iCloud: The cloud service published by Apple to store and share files

iCloud is Apple's service that securely stores your photos, files, notes, passwords and other data in the cloud and automatically keeps them up to date on all your devices. iCloud also makes it easy to share photos, files, notes, and more with friends and family.

Table of contents

Explore iCloud

iCloud is Apple's online storage service. With this tool, you can backup all the data connected to your Apple device, be it iPhone, iPad or Mac. You can keep photos, videos, files, notes, and even messages, apps, and email content.

Replacing Apple's MobileMe storage service in 2011, this cloud service allows subscribers to back up their address book, calendar, notes, Safari browser bookmarks and photos to Apple servers. Changes and additions made on one Apple device may be reflected on the user's other registered Apple devices.

The subscription service to this cloud begins as soon as the user sets it up by logging in with their Apple ID, which they only have to do once on all their devices or computers. Then any changes made on one device are synced with all other devices using that Apple ID.

The service, which requires an Apple ID, is available on Macs running OS X 10.7 Lion and iOS devices running version 5.0. Some features, like photo sharing, have their own minimum system requirements.

PCs must be running Windows 7 or later to sync with iCloud. PC users must also have an Apple device to set up this service for Windows.

Access iCloud

iCloud features

The main features offered by Apple's storage service are:

This cloud service includes features compatible with a variety of applications that make it easy to archive and access files in the cloud. With a capacity of up to 5GB, it overcomes the lack of storage space on various devices and files are stored on the server rather than the hard drive or internal memory.

iCloud Pictures: with this service, you can store all your photos and full-resolution videos in the cloud and organize them into several folders that are easily accessible from all your connected Apple devices. You can create albums and share them as well as invite others to view them or add other items.
iCloud Drive: you can save the file in the cloud and then view it on any medium or desktop version of the tool. Any changes you make to the file will automatically appear on all devices. With iCloud Drive, you can create folders and add color tags to organize them. So you are free to share them (these files) by sending a private link to your collaborators.
App and message updates: this storage service automatically updates the apps associated with this service: email, calendars, contacts, reminders, Safari as well as other apps downloaded from the App Store.
Collaborate online: with this storage service, you can co-edit documents created on Pages, Keynote, