-party apps that use iCloud to store data to use app-specific passwords for added protection.

App-specific passwords ensure that your Apple ID isn't compromised if you need to add your iCloud account to a third-party email, calendar, or contact manager app. It creates a password that those third-party apps will store instead. It is just another layer of protection that will ensure you're protected from nefarious activities.

You'll need to have two-factor authentication enabled in order to generate app-specific passwords. Two-factor authentication is different than two-step verification.

How to enable two-factor authentication

Note: Whenever you change your Apple ID, all of your app-specific passwords will automatically be revoked and you'll have to generate new app-specific passwords for each app again.

• How to generate an app-specific password
• How to view a list of your app-specific passwords
• How to revoke app-specific passwords

How to generate an app-specific password

1. Navigate to Appleid.apple.com from your web browser and sign in with your Apple ID and Password.
2. Verify your identity with two-factor authentication.
3. Under the Security section, select Generate Passwords.If you don't see the option to generate app-specific passwords, you'll need to enable two-factor authentication, which is different than two-step verification.

4. Enter a label for the password. Be sure the name relates to the app for which you are generating the password, like "Outlook" or "Thunderbird."
5. Select Create.

6. Copy the app-specific password you generated.

7. Launch the app for which you need the app-specific password.
8. Paste the app-specific password into the password field that is asking for your iCloud password.

From now on, the app you just generated the app-specific password for will use this specific password in order to access iCloud. If you every have to re-enter your iCloud password, use this app-specific password again.

How to view a list of your app-specific passwords

Apple lets you store up to 25 active app-specific passwords at one time. You can view a list of passwords you've generated for apps to ensure you still need them. You won't be able to see the actual password, but you can view the label you entered and the date it was created.

1. Navigate to Appleid.apple.com from your web browser and sign in with your Apple ID and Password.
2. Verify your identity with two-factor authentication.

3. Under the Security section, select Edit.
4. Under the App-Specific Passwords section, select View History.

You'll be able to see the label for every app-specific password you've created. Take a look at the list to make sure you're still using iCloud with those third-party apps.

How to revoke app-specific passwords

If you have any app-specific passwords for apps that you no longer use, you can revoke the password, which will also revoke access for that third-party app to iCloud. If you want to use that third-party app again, you'll need to generate a new app-specific password.

1. Navigate to Appleid.apple.com from your web browser and sign in with your Apple ID and Password.
2. Verify your identity with two-factor authentication.
3. Under the Security section, select Edit.

4. Under the App-Specific Passwords section, select View History.
5. Select the Remove icon next to the password you want to revoke. It looks like an X.
6. Select Revoke to confirm that you want to revoke access to the app-specific password.
7. Select Done when you are finished.

You can also select Revoke All to revoke access to all app-specific passwords you've created.

Add protection to your iPhone

Magnetic cases for iPhone are awesome and will help to protect your investment for years to come, including the following:

Dockem Luxe M2 Wallet Case ($15 at Amazon)

Tactile and undeniably stylish, this phone case is covered in synthetic leather styled to look like twill fabric for a unique finish. The metal plate is hidden towards the top of the case to prevent interference with wireless charging or card storage.

JIDUO Clear Case for iPhone XR ($11 at Amazon)

This clear case is perfect for showing off your iPhone's bright colors. It's made of flexible TPU that offers protection against scratches and small bumps.

Any Questions?

Do you have any questions about generating app-specific passwords? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

When you're an Apple user, transferring files, sharing photos, and syncing data between your Apple devices has been accomplished through iCloud, but if you have both Apple and Windows devices you've been left out in the cold. Lucky for you, you can get iCloud on Windows so you can share photos, sync calendars, and access files between the platforms.

• Before you start
• How to get iCloud on Windows

Before you start

You'll need to make sure you are signed-in to your iCloud account (by using your Apple ID) on your Apple device first. If you're using an iPhone or iPad, chances are you've already created an Apple ID when you set it up; however, if you're new to your iPhone or iPad use these steps below to create an account.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Tap Create a new Apple ID.

4. Enter a birth date.
5. Tap Next.
6. Enter your first and last name.
7. Tap Next.
8. Select your current email address or get a new iCloud email address.

9. Enter your email address.
10. Create a password.
11. Verify the password.
12. Select a security question.
13. Type in answer.
14. Repeat two more times.

15. Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
16. Tap Merge or Don't Merge to sync iCloud data from Safari, reminders, contacts and calendars.
17. Tap OK to confirm Find My iPhone is turned on.

You can also create an Apple ID on Mac.

How to get iCloud on Windows

1. Go to the iCloud for Windows webpage.
2. Click Download.
3. Navigate to your Downloads folder.
4. Double click iCloud Setup

5. Select the I accept the terms in the license agreement option.
6. Click Install.

7. Wait for iCloud to install.
8. Click Finish.
9. Click Yes to restart your computer right now, or click no if you want to manually restart your computer to finish the install.

10. Enter your Apple ID login information.
11. Click Sign In.

Now you've got the full power of Apple's iCloud on your Windows PC!

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below!

Updated May 2018: This is still the best way to get iCloud on your Windows 10 PC!

Apple's built-in iCloud service is available for everyone and comes with 5GB of storage for free. With it, you can safely back up your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, keep your photos and videos secure, and make sure you don't lose any of your favorite albums. It's also the easiest way to sync your calendars, reminders, and contacts across all your Apple devices. Though it shouldn't be your only backup method, it's the easiest way to back up all your important data without taking up space on your devices.

How to set up a new iCloud account

If you're brand new to the Apple ecosystem, you'll be asked if you'd like to set up a new Apple ID. When you sign up for an Apple ID, you'll automatically receive 5GB of iCloud storage. Your Apple ID is used to sign in and out of your iCloud account. This is the first step to getting all of your important data backed up into Apple's cloud storage service.

• How to create a new Apple ID on your iPhone or iPad
• How to create a new Apple ID on your Mac

What iCloud storage plan should you get?

Though Apple gives everyone with an Apple ID 5GB of iCloud storage for free, it can quickly be used up by backing up your iPhone or iPad, or storing your music and pictures. If 5GB isn't enough, you can upgrade to a larger plan without breaking the bank. Here's our suggestion for how to find the right tier for your personal needs.

What iCloud storage plan is right for you

How to enable automatic iCloud backup on iPhone and iPad

Once you've set up your iCloud account and chosen the right storage plan for your needs, you'll want to enable iCloud backups for your iPhone and iPad. When it's enabled, your device will automatically back up data every 24-hours when it is plugged in to a power source and connected to wi-fi. Here's how to set it up.

How to enable automatic iCloud backups on your iPhone or iPad

How to manually back up your iPhone and iPad to iCloud

If, for some reason — like you are about to install an iOS update — you want to manually back up your data, you don't have to wait until your iPhone or iPad's scheduled backup time. You can manually trigger a backup at any time. Be sure to do this before making any major changes to your iPhone or iPad to ensure all of your most current data is available from a backup.

How to manually trigger an iCloud backup on iPhone and iPad

How to manage your iCloud backups

You may not want every little thing backed up to iCloud. Maybe you only want certain apps to send important data to the cloud, or maybe you want to optimize storage on your iPhone by sending originals to iCloud. You can even delete old iCloud device backups that are taking up space. There are a few different options for managing what is backed up and stored in iCloud.

• How to choose what your iPhone backs up
• How to set up and use iCloud Photo Library on iPhone and iPad
• How to delete old iCloud backups on your iPhone and iPad

How to manage your iCloud sync permissions

Not only can you back up your important data in iCloud, but you can also sync such content as calendar events, Safari bookmarks, reminders, and app data across all of your Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. You can manage what content syncs across your devices and what content you'd rather stay put on only one device.

How to manage iCloud sync permissions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

How to restore your iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup

There are a number of reasons you might have to restore data on your iPhone or iPad — such as, you're device froze or you erased some important system setting on accident. Luckily, when you've got a good backup plan in place, you can easily restore lost data using iCloud.

How to restore your iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup

How to erase your personal data from your iPhone and iPad

When it comes time to say goodbye to your old iPhone, either by giving it away, selling it, or recycling it, the single most important thing to do before it leaves your hands is to clean every bit of personal data from it. If you're upgrading to a new iPhone, here's how to wipe your old one before you get rid of it.

How to wipe all personal data and erase your iPhone and iPad

Questions?

Let us know below.

Amazon and Apple are finally playing nice ... at least to some degree. You can add your iCloud account to the Alexa app on iPhone and iPad and access your iCloud Calendar content through Amazon's Echo, Dot, Tap, and Show. Alexa also supports connection to G Suite, Gmail, Office 365, and Outlook. So, if you don't use iCloud, you can still connect your calendar app if it's one of these major services. Here's how.

Important: In order to connect your iCloud Calendar account to Alexa, you'll have to enable two-factor authentication so you can get an app-specific password. If you don't know how to enable two-factor authentication or get an app-specific password, check out our guides.

• How to enable two-factor authentication
• How to get an app-specific password for third-party apps

• How to connect your iCloud Calendar to Amazon Alexa
• How to ask Alexa about your schedule
• How to disconnect your iCloud Calendar account from Amazon Alexa

How to connect your iCloud Calendar to Amazon Alexa

Once you've enabled two-factor authentication with your iCloud account, you can connect your iCloud Calendar to Amazon's Alexa assistant.

1. Open the Alexa app on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen. It looks like three stacked lines (☰).
3. Tap Settings from the menu list.

4. Scroll down and tap Calendar.
5. Tap Apple.
6. Tap Continue if you have already enabled two-factor authentication, or follow the instructions to enable it now.

7. Create an app-specific password for Alexa if you haven't already. Remember to save the new password for future use. This will not be the same as your Apple ID or iCloud account password.
8. Click Continue.
9. Enter your Apple ID and the app-specific password you just created for Alexa.
10. Select the iCloud calendars to which you want Alexa to connect.

How to ask Alexa about your schedule

When you ask Alexa via your Echo, Dot, Tap, or Echo Show, it can tell you what's on your schedule by date, time, day of week, or weekend. All you have to do is ask.

• Alexa, what am I doing today?
• Alexa, what are my plans for the weekend?
• Alexa, am I busy on Monday?
• Alexa, do I have plans on June 10?

Alexa will respond by telling you what's on your schedule on a specific day, date, or at a specific time, or what your weekend plans are.

How to disconnect your iCloud Calendar account from Amazon Alexa

If you don't want Amazon or Alexa having access to your iCloud Calendar anymore, you can unlink it.

1. Open the Alexa app on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen. It looks like three stacked lines (☰).
3. Tap Settings from the menu list.

4. Scroll down and tap Calendar.
5. Tap Apple.
6. Scroll down and tap Unlink this Apple Calendar account.

You can use the same app-specific password to reconnect your iCloud account to the Alexa app as long as you haven't revoked the app-specific password.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about adding your iCloud Calendar to the Alexa app and using the Echo, Dot, or Show about your daily schedule? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

Beginning with the days of the original iTunes Music Store, Apple has made it a priority to get all of its users to create an Apple ID — one account to use for all the services Apple has to offer, from support to buying the latest and greatest gear to content. It's become a part of the set-up process for every new Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Thanks to Family Sharing, families can each have a separate Apple ID, but also share content purchased with each individual account.

Apple recently added iCloud Family Sharing, which allows users to, not only share content purchased and downloaded using each other's Apple ID, but also allows everyone in the Family Sharing circle to use the same iCloud account. Here's everything you need to know about iCloud Family Sharing.

What is iCloud Family Sharing?

It's actually an extension of the standard Family Sharing plan, which allows up to six family members to share content purchased from iTunes, iBooks, and the App Store, as well as sharing an Apple Music subscription for a few dollars more. Adding iCloud allows all members in the Family Sharing plan the ability to store photos, built-in and third-party app content, documents, and more.

This feature is a fantastic cost saving option for families that use more than the free 5GB per month of iCloud each. The higher storage plan you subscribe to, the better deal you get overall.

How much storage do I need for my iCloud Family Sharing plan?

It all depends on how much iCloud storage each person in your family already uses. If a family of four uses 60GB of iCloud storage each, you're going to want to go all-in with the 2TB plan, but if each family member only uses about 15GB, then you'd be fine with just the 200GB plan.

Though there is a 50GB iCloud plan for $0.99 per month, it's not available in the iCloud Family Sharing plan. You'd have to upgrade to at least the 200GB plan for $2.99 or the 2TB plan for $9.99 per month.

We turned on Family Sharing for our household of four a couple of years ago when the kids were old enough to have their own iPads and iPhones. To keep all these devices backed up, we purchased additional storage for every member of the family: 50 GB for 99¢ a month each. Total monthly bill: $3.96, peace of mind: priceless.

With the birth of iOS 11, Apple announced that family sharing would include the ability to pool iCloud storage. Around that time, I was starting to bump up against my 50 GB limit, but the rest of my family group was well below that threshold. Conveniently, Apple also began offering 200 GB of storage (the amount of space we were using) to families for $2.99 per month.

By converting my 50 GB account to a shared 200 GB account and sharing it with the rest of the family group, the squeeze on my data was relieved and almost a whole American dollar was saved every month to boot.

How to I add a person to my iCloud account?

The first thing you'll need to do — if you haven't already — is set up your family with a Family Sharing plan. Once you're Family Sharing plan is set up, all you have to do is add iCloud to the plan.

Remember, you must subscribe to the $2.99 200GB iCloud plan or higher in order to add family members to the plan.

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap your Apple ID banner.
3. Tap iCloud.

4. Tap Manage Storage.
5. If you already have 200 GB or 2 TB of iCloud storage, skip to step 9. Otherwise, tap Change Storage Plan.
6. Tap either the 200GB option or the 2TB option.

7. Tap Buy.
8. Enter your Apple ID password when prompted.
9. Tap Buy to confirm the storage upgrade.

10. Tap Share with Family.
11. Tap Invite Family Members.
12. An iMessage sheet will appear with your family members' names pre-filled in the address field. You can add a comment to the invitation, then tap the Send button.

Each family member will receive an iMessage with a link to accept the invitation to join the shared storage plan.

Pro Tip:If an adult family member needs more storage space or wants to use their own iCloud storage, they can choose to have a separate storage plan and still be part of the family group.

After you share your iCloud storage with your family, the iCloud storage map shows how much space you are using (in living color), how much space the rest of the family is using (in gray), and the total amount of storage available for the family.

What about all the data I have stored in iCloud—contacts, pictures, reminders, documents in iCloud Drive? Are those all automatically shared, too?

In a word, no. In a few more words, not unless you choose to share it.

All of the data associated with your iCloud account—such as credit card numbers, contacts, calendars, files you've stored in iCloud Drive—remains yours and yours alone...unless you share it.

Family sharing offers a shared family calendar and a shared family photo album, but these are separate and distinct from any other calendars in your iCloud account and albums in your iCloud Photo Library. Add an event to the shared family calendar and, by default, everyone in the family can see and edit it. Add an event to a personal calendar you have stored in iCloud and no one else can see or edit it unless you explicitly allow that to happen, and only for the specific people you choose. Same with the shared family albums in Photos and other albums you create in your iCloud Photo Library.

Your data is still your data; the only thing that might change is the size of the container for the data.

Can anybody be in a family?

Apple's Terms and Conditions language doesn't define a family, other than to say that all family members must share the same home country. Also, an individual can only belong to one family at a time and can only join a different family up to twice per year. Further, an individual can change the iTunes account associated with a family no more than once every 90 days.

What happens when a family member leaves the family?

If you're over 13, you can leave a family group without any action taken by an adult or organizer of the family. Or an organizer can remove a family member over 13 or transfer him or her to another family. In both of these cases, the departing family member loses access to any content shared by other members of the family group, and the remaining members of the family group lose access to purchases made by the departing member. The departing member will be able to keep any purchases that were made while in the family, but any on-going subscriptions that were paid for by the family organizer or any new apps or content that the departing member wants to buy will be the responsibility of the departing member.

What if I want to stop Family Sharing? Where does all the shared data go?

The organizer can turn off Family Sharing and disband the family group by tapping his or her name in the list of family members in the Family Sharing settings and stopping Family Sharing. The organizer will retain the family calendar, reminders, and shared photo album in their iCloud account.

How is Family Sharing working for you?

Have you hit any potholes in the Family Sharing road? Tell us in the comments below and we'll see if we can help you out.

If you're on a free iCloud storage plan, you're probably already aware that you only get 5GB to store your information. That isn't a lot of space, especially if you own multiple iOS devices. One way you can free up some additional space is by manually choosing what app data gets stored and what doesn't.

Turning off app data doesn't mean that apps will not return to your device during an iCloud restore; it just means the app's data will not return. Typically, the camera roll and document-centric apps take up the most space. If you decide to turn these off, just make sure you're okay with losing the data within them in the event of a restore.

We'd suggest saving any documents or photos to your computer frequently to free up storage space. Or you can upgrade your iCloud storage plan if you want to store all your things all the time.

• How to view your iCloud usage
• Which iCloud storage plan is right for you?
• How to buy more iCloud storage (or downgrade your iCloud storage)
• How to sync app data with iCloud
• How to set up iCloud Keychain
• How to set up Find My iPhone
• How to sync your documents and data to iCloud
• How to share your iPhone's current location
• How to change your iCloud email aliases
• How to delete files in iCloud

How to view your iCloud usage

Want to check and see what percentage of your iCloud storage space you've used? It's easy.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Apple ID banner at the top.
3. Tap iCloud. The colored graph at the top shows you which types of data are taking up space and how much.

Which iCloud storage plan is right for you?

Instead of just being able to house your contacts, calendars, Photo Stream, and backups, iCloud Drive can act as a central repository for lots of different kinds of files.

You can then access these files through various different kinds of apps. iCloud Drive can also help take some of the strain off of your physical storage constraints if you need it to.

You'll need to pick a monthly subscription plan that dictates how much iCloud Drive storage space you get to share and access on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac or PC.

Which storage plan is right for your needs? Read our complete guide!

How to buy more iCloud storage (or downgrade your iCloud storage)

If you have a few bucks to spare, I highly recommend ponying up a few bucks a month to increase your storage space.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap the Apple ID banner at the top.
3. Tap iCloud.

4. Tap Manage Storage under iCloud.
5. Tap Change Storage Plan.
6. Tap an option. Prices will vary based on region (mine are Canadian).
7. Tap Buy in the top right corner.

By default, you get 5GB on iCloud, but you can upgrade to 50GB by paying $0.99/month (U.S.) — enough to save smartphone photos and videos for the typical user — or higher-priced 200GB/$2.99, and 2TB/$9.99 plans. Here's how you can upgrade.

How to sync app data with iCloud

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Apple ID banner at the top.
3. Tap on iCloud.
4. Tap the switches next to the apps you'd like to turn off.
5. Decide what to do with the existing app data.
   • Tap Keep on My iPhone to keep the data.
   • Tap Delete from My iPhone to get rid of it.

Now you can be more selective when deciding what gets backed up to iCloud, so that nothing unnecessary is taking up valuable storage space.

Not all third-party apps support iCloud storage. The ones that do will appear towards the bottom of the Apps Using iCloud section. You can turn them off the same way as described above, but you don't have to decide to keep the data on your iPhone or delete it.

If you want to disable all third-party apps, just tap the switch next to iCloud Drive. iCloud Drive is the gatekeeper for third-party apps, as well as Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. If you disable iCloud Drive, you won't be able to view or collaborate on shared documents.

How to set up iCloud Keychain

iCloud Keychain is Apple's attempt to bring password management to the mainstream. With it, your account names, passwords, and even credit cards numbers can be safely and securely stored on your iPhone or iPad keychain, and synced across all your devices thanks to iCloud. In conjunction with Safari, it can also generate new, unique passwords, and autofill them whenever you need them. So, how does it all work?

• How to use iCloud Keychain: The ultimate guide

How to set up Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone lets you remotely track your lost, stolen, or misplaced Apple device — be it an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, AirPods, or Mac — from virtually anywhere, as long as the device in question has some kind of internet connection. Not only can Find My iPhone help you locate a stolen or lost device, but it can also assist in remotely wiping your private information so your device data doesn't fall into the wrong hands. If you're not sure where to start, we can walk you through enabling Find My iPhone on all your devices.

• Find my iPhone App: The Ultimate Guide

How to sync your documents and data to iCloud

Want to use iCloud Drive for app documents and data? Here's what you need to know.

• iCloud Drive App: The Ultimate Guide

How to share your iPhone's current location

If you use Find My Friends, you can control who you share your location with and from what device it's shared. Here's how!

• How to share your current location with friends or family

How to change your iCloud email aliases

Want to add or change the iCloud.com email aliases for your account? Here's how.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Apple ID banner at the top.
3. Tap iCloud.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Mail.
5. Tap the switches next to the aliases you wish to use or disable.

How to delete files in iCloud

By default, Apple gives all users 5GB of free online storage space for backups, synced data, and photos. But as you might be well aware, when trying to clear physical space on your iPhone, 5GB is not a lot of storage. Here's how to try and free up even more space:

There are a few places in the Photos app you can visit to help spring clean your iCloud Photo Library and reduce its size. First, it's helpful to browse through your most recent images; if you have any extra selfies or extraneous video you no longer want to keep, that can help. You can even visit their dedicated folders in Photos > Albums: You can find storage space offenders in Selfies, Videos, Slo-Mo, Time-lapse, Bursts, Screenshots, and Panoramas.

Note: You can't currently delete files solely from iCloud or solely from your device — delete a photo or video from your iPhone, and it's gone everywhere. Instead, Apple intelligently manages what gets stored on your device and iCloud versus what only gets stored in iCloud.

Once you've done your initial sprucing, check the Recently Deleted album; it stores any images you've initially deleted for 30 days before getting rid of them for good — in case you've had a change of heart. If you just want those pictures gone, however, you can press Select, then Delete All to remove them from iCloud Photo Library.

In addition to storing your images and video, iCloud is designed to store your iPhone and iPad backups — and if you've been using an iPhone for a while, chances are you might have some old backups taking up valuable space. Here's the fix as it appears in iOS 10.3 or later:

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Tap the Apple ID banner at the top.
3. Tap iCloud.
4. Tap Manage Storage.

5. Tap Backup
6. Tap a device under Backups.

7. Tap Delete Backup.
8. Tap Turn Off & Delete in the pop-up.

You can use this method to delete multiple backups; just tap a different device in step 6 each time.

This should help relieve your iCloud account of any extraneous backup files.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

iTunes in the Cloud lets you access the content you've purchased from iTunes Store, the App Store, and iBooks Store from any device you have linked to your iTunes account. This lets you re-download previous purchases on your iPhone or iPad, as well as Macs or Windows PCs through iTunes. All of your content is also available on the Apple TV, making it easy to access no matter what screen you're using.

How to download music, apps, games, and more from iTunes and the App Store

The iTunes and App Stores are often central components in our digital lives, offering an ever-expanding catalog of music, movies, apps, games, and more for us to peruse and download. Thanks to iTunes in the Cloud, the stores also remember your purchases, letting you download them again at no extra charge if you've ever had to remove them.

• How to download music, movies, TV shows, and ringtones from the iTunes Store on iPhone and iPad
• How to download apps and games from the App Store

How to enable or disable automatic downloads with iTunes in the Cloud

Automatic download is an excellent, helpful feature of iOS, making it easy to download your purchases across multiple devices. Once you've enabled automatic downloads, anything you download or purchase on one device, including apps, books, movies, and music, will be available on your other devices as well. Buy a book on your iPhone? It's ready to go the next time you use your iPad, too. Using the Settings app, you can determine what type of content gets downloaded automatically to which device, and whether those downloads can use your cellular connection

• How to manage automatic downloads on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

How to watch movies and TV shows on Apple TV

The Apple TV not only lets you use services like Netflix, Hulu, and many other live and on-demand video service, but it also lets you access all your iTunes in the Cloud content for streaming. That means the movie you bought on your iPad is instantly available to stream on any Apple TV linked to your iTunes account.

• How to watch movies and TV shows on Apple TV

How to manage your iTunes account on your iPhone or iPad

Many of us have a single Apple ID that we use for all of our purchases. However, that isn't always the case. Perhaps you have purchases between two accounts or you've decided to merge accounts. Regardless of the reason, you can quickly sign out of one iTunes account and into another one using the Settings app on any iPhone and iPad. Just remember that due to licensing and regulatory restrictions, Apple only lets you switch between Apple IDs every 90 days in most countries.

• How to manage your iTunes account on your iPhone and iPad

How to de-authorize devices linked to your iTunes account

Maybe it's time to get rid of an older device by passing it down or trading it in. Maybe you've just had your device stolen, and need to protect your accounts. In any case, you'll want to de-authorize it from being able to access your iTunes account. This prevents future purchases on that device from being made using your iTunes account and payment information. If you ever use that device again, it's easy to restore access by simply signing in to iTunes.

• How to de-authorize devices linked to your iTunes account

The biggest difference is the new Files app, which completely replaces iOS 10's iCloud Drive app. But you'll also be able to share iCloud storage with your family, sync a lot more data types, and even get help setting up a new device.

Does the new Files app replace iCloud Drive?

It's true, in iOS 11, the iCloud Drive app is completely gone. In its place is the brand-new Files app, which shows all your files stored in iCloud, as well as third-party cloud services Box, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Baidu, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Google Drive.

In the new Files app, your iCloud Drive is listed as a location, and then all the files inside are just as you left them, with folder structures intact. The app has list and folder views, and lets you sort by name, date, size, and tags.

If for whatever reason, you're really not ready to give up iCloud Drive, no iOS 11 for you. You can't even reinstall it from the App Store without downgrading to iOS 10 first.

• iOS 11's Files app FAQ: Everything you need to know!

Any changes to iCloud Sharing?

When you share iCloud Drive files from the Files app with your contacts, they'll be able to view or edit them, or even collaborate. iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra will both feature this consolidated iCloud Sharing, and it's not limited to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

Presumably developers will be able to support this in their own apps too, so you can share and collaborate on all kinds of projects.

Will I finally be able to share iCloud data with my family?

Your days of buying everyone in the house their own iCloud data plan (and having to guess how much each person should get!) are over.

For starters, Apple is making it rain with gigabytes, increasing the $9.99/month tier of iCloud storage from 1TB to 2TB. (The other tiers are unchanged: 5GB for free, 50GB for $0.99, and 200GB for $2.99.)

And yes, now you can share that data with your family, with up to six people using one storage plan for backups, files, and photos. Presumably, each family member's files are only available to that person, unlike, say, Family Sharing of iTunes, iBooks, and App Store content.

The 200GB and 2TB plans are eligible for sharing, not the smaller ones. Family Sharing for data launches with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra this fall, but you can get the 2TB plan now.

• What iCloud storage plan should you get?

iMessage syncing

iOS 11 will be able to sync your iMessage data over iCloud, which means that messages you read and delete on one device don't still linger on the others. When you sign in on a new device, your old messages will show up automatically, and the growing archive will be automatically offloaded to iCloud leaving just your most recent ones on the device itself, which should help keep your backups smaller.

This is big. I've wanted to "start fresh" with a clean install of iOS before, instead of restoring to a backup, only to reconsider when faced with the prospect of years of old conversations going poof. And of course, the messages are encrypted end to end.

Can iCloud sync data from more apps now?

When you open up the Settings app, tap your Apple ID at the top of the page, and then tap iCloud, you'll notice toggle switches that sync a few new data types — Health, Siri, Weather, and Maps.

First is the Health app—it's off by default since Health data is so private. Also off by default is Siri data syncing over iCloud. Since you probably use Siri on more than one device, this setting should help Siri's machine learning get a more complete picture of you.

If you let iCloud sync data from the Weather app, when you add new cities to the Weather app on one device, they'll show up on all your devices. Finally, there's a switch to sync data in the Maps app. I hope this goes beyond just showing you locations you searched for on other devices, but that it also means Maps will be better at offering directions to places on my calendar or in my email, even if I've never searched for them in Maps before.

How does iCloud help with Automatic Setup?

Apple wants to save you some time when you get a new device running iOS 11. With the Automatic Setup feature, you can just point the new device's camera at one of your older trusted devices—iOS or Mac.

The new device will scan an animated code displayed on the older device's screen, just like the code that pops up on an Apple Watch when you're pairing it to an iPhone. That securely transfers your iCloud Keychain, and a lot of your settings and preferences.

This will be especially handy if it lets you start fresh without restoring from a backup, but still quickly get your settings just the way you like them. You'll be prompted to use, or skip, this feature when setting up a new device.

What about other App Store settings, including Offload Unused Apps?

When you tap your Apple ID at the top of the Settings app, you'll also see a menu for iTunes & App Stores. This has a couple of new options. One is a switch to prevent apps from begging you to rate them.

The other is "Offload Unused Apps," which will automatically delete apps you haven't used in a while, while keeping the app's data. That way, if you decide to reinstall the app, your data will be replaced, ready to greet you when you open it again.

Of course, if the app is no longer in the App Store, you're out of luck. The safer bet is to offload apps individually, which you can now do from the redesigned storage management screen in Settings > General > iPhone storage.

That pesky teaser slide of extra features, did it have any that are still mostly unexplained?

You know it did, my friend. "iCloud family Apple Music integration" is one, which could mean just an easier way to manage a family Apple Music plan from your iCloud settings, or perhaps a better way to listen to family members' playlists. (After all, Apple Music is getting social features in iOS 11, but there's no reason you'd need to be in a family group to use them.)

Another tease is "iCloud remote backup," which hopefully means you can back up any iCloud device from one location, like the Settings app or iCloud.com.

Neither seems to be live in the developer beta so far. Oh, and then there's the trash-everywhere feature...

Trash everywhere?!

Yes, iOS 11 will also sport a unified iCloud Drive trash, which could wind up saving your bacon someday, who knows. You're welcome.

An iCloud email alias allows people to send email to your iCloud account without ever having to divulge your true email address. This not only helps secure your account against potential malicious users on the web, but you can also use aliases to signup for mailing lists and other miscellany — and delete them if the list turns into too much spam or junk.

Here's how you can create and manage your iCloud email aliases for your best MacBook, best iPhone, and best iPad.

How to create and manage iCloud email aliases

While you can create brand new iCloud accounts on your iPhone, you'll have to go to your Mac to create an alias.

1. Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. Click Mail.
3. Click the gear icon on the bottom left of the window.
4. Click Preferences.

5. Click Accounts.
6. Click Add an alias…
7. Enter an alias for your iCloud email address. You can also choose to label the address to indicate how it's used (ex. for shopping or for business).
8. Click OK.
9. Click Close and Done or continue to make more aliases using the same steps.

To delete an alias, you need only select it and click Delete.

How to manage iCloud aliases on your iPhone

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen.
3. Tap the iCloud section.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Mail.
5. Under Allow Sending From, toggle the email aliases you'd like to use on your iPhone or iPad.

How to manage iCloud aliases on your Mac

1. Open the Mail app.
2. Go to Mail > Preferences.
3. Select the Accounts tab.
4. Choose your iCloud account from the sidebar.
5. Click on the Email Address dropdown.
6. Select the Edit Email Addresses toggle.
7. You'll be transferred to the iCloud.com website. Enter your username and password and any two-factor authentication, if applicable.
8. Adjust your email aliases as necessary.

Protect your email, use an alias

Aliases — they're not just for movie stars. Now you know how to create aliases for your email accounts so you don't have to divulge sensitive information if you don't want to. This will keep your accounts safe and secure from malicious users of all kinds, so you can rest assured knowing your email is protected. 

In iOS 10.3, you now have the ability to see every device connected to your iCloud account, thanks to everything iCloud being in one spot in your Settings. You can remove old devices you don't use anymore (or devices that shouldn't be there), make sure the devices you want connected are connected, and more.

Here's how.

• How to check if your device is connected
• How to enable/disable Find My iPhone and iCloud Backup
• How to check your device's model, serial number, IMEI, and OS version
• How to remove cards from Apple Pay
• How to remove a device

How to check if your device is connected

If you want to see what's connected to your iCloud account or you want to make sure a particular device is connected, you can now do so in iOS 10.3.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID (your name) at the top.

All devices connected to your iCloud account will appear, including Apple TVs and Macs/MacBooks. This will even include past phones that might not even exist anymore.

How to enable/disable Find My iPhone and iCloud Backup

You can remotely enable and disable Find My iPhone and iCloud Backup.

Note that for iCloud Backup, the device must be on and connected to the internet.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID (your name) at the top.
3. Scroll down and tap a device (an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch).
4. Enter your iCloud password if prompted and tap OK.
5. Answer security questions if prompted and tap Verify.
6. Tap Find My iPhone or iCloud Backup.

7. Tap the switch to enable or disable the feature.
8. Enter your Apple ID password if prompted.
9. Tap Turn Off for Find My iPhone or OK for iCloud Backup.

Note that if the device is still signed in and connected to the internet, it'll re-appear.

How to check your device's model, serial number, IMEI, and OS version

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID (your name) at the top.
3. Tap a device.
4. Enter your iCloud password if promopted.
5. Enter the answers to security questions if prompted.

All of the device's information will appear under Device Info.

How to remove cards from Apple Pay

If you have old devices with credit cards on them or just want to remove expired cards from your current iPhone, you can do so easily, thanks to that new user banner.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID (your name) at the top.
3. Tap a device.
4. Enter your iCloud password if promopted.
5. Enter the answers to security questions if prompted.

6. Tap Remove Card under Apple Pay.
7. Tap Remove in the pop-up.

How to remove a device

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap your Apple ID (your name) at the top.
3. Scroll down and tap a device (an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch).
4. Enter your iCloud password if promopted.
5. Enter the answers to security questions if prompted.

6. Tap Remove From Account.
7. Tap Remove in the pop-up.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below.

Apple has added another set of data sharing analysis to its Diagnostics & Usage section (called Analytics in 10.12.4). You can now allow Apple to automatically collect usage data from your Mac for your iCloud account to help the company improve Siri and other features. Remember, Apple uses differential privacy to sift through your data, so it isn't associated with you or your account. That being said, you may still want to opt out of sharing your iCloud account data and usage with Apple. Here's how.

Note: Share iCloud Analytics is a part of macOS 10.12.4 and later.

How to opt out of sharing iCloud analytics from your Mac

If you don't want to share your iCloud data and usage on your Mac, you can opt out from System Preferences.

1. Click the Apple menu () icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
2. Select System Preferences from the drop down menu.

3. Click on Security & Privacy.
4. Click on the Privacy tab.

5. Select Analytics from the sidebar on the left.
6. Un-tick the box for Share iCloud Analytics.

You will no longer share your iCloud data and usage information with Apple.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about sharing your iCloud data and usage with Apple and how to opt-out of it? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

I'll give you the full disclaimer: There is no way to simple delete photos from iCloud on your iPhone without deleting them everywhere. Because your iCloud account is connected to your iPhone's photos, simply selecting and deleting the ones you don't want on your iPhone would subsequently mean having those photos disappear in your iCloud account.

Now before you click out of this article going "THANKS, CELLA, THAT WAS SUPER HELPFUL ", know that there are a number of ways you can save your photos from your iCloud account without giving yourself a migraine.

Here are a couple of tactics you can use to save your iCloud photos so you can finally delete them off your iPhone!

• How to download a photo or video from your iCloud Photo library
• How to quickly send your photos to your Mac (so you can delete them off your iPhone)
• How to send your photos to another storage drive

How to download a photo or video from your iCloud Photo library

1. Launch any web browser and go to iCloud.com.
2. Click on the Photos icon from the main menu.

3. Click the Download selected item icon in the upper right corner.
4. The photo or video will begin downloading automatically.

How to quickly send your photos to your Mac (so you can delete them off your iPhone)

Before you import your photos from your phone, make sure AirDrop is turned on.

1. Launch the Photos app from your homescreen.
2. Tap Select in the upper-right corner.
3. Tap the photos and videos you would like to import to Photos for Mac.

4. Tap the share icon in the lower-left corner. It looks like a box with an arrow coming out of the top of it.
5. Tap the Mac you would like to send your photos or videos to.
6. On your Mac, click accept in the prompt that appears in the upper right corner.

Now that your photos have been transferred to your Mac, you can choose where you'd like to save them. Once you've confirmed they're stored away safely, you can delete them on your iPhone!

How to send your photos or videos to another storage drive

Whether you're using Dropbox, Google Photos, Google Drive (or whatever!), uploading your photos from your iPhone to another storage device can potentially make things a little bit easier so you can delete them off your iPhone!

1. Launch your preferred storage device app (mine is Google Drive).
2. Tap the plus sign in the lower right corner in the big blue bubble.
3. Tap Upload.

4. Tap Photos and Videos or iCloud Drive.
5. Tap to select the photos and videos you would like to upload.
6. Tap upload in the upper right corner.

Your photos will be uploaded to your new storage device and you can delete them off your iPhone for good!

How do you save your iCloud photos?

Are you someone who likes to keep all your photos or videos in one place? Are you working on keeping yourself more organized?

How do you use iCloud? Let us know what your preferences are in the comments below!

Edward Majerczyk — a hacker who used phishing scams to gain access to celebrities' iCloud accounts — has pleaded guilty, and will face up to five years in federal prison. Majerczyk was able to access over 300 Gmail and iCloud accounts, with at least 30 accounts belonging to celebrities.

In an official statement (via The Verge), FBI assistant director Deirdre Fike said:

Majerczyk is the second person to plead guilty to hacking into celebrities' accounts, after Ryan Collins also confessed earlier this year. While both are charged with gaining "unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information," the court did not find any evidence tying them to the distribution of explicit content:

I have two Apple TVs: One for my living room, and one for my much-tinier office TV screen to test tvOS betas and take screenshots. I didn't intend to pick up two Apple TVs — a result of my sister and I not coordinating and buying our parents the same Christmas gift — but I'll admit, having one for testing purposes is pretty nice when your job involves writing about Apple TV.

Setting up that second Apple TV, however, wasn't so nice. That's because, unlike your iPhone or iPad, Apple doesn't back up your Apple TV apps and settings to iCloud. If you purchase a new Apple TV and want to set it up, you're doing so from scratch.

Apps, begone

When it came to the third-generation Apple TV, you didn't have to set up much: You needed to enter a Wi-Fi password and your Apple ID, and hide any pre-installed apps you didn't care for. The fourth-generation Apple TV is a different beast entirely, largely because of its app population.

When you buy a new or second Apple TV for your house, you can automatically set up your Wi-Fi and Apple ID, but when it comes to reconfiguring your apps — and any personal data within them — you have to do it one-by-one, via the Purchased screen. Apple kindly offers a Not on This Apple TV section so that you can quickly see what apps you're missing, but it's a hassle: You can't batch download apps.

Those apps also don't retain their data and preferences unless they've been syncing to iCloud. If your games offer iCloud sync, you might retain levels and power-ups, but if they don't — or if the implementation is done poorly — you're starting over.

A version of iCloud's backup service for Apple TV could fix much of this, allowing you to keep your app data intact, avoid lengthy app re-downloading, and save your Settings customizations. Even if you didn't have a second Apple TV, a backup is useful in the event your current hardware breaks for any reason.

The other backup problem

Even with Apple offering a backup service, there's one problem iCloud can't fix. Many Apple TV streaming apps have their own separate usernames and passwords; if I have to re-download Hulu to a new Apple TV, that means reentering my information to log in.

This has been a problem since the first iPhone backup, to no great surprise. Apple doesn't want to be responsible for saving your personal logins inside an app, nor does the company want to make it easy to get into your other accounts if someone nefarious manages to execute a restore.

But there has to be an easier way. Some apps have built in pseudo two-factor authentication on the Apple TV as a way to avoid slide-typing with the Apple TV remote or praying password dictation works as promised: When you launch an app for the first time, it displays a six digit code and asks you to visit a website on your Mac to confirm you want to use your account on this Apple TV. This is a much nicer process, overall, for reactivating accounts.

Given the iPhone's support for Bluetooth and tap-activation, however, this could be even easier: For example, if you have the Hulu app on both your iPhone and new Apple TV, the Hulu TV app could prompt you to "tap" your iPhone to the Apple TV to transfer login data — just as you do during your initial Apple TV setup.

The design factor

Apple had a lot of work to do on the new Apple TV before it shipped last November, and important features got left on the drawing table for it to ship on time. That included high-value stuff like Dictation, full access to iCloud Photo Library, and some Siri commands — all of which are in the latest tvOS 9.2 update.

As such, I understand why backing up or restoring from backup wasn't at the top of the Apple TV and tvOS team's list: Ultimately, I don't think most users are going to have multiple Apple TVs, and the need to restore from backup is (hopefully) rare.

But there is a need there: App developers who install beta software may need to restore malfunctioning Apple TV units. Those buying a new Apple TV for family members may want to set it up with a lot of the same apps or logins as their own. And if your own Apple TV breaks, iCloud backup can save you a lot of the heartache of reassembling your app collection.

What do you think, iMore? Would you use an iCloud backup service for Apple TV, or are there more pressing matters Apple should deal with? Let us know in the comments.

Ryan Collins has pleaded guilty to unauthorized access to a computer in a trial where he has been charged with hacking (via Engadget) more than 50 iCloud and 70 Gmail accounts. Collins admitted to gaining access between November 2012 and September 2014 to search through accounts for explicit material. Affected celebrities included the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton.

On a positive note, the leak wasn't down to a security flaw with Apple's platforms. He is looking to face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, but assistant director at the Los Angeles FBI branch David Bowdich urges consumers to be smart while online and employ secure passwords.

The investigation isn't quite over yet, but we'll stand by Bowdich here and urge you all to be smart online, make sure your passwords are randomly generated, are of sufficient length and complexity and aren't used for more than one account.

In the beginning — 1994, to be exact — there was eWorld. It was weird, expensive, and poorly marketed. To no one's surprise, it went away.

Six years later, there was iTools. iTools begat .Mac; .Mac begat MobileMe — and a lot of yelling; MobileMe begat iCloud.

The genealogy is a little sparse on worldly details, I'll admit: eWorld was released at a time when the Mac was sagging, and it used AOL's technology to get off the ground. In contrast, by the time iTools was announced — (at the same keynote as the debut of the Aqua interface at Macworld 2000 —  Apple had some major Internet technologies of its own in play:

• QuickTime 4 with Internet streaming
• Mac OS 9 with Sherlock 2 and Internet-ready features like keychains and multiple users
• Apple.com was seeing 9.5 million visitors a week
• Apple's online store was doing $1 billion worth of business a year — with the storefront using the company's WebObjects technology.

Macworld 2000 also marked the introduction of a new tabbed design to Apple's website, making the site easier to use and navigate.

The redesign highlighted three new pillars in Apple's Internet strategy: iReview, iCards, and iTools.

iReview

iReview housed reviews and rankings of other websites. Initial reviews were written by Apple employees, and the site launched with 250 published reviews. That number grew slowly, as personal Mac users could append to existing reviews, but not create new ones.

"We're going to do to website reviews," Steve Jobs said, "as Amazon has done for CDs and books."

iReview was pitched as a trusted advisor for people exploring the Internet, but it was short-lived. Apple shuttered the site in February 2001 due to low interest.

iCards

Apple also introduced iCards, a section of the company's website where users could go to create and send virtual greeting cards.

Arguably, Apple's cards were better-looking and classier than those offered by other greeting card sites at the time. That likely contributed to iCards's eight-year run — the page was shuttered in 2008 with the release of MobileMe.

Digital cards were nice, but the ability to create fully-custom digital and physical cards (and other stationary) within iPhoto and Aperture — and later, Photos and the now-discontinued Cards for iOS) app — ultimately doomed the website.

iTools

While in hindsight, iReview and iCards may not have been long-term winners, the final piece of Apple's 2000-era puzzle built the foundation for Apple's modern Internet applications suite.

During iTools's introduction, Jobs discussed that owning both the client OS and the server-side components allowed Apple to create an "entirely new class of Internet services" exclusively for Mac users, free of charge.

iTools was made up of four "revolutionary" products, as shown on this page from OS X's welcome guide:

Touted as a "breakthrough approach" to protect kids on the Internet, KidSafe wasn't an Internet filter; instead, it was a directory of family-friendly websites.

The former, Jobs said, just couldn't keep up with the rapid growth of the Internet. KidSafe was a whitelist of approved sites, rather than an incomplete filter of material that shouldn't be seen by children. It launched with 50,000 websites its directory, all approved by teachers and librarians.

In August 2001, Apple shuttered KidSafe, pointing parents to other sources help keep their kids safe online. However, OS X's Parental Controls system still allows for a whitelist of sites to be used in order to limit kids' browsing:

With iTools, users could sign up for email addresses at @mac.com. The Apple-run email service provided users with features like auto-reply and auto-forward.

The original mac.com email system didn't have any webmail; users had to configure their email clients to talk to the system over POP.

Mac.com email addresses later became me.com in the MobileMe age, before being replaced with icloud.com. Though you can no longer acquire a new mac.com or me.com address, you can spot early iTools users by their mac.com aliases, which are still active and useable.

iDisk offered users 20MB (yes, MB!) of Internet storage, hosted on Apple's servers. Instead of fiddling with FTP settings, iDisk was baked into Mac OS 9 — there was an icon for it right on the Desktop.

iDisk worked like a regular folder on the system; dragging files in to or out of iDisk would copy them to or from the server. And files in the Public directory were easily shared with other iTools users.

Starting in July 2000, Apple allowed users to purchase up to 400 extra megabytes at a yearly rate of a $1 per megabyte.

While features like the local syncing of files were a few years away, out of all the Internet technologies introduced during Macworld 2000, iDisk perhaps is the most important historically.

Here's part of Kyle D'Addario's reaction after some hands-on time 16 years ago:

If that sounds familiar, it's because Internet-based file sharing is now ubiquitous — thanks not only to Apple, but to companies like Dropbox and Box as well.

The final piece of the iTools package was HomePage, an online program that let users build custom websites without needing to code. HomePage used iDisk as a shuttle for local content like photo albums, movies and more.

Building out a site was as simple as picking a theme, selecting content from iDisk and hitting the publish button. Even in 2016, creating a website isn't that simple for most people.

iTools' legacy

In addition to all of the tech that iTools presented, it brought to life a new partnership. Apple invested in EarthLink, to bring the ISP's service to Mac users in a concise way. However, the technology is the big story here. While iTools was launched at the end of the iOS 9 era, it also made the transition to OS X.

While its easy to focus on the OS X transition when thinking about this timeframe in Apple's history, I believe that the company's Internet strategy was vitally important, as well. Mac OS 9 brought a lot of Internet-based tools to the Mac in a new way, while the hardware made it easier than ever to connect.

Of course, like all things, this strategy changed quickly. In July 2002, the much more modern .Mac replaced iTools, offering IMAP and webmail, additional iDisk space and a much improved HomePage, but those upgrades didn't come without cost: .Mac was $99/year, as was MobileMe in 2008.

While many things from Apple's 2000-era Internet strategy haven't made the journey to the present, much of the core ideals persist. With iCloud, Apple has once again reverted to the free-with-paid-storage-upgrades model. And iCloud offers webmail, cloud storage and deep integration with Apple's operating systems, just like its predecessor introduced 16 years ago.

As for reliability, well... that's another story for another day.

Apple has updated its iCloud website, adding a section for Find My Friends. This lets iCloud users locate their friends on a desktop should they not be able to use their iOS devices. It's icon is on the second row, right next to the Find iPhone icon.

Find My Friends, which displays the location of your friends on a map, assuming they choose share it, has been around on iOS for some time now. It was even integrated into the system as part of iOS 9.

Source: iCloud.com

Apple has introduced a new feature for iCloud on the web that allows you to restore deleted items. Not only can you recover files that you've deleted, but also restore contacts, calendars, and reminders. This new feature also shows you how long it will be until those items are permanently deleted if you choose not to restore them.

To access these advanced options, sign in to iCloud.com, and head to the Settings section. At the bottom left of the screen, you'll see the Advanced, Restore Files, Restore Contacts, and Restore Calendars and Reminders options. Choosing one of those will open a panel that shows you your deleted documents or archived contacts and calendars.

Picking a document will restore it to iCloud Drive. Contacts and calendars work a bit differently. Rather than restoring a deleted contact, calendar, or reminder, iCloud will replace your current contacts or calendars an archive of your previous setups. You current configurations will be saved in an archive of their own. It's important to note that any shared calendars that are restored will need to be re-shared with other users, as iCloud won't restore that.

You should be able to find these new settings by heading to iCloud.com now.

Source: Apple; Via: 9to5Mac

However, for a small number of people, iTunes file caching seems to be eating up more space on their devices. This happens when iTunes doesn't properly delete the cached files once you're done streaming a video. This can result in your "Other" storage growing to a tremendous size, and the dreaded "out of storage" message popping up on your iPhone or iPad. This is exactly the issue our reader John is having:

If you're having the same issue John is, follow along for some tips on how to free up your storage and get Videos working properly again!

Make sure you're using the latest version of iOS

Apple has provided fixes for this issue at least twice in the recent past, once with iOS 7.1 and again with iOS 8.1.3. Both those fixes helped some people, and if you haven't updated yet, they could help you as well. If you aren't sure how to check for and install iOS updates on your iPhone or iPad, you can follow our guide:

• How to upgrade iOS on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad using Software update
• How to upgrade iOS on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad using iTunes

Sign out of and back into iTunes

If you're already on the most current version of iOS and are still having the issue, signing out of iTunes and then signing back in can fix the problem.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on iTunes & App Store.
3. Tap on your Apple ID at the very top.
4. Tap on Sign Out in the popup menu.
5. Reboot your iPhone or iPad and sign back in.

Since cached files are associated with your iTunes account, this should flush them. You can verify by going into Settings > General > Usage > About and seeing if your storage has freed up some. If it hasn't, continue on.

Restore your iPhone or iPad

Restoring is always a last result but if none of the steps above have resulted in your video cache being cleared, it may be time to completely restore your device. You can do this with iTunes or iCloud. Just backup and restore, and the cached video files should be gone.

• How tor restore your iPhone or iPad without iTunes
• How to restore your iPhone or iPad with iTunes

What worked for you?

If you were having the same issue John was, what solution worked for you, if any? Be sure to let me know in the comments. And as always, if you found another solution to this problem that we missed, let me know that too!

If you have an Apple ID, including an iTunes account, you have an iCloud account. You just have to use it. Since you can toggle each and every iCloud feature on or off on in your iPhone or iPad Settings, or your Mac System Preferences, the question then becomes, which iCloud services are you using?

Is iCloud handling your mail and syncing your contacts, calendars, reminders, Safari bookmarks, notes, Passbook passes, and other personal data? Is iCloud Drive storing your files and making them available on all your devices? Is iCloud Photo Library keeping all your photos available on every device? Is iCloud Keychain handling your passwords and credit card information? Is Find my iPhone tracking your iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac in case you lose it or it gets stolen?

Vote in the poll above and then let me know the details in the comments below. Which iCloud services are you using and why? And if you aren't using some, why not?

Good news for people wanting to use Apple's productivity software: starting tonight, anyone, with or without a Mac or iOS device, will be able to create an Apple ID and sign in to the iCloud beta website to start using Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free.

When users visit beta.icloud.com, they will be presented with a banner at the top of the page prompting them to create an Apple ID. Afterwards, in addition to gaining access to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, the free accounts will also grant 1GB of free cloud storage to users.

This is a great way for Apple to extend its services beyond its own devices, as now even PC users can start using the company's productivity suite. It is important to note, however, that this currently only works from the beta version of the iCloud website. If you'd like to give it a shot, hit up that source link below to get started.

Source: iCloud Beta

A few weeks ago, I put a call out on Twitter for Continuity-based copy/paste apps:

Since 2010, I'd been using Syncopy to sync clipboards between my Macs; unfortunately, the app had been virtually untouched since its release, and it got buggier with every OS X release. And that's not even talking about its iOS support, which was minimal and very quickly outmoded.

So, 2015 around the corner. Time for a new app to sync my clipboard. What better resource to turn to than Twitter? And though I didn't find a Continuity-based app, the iCloud-based ones I did find are pretty fantastic.

If you want share multiple clipboard entries

My first app came as a recommendation from Kirk McElhearn: CloudClip looks very similar to Syncopy on first glance, offering you a menubarlet that lets you sync the last 15 text, website, phone number, email, or map clips. The sync goes in both directions — anything you copy on your Mac will automatically be uploaded to CloudClip's database, and anything you copy on your iOS device will upload after you open the CloudClip app.

CloudClip's smart clipboard recognizes when you've captured a phone number or other piece of "rich" information, and it shows up accordingly. This is particularly cool if you copy something like a map address on your Mac and open the CloudClip manager on your iPhone — tapping the address's icon will automatically open the Maps app (Google or Apple) on your iOS device. (Tapping the address itself will copy it.)

CloudClip can also exclude clipboard entries from programs like 1Password, to prevent you from uploading potentially sensitive information.

Its one (potentially big) omission comes in the form of images: Simply put, CloudClip won't sync them. If you try and copy an image directly from the web, CloudClip will grab its web location, but not the image itself. As such, it may not be a perfect solution if you're looking to share images as well as your text clipboards.

CloudClip also requires that you open the app on iOS to sync the most recent clipboard entries from your Mac, which might be clunky if you want to instantly paste the last entry from your Mac to your iOS device.

But I like it for text, I like the easy access to my last 15 copies, and I especially like how quickly everything propagates across Macs and iOS devices alike.

If you want to sync images and have instant copy/paste between Mac and iOS

The other big copy/paste option in the sync space is Danilo Torrisi's Command-C, a menubarlet on OS X that lets you manually share your clipboard to iOS over Wi-Fi, and vice versa.

Unlike CloudClip, which automatically syncs anything you copy across devices, you have to initiate a Command-C sync for your most recent clipboard item. To do so, you'll need both devices on the same Wi-Fi network; from there, copy an item on your Mac and Command-C uses iOS's background app refresh to appear as a notification on your device and instantly copy that information to your clipboard.

Command-C is great if you'd prefer to target your clipboard saves to specific devices, and those devices are all on the same network. And it syncs images — something CloudClip distinctly lacks.

Which app should you pick up?

So which app is better, Command-C or CloudClip? It really depends on your use case.

For me, I copy very few items that contain sensitive information, and I'd prefer my clipboard sync be passive, rather than actively initiated. I also like having access to previous clipboard snaps on all my devices. But that said, I've also been using Command-C a fair amount to send GIFs over from my Mac to my iOS devices, or URLs I want to instantly sync. As such, I've ended up keeping both apps on my devices; I just use them for slightly different things.

What about you, folks? Do you need to sync your clipboards between devices? Have an alternate app you love and I should check out? Anyone developing an actual Continuity-based clipboard application? Sound off in the comments.

As a long time user of Apple's cloud services dating back to iTools (and even dabbling with AppleLink back in the day), I just assumed that most people used iCloud. Until I started working at an Apple reseller and helping people with their Macs and iOS devices. And that's when I discovered that a lot of people don't. What's more, if they do start using iCloud and later change their minds, Apple makes decoupling from the service absolutely terrifying.

iCloud is by most measures a pretty clear success: More than a year ago, Apple counted more than 300 million users, and it's gone up quite a bit since then.

If you're one of the hundreds of millions of iCloud users, you're probably wondering why people wouldn't use it, or would disconnect. The reasons vary. The number one reason I hear from my customers is that they don't trust "the cloud" to begin with. They're nervous about putting any more information online than they have to.

They certainly recognize the benefit of syncing data through iCloud, having shared content to work with through iCloud drive, and being able to share and stream photos online, but that doesn't mean they trust Apple any more than they trust Google or any other service with that data. And well-publicized incidents like the celebrity nude photos scandal earlier this year breed further distrust.

As far as disconnecting is concerned, reasons vary: Some folks grow gradually more distrustful of iCloud and want to separate from it. Some, like me, have actually had problems that require us to disconnect, albeit temporarily, to see if we can resolve issues.

The problem is that Apple absolutely does as much as it can to dissuade users from iCloud — especially casual ones who may not understand a lot of technical intricacies that many of us take for granted. When you try, your Mac throws up a bunch of really scary messages.

The new Continuity features in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 are great, but they're not bulletproof. I have had problems where my iPhone and Mac work great one day, but don't the next.

Troubleshooting the problem led me to try to decouple my Mac from iCloud, just temporarily, to see if signing back in would fix it (it turns out did). But in the process of signing off, this is what I saw:

...and so on.

Now, I'm sure you understand what those messages mean. And I certainly do too. The local content that's synced through iCloud is, at least in some cases, going to be deleted off the Mac.

It doesn't mean that I'm not going to be able to reconnect to iCloud and re-sync all my information. But for the average Muggle who doesn't necessarily read those error messages carefully, one thing pops out more than anything: The word "delete."

And that's a scary word for many people, because it means "I'm going to lose something that I have now."

Maybe that's enough. But I've talked with enough customers who feel resentful that they think they're being held hostage by Apple's cloud services to know that this process is intimidating. "Intimidating" should never be a word that we associate with the Mac (or iOS) user experience.

Of course, in my case, none of this would have been necessary if the new Continuity features had just worked the way they were supposed to. Which is another rant for a different day.

Authorizing an iPhone, iPod, iPad, Mac, or PC on your iTunes account means you can uses it buy new apps, music, movies, TV Shows, and iBooks, re-download previous purchases, access iTunes Match and more. Because of licensing agreements, you can only have 10 devices total, and a maximum of 5 computers total, authorized on your iTunes account at any one time. Once you hit 10, you'll have to remove an old device to add a new one. If you give away, sell, or lose a device, you might want to remove it as well. Luckily the process it fairly straightforward and can be done right from iTunes on any Mac or PC.

1. Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC.
2. Click on your name in the upper right hand corner of iTunes. In the menu, click on Account Info.
3. Type in your iTunes password when prompted in order to continue.
4. When your account loads, click on Manage Devices under the iTunes in the Cloud section.
5. Click on Remove next to the devices you want to remove.

The secondhand market for used iPhones and iPads is hot, and unfortunately so are some the devices being sold on it. To try and protect people from buying devices that turn out to have been lost, stolen, or otherwise misappropriated, Apple has created a new Activation Lock Status checker on iCloud.com

Activation Lock is a feature designed to make iPhones and iPads less appealing to thieves. It debuted in iOS 7 and prevents anyone from restoring or otherwise taking over an iPhone or iPad without first entering the Apple ID password of the owner. The theory is, if the device can't be used, it becomes little more than a glass and aluminum paper weight, it's value drops, and so people are less likely to steal them.

Of course, it can't stop thieves who have unwittingly stolen Activation Lock protected iPhones and iPads from trying to pawn them off anyway. That's where the Activation Lock Status checker comes in. Take the EMEI or serial number, enter it in, and iCloud.com will tell you its status.

Unfortunately, the Activation Lock Status checker currently only works on the web, and only on a desktop browser. That means you can check an IMEI or serial number emailed or texted to you, if you think you can trust it, or you can bring a laptop with you to an in-person sale, but you can't yet just read it off and plug it into your iPhone or iPad to check. (Of course it's not hard to imagine Apple adding that functionality to a future Find My Friends app update.)

If you occasionally or routine buy and/or sell your iPhones and iPads on the secondhand market, let me know — how useful will the Activation Lock Status checker be to you?

The launch of iOS 8 brought with it the launch of iCloud Drive, and... a whole lot of confusion. Apple stated during the WWDC keynote that while iCloud Drive was coming to both the Mac and iOS, there would not be a standalone iCloud Drive app. That's not a problem with OS X Yosemite because it's built right into the Finder, but iOS doesn't have a Finder either, so the only way to access iCloud Drive on an iPhone or iPad is through an app like Numbers, Keynote, Pages, or an App Store app. Cue the internet pitchforks and torches. So, what's really going on with iCloud Drive on iOS, and how can you get to your files?

There is no iCloud Drive app in iOS 8, so don't look for one

iCloud Drive is currently only available inside of apps that support it and have a use for it, as far as iOS is concerned. Yesterday alone I saw about 20 to 30 of the apps I use update to support both Document Picker and iCloud Drive. For example, PDF Expert by Readdle supports iCloud Drive. What this means is that I can choose to save a document to iCloud Drive with PDF Expert, and I can also pull documents that I already have in iCloud Drive into PDF Expert.

Essentially, iCloud Drive is hooking into third party apps and Apple's own apps much in the same way many developers have been linking with Dropbox and Google Drive for years. The main difference? There is no iCloud Drive app available for iOS. At least not at this point.

So how is this any different than how iCloud handled documents before?

At this point, iCloud Drive will act as a single repository for all files you choose to save to it through other apps. The main difference is what apps can access them. For example, prior to iOS 8 if I created a document in PDF Expert, I was very limited with what other apps could use that document. For the most part, it was stuck in PDF Expert, or whatever document I created it in. If I then deleted that app, my documents and files went with it. Of course you could choose to not discard files stored in iCloud, but unless you re-installed that app again, you had very limited access, if any, to those files.

This is no longer the case with iCloud Drive. If you create a file in one app, it can then be housed in iCloud Drive and opened in any app that also supports iCloud Drive and that particular file format. In other words, think of iCloud Drive as yet another option like Dropbox for you to save files to and bring files in from. The main difference? There is no dedicated iCloud Drive app to manage in iOS like you can with services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

So how do I get my files into iCloud Drive?

In short, you'll need to wait until Apple officially releases OS X Yosemite. On desktop computers, iCloud Drive will be treated in the exact same way that services like Dropbox and Google Drive are treated. You'll be able to drag files to it, rearrange them, and of course, access them with any compatible apps. Any files that you place in iCloud Drive on your Mac or PC will then instantly be available to any apps that support those file types in iOS. Windows users ironically can already update to iCloud Control Panel 4.0 right now and access iCloud Drive. Mac users just need to wait a little longer.

The bottom line

iCloud Drive will offer a lot more manual control over files in OS X Yosemite next month. Windows users can upgrade iCloud Control Panel right now and enjoy iCloud Drive support. However, iCloud Drive is not an all-in-one replacement for apps like Dropbox and Google Drive where iOS is concerned, at least not yet. If you want to organize and access files in one single app on the go from your iPhone or iPad, you'll still need to use a service like Dropbox or Google Drive.

For those that want a better technical explanation of iCloud Drive and Document Picker, be sure to hit the link below as Rene does a great job explaining both.

• iCloud Drive and Document Picker for iOS 8: Explained
• How to set up and use iCloud Drive
• Why you may want to hold off on upgrading to iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is Apple's solution to document and file management across iOS and Mac. If you have an iCloud account, you can use iCloud Drive. Subscriptions range from free all the way to $19.99 a month, depending on your storage needs. If you aren't sure where to start, we can walk you through the set up process and how to start using iCloud Drive!

• How to enable iCloud Drive manually on iPhone and iPad
• How to choose an iCloud Drive subscription plan
• How to use iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad

How to enable iCloud Drive manually on iPhone and iPad

When you upgrade to iOS initially, you should be prompted on whether or not you'd like to upgrade to iCloud Drive. If you said yes, you don't need to do anything further and can continue to the next section. However, if you said no, you can enable iCloud Drive in just a few taps by following these steps:

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher.
2. Tap on iCloud.
3. Tap on iCloud Drive.
4. Turn On the option for iCloud Drive.

You may receive a popup warning if you have other iOS and OS X devices that aren't currently using iCloud Drive. Remember that all of them must be updated for compatibility to work between all of them. So just repeat this process on all of them.

How to choose an iCloud Drive subscription plan

By default, iCloud Drive comes with 5GB of space for free. This is the same amount you previously received for iCloud backups. If you don't feel this is enough, you can subscribe to more storage. Or if you already are paying for an iCloud subscription, you can change it to best fit your current needs.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on iCloud.
3. Tap on Storage.
4. Tap on Change Storage Plan.
5. Choose the storage plan that best suits your needs by tapping on it.
6. Tap Buy in the upper right hand corner.
7. Sign in with your iCloud account in order to finish the purchase.

That's it. Your storage space will immediately change to reflect the subscription you've selected. If you aren't exactly sure which storage plan is best for your needs, you can check out our guide on selecting the iCloud Drive plan that's right for you via the link below:

• A guide to picking the iCloud Drive storage plan that's right for you

How to use iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad

The great thing about iCloud Drive for iOS is that it just works. There's nothing for you to do or configure. As long as you're signed into your iCloud Drive account, any apps that support iCloud Drive will give you options to open and save documents to it. In the example above, you can see that not only can you choose to save documents and files to iCloud Drive from Scanner Pro, you can also navigate through folders and choose where you'd like to save them.

One of the best features of iCloud Drive is how it works in conjunction with Mac and Windows. Dump any documents you want into iCloud Drive and they'll instantly be available to any app that supports them on iOS, and vice versa.

You can find all of your iCloud Drive files, documents, and folders in the iCloud Drive app.

When you upgrade to iOS 8, you're asked if you want to activate iCloud Drive.If you're running other devices that aren't being upgraded to iOS 8, or if you have a Mac, it's best to say no for right now. Here's why.

iCloud Drive enables you to share files in the cloud. But iCloud Drive doesn't have backward compatibility with iOS 7, and on the Mac, iCloud Drive won't be supported until OS X Yosemite is available.

• How to set up and use iCloud Drive on iPhone and iPad

iCloud Drive provides a framework for you to share files in the cloud, and it's also how apps that depend on iCloud will sync their content. That's going to create some problems if you've got software that you depend on — and devices that you depend on — which can't all sync through iCloud Drive.

As an example, Nik Fletcher with Realmac Software posted a FAQ explaining the issue as it affects their Clear software, which relies on iCloud for syncing:

Day One, the popular journaling software that runs on iOS and OS X, has posted a similar warning in their support forums:

Similarly, Ginger Labs, makers of the popular note-taking tool Notability, warned its users that syncing will be disabled between iOS and OS X versions of its app until Yosemite is out:

Bottom line: If you're only using one device, if all your devices have been upgraded to iOS 8, and if you're running the Yosemite Public Beta or a Developer Preview release of Yosemite and you're comfortable with how things are going, then you can probably pull the trigger on iCloud Drive safely.

But if you're still using Mavericks and iOS 7 on some devices and you rely on iCloud to sync data, hold off until you're ready to move everything up to the newest release. And for Mac users, that may be a wait of several weeks as work continues on OS X Yosemite.

Ahead of its iOS 8 roll-out on Wednesday, Apple has revived the two-factor authentication security system for iCloud. Two-factor authentication will bring increased security to iCloud by allowing users to tie in a verified SMS number or connected device, making it harder for an unauthorized user to hack an iCloud account even if they have your password or log-in credentials.

With two-factor authentication, Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and iWork will be more secured, though your device's location information via the Find My iPhone system will still be accessible without the added security layer to make it easy for owners to track and find lost or stolen devices.

The return of two-factor authentication follows the iCloud hacking scandal where CEO Tim Cook had promised tightened security to keep Apple users safe and ahead of the iPhone 6 availability on Friday.

Will you be activating two-factor authentication to keep all your private data safe? To learn how to do so, visit our guide.

Source: iCloud.com; Via: 9to5Mac

Apple has added a new layer of security to iCloud, notifying users when someone logs into iCloud.com using their email address and password. When you log in to the site, Apple will send you an email notifying you that someone has your credentials have been used on iCloud.com, and instructing you either to ignore the email if you did this yourself, or what steps to take if you didn't.

This is similar to emails that Apple sends out when you make purchases on a new device for the first time. It's a fairly standard security practice, but it's good to see that Apple is taking security more seriously in light of recent events.

What other steps would you like to see Apple take to make iCloud more secure? Let us know below in the comments.

iCloud may not have been hacked but iCloud accounts are hackable. So are other online accounts. Why? Security is at constant war with convenience. Absolute security makes our data inaccessible to everyone, including us. Absolute convenience makes our data easily available to everyone, including those who would use it to harm us. The key to a workable system is balance, where a range of options are afforded and we choose and use them in a way that's best for us. That includes Apple giving us the options we need and making them as understandable as possible, and it includes us taking the time to understand them and implement them as best as we can. So what can we all do better?

Following celebrity photo data theft, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has outlined several steps they will be taking to bolster security for iCloud. These include more notifications when backups are restored and devices are first added, broader implementation of 2-step verification, and an increased effort to educate customers about the security and privacy tools that are available to them.

Those are good steps. Necessary steps. Apple needs to do them and do more of them.

But we need to take responsibility for our own security as well.

This isn't about blaming victims. Perpetrators are the only ones who get blamed. This is about empowering people. This is about planning smart and fighting back hard. This is about making it so that even if you are one day victimized, you are never a victim.

Use strong passwords

Apple has minimal requirements for passwords. You need to have at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one number, and it has to be at least 8 characters long, for example.

You want something way, way stronger than that. Length is important. The longer a password is the longer it takes to crack it. However, lack of predictability is also important. The length doesn't matter as much if it's predictable (if it's composed of common dictionary words, for example).

So, ideally, you'd want to use 32 pseudo-random characters for your iCloud password and store it in a password manager. Unfortunately, you'll likely have to type it in, especially on mobile devices, more often than would make that practical.

So, treat it like a master password. Make it as long and as unpredictable as you can, but keep it so that you can enter it on an iPhone or iPad when you have to. (The iOS 8 Touch ID API will mitigate this, but there will still be times you'll have to type it.)

The best advice I've some across on choosing a strong master password is from AgileBits, makers of 1Password:

• Toward Better Master Passwords

This is the single most important thing you can do for your security. It's the lock on your car or your house. Make it as good as it can possibly be.

Use a password manager

In a perfect world security would be impregnable and effortless to use. Sadly, this world isn't perfect. Passwords are too complex for the mainstream and while technologies like Touch ID can help, biometrics isn't a complete solution yet, nor is anything else.

You need passwords. You need strong, unique passwords. That means you need a password manager. You have several really good options on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Choose one and use it.

• Best password manager apps for iPhone and iPad

Avoid security questions when you can, fill them with passwords when you can't

Security questions are designed to make it easier for people to recover forgotten passwords. Sadly they also make it easier for criminals to hack passwords. More often than not, they replace the security of a strong password with the guess-ability of several weak ones.

I avoid providing security questions whenever I can. When I can't, I fill them with strings of pseudo-random gunk and store them in my password manager.

If I use my first pet's name, someone can find that out. If I lie about the pet's name, I could forget the lie I used. No one can find out about kc+y7^QD66tCmuqfQG/wQ43QF>d=d#2W, by way of example, and if it's in my password manager, I can't forget it when and if I ever need it.

Sign out of websites when you're done

Some websites, including iCloud.com, store a security token to make it easier for you to access them repeatedly during the same session. It's a convenience so you don't have to re-enter your password every time. It's also security hole if someone gains access to your computer.

Sure, someone gaining access to your computer is terrible in so very many ways. Your computer has your photo library, your email account, and many, many other things. If your family members or workmates are out to get you, the threat level is significantly higher and you'll need to take many more precautions (and likely have other issues urgently in need of addressing.)

However, logging out still prevents someone whose sole and only purpose is to get that token so they can steal your online data later. It closes one more hole, especially if you've logged into someone else's computer or a public terminal.

Don't click on links in emails

The easiest way to get something from someone is often just to ask them. If your password is too long and unpredictable to easily crack, if your security questions are nonsensical blobs, another way for criminals to try and get your login is just to ask you for it — via a fake email.

They'll send you something that looks like it comes from Apple, Google, etc. along with an urgent message designed to scare you into clicking on a malicious link they provide and getting you to log in to their server so they can record what you type and use it to break into your account.

It's called phishing and it's been going on for years.

To avoid it, never click on a link in an email. Instead, if you get something that says it's from Apple or Google or Dropbox or anyone else, open a browser window yourself, type in iCloud.com or Gmail.com or Dropbox.com yourself, log in to your account, and then see if there are any real situations that require your attention.

Play safe

These are just a few of the most common ways criminals try to hack iCloud accounts. There are and no doubt will be others. If you're a high value target, you'll need to treat online security as seriously as you treat real-world security. If not, while you should take reasonable precautions, there's no need to panic.

Play safe and play smart. Be conscientious of your data and where and how you store it.

Apple doesn't let Touch ID fingerprint data out of the secure enclave on the iPhone, and it sounds like they won't be letting mobile payment data out of there either. That means it never gets anywhere near the cloud. Likewise Apple has said they'll reject any app that tries to store health and fitness data from HealthKit on the cloud, and has put in strict privacy guards to keep even local apps from getting anything more than you want to share.

This won't be the last time we hear about data theft, sadly. But if you never thought about online security before, you can start thinking about it now.

Apple absolutely has to improve the security and the awareness of the security around iCloud. And just as absolutely we have to take responsibility for our own security. After all, we're in this together.

If you've [enabled two-step verification](for your iCloud account, you already know that if you ever forget your password, you'll need your iCloud recovery key in order to reset it. If you've lost the printout containing your key, you should immediately generate a new one in case your key falls into the wrong hands. As long as you know your current password, you can replace your iCloud recovery key in just a few minutes.

Keep in mind that this only works if you know your password. If you've already lost your password, this won't help you.

How to generate a new iCloud recovery key

1. Go to appleid.apple.com from any web browser.
2. Click on Manage your Apple ID.
3. Sign in with your Apple ID on the next screen in order to continue.
4. Choose one of the methods to verify your identity.
5. Enter the verification code that was sent to one of your trusted devices or by text message in order to proceed.
6. Click on Password and Security in the left hand navigation.
7. Click on Replace Lost Key.
8. Click Next.
9. Save your new recovery key in a safe place. Your old one will no longer work.
10. Confirm your new recovery key in order to activate it.

That's all there is to it. When it comes to storing your recovery key, we recommend any one of the following:

• Print it out or write it down and store it in a locked safe
• Keep it in a secure password manager such as 1Password

It's important to remember that anyone who has access to your recovery key is one step closer to gaining access to your iCloud account. So it's extremely important to protect it. If you ever suspect that someone has accessed your key that shouldn't, you should generate a new key immediately.

Last night a massive amount of nude celebrity photos were posted onto the internet. To be clear, these weren't "leaks". These were crimes. They were thefts and illegal distributions and worse — violations of privacy and dignity. Dispassionately, it should absolutely be treated like credit card or banking or any other information being stolen. Passionately, we only need to imagine they were photos of us or our loved ones to put it in the proper human context. So, what happened, who can we trust, and how can we protect ourselves?

What happened?

People had their personal property stolen and their privacy violated. Breaking into someone's account or phone is no different than breaking into their car or house. Likewise, for anyone horrified at the allegations of government or corporate surveillance, for anyone outraged when apps or social networks misuse or misappropriate images, messages, or contacts, for anyone rallying to the cause of personal security and privacy, what could be more of an offense against security and privacy than this?

Clementine Ford, writing for Daily Life:

Decades ago paparazzi used zoom lenses to take photos of celebrities in various states of undress and sold them to tabloids who plastered them all over checkout lines. This is nothing new. However, the anonymity, ubiquity, and access afforded by the internet accelerates and amplifies it in a way that feels very new.

Ultimately, that we're dealing with celebrity, nudity, and Internet — three things society has an adolescent maturity level about — makes no difference. They're human beings. They had their stuff taken and put out on display. That's what matters.

How did it happen?

This part is harder to figure out. Many in the media ran with an early claim that Apple's iCloud was the source, and stuck "iCloud hack" in every headline and opening paragraph they could. In their race to be "FIRST!" few took any time to actually investigate. Maybe they'll be proven right, maybe wrong, but they didn't show their work and that's bad for everybody.

Various online information security experts, however, spent the night examining data, looking at patterns, and sharing insights Twitter, some convinced it was iCloud, some convinced it wasn't, opinions swinging back and forth as the night went on.

This morning it is no clearer.

Charles Arthur, writing for The Guardian:

There are a lot of potential attack vectors including phishing and other forms of social engineering, non-unique passwords stolen from one site and used to gain access to others, or even someone in a physical or virtual location or profession that gives them privileged access to accounts or devices, ranging from technicians to social media managers.

In counterpoint, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, writing for ZDNET:

The email address would have to be known, two-step authentication couldn't be enabled, and shorter, simpler passwords would be faster to hack. None of those are impossible or even unlikely, and the timing has resulted in a second wave of headlines linking the two events with every synonym for "might" or "could" imaginable.

There is also the possibility we're dealing with multiple hacks through multiple vectors that occurred over an extended period of time, or multiple individuals and layers of hacks.

Forensic researcher Jonathan Zdzardski:

Should iCloud customers panic?

No, but like any customer of any online service or digital device, you should be concerned.

iCloud Photo Stream, if we allow it, keeps out last 1000 photos for 30 days backed up to all our devices. iCloud Camera Roll backup and the upcoming iCloud Photo Library will keep all photos and videos backed up online up to the limits of available storage.

Dropbox, Google+, Microsoft OneDrive and other cloud-services, likewise if we allow it, will auto-upload and keep all our photos and videos onto all of their servers up to the limits of available storage.

Bugs will always be found in code. Humans can always be tricked.

Unfortunately, just like home owners should be concerned enough to lock their doors, customers of online services should be concerned enough to lock down their accounts as best as they can.

What can I do to protect myself?

Most people aren't high-value targets for these kinds of attack. However, if you're at all concerned about your security and privacy and the security and privacy of your accounts and devices, here's an article I wrote a couple of months ago that details how you can make your iPhone or iPad as secure as technically and humanly possible.

If you haven't already, please take a few moments to read it and share it.

• How to better protect your iPhone and iPad against hacks and other security and privacy risks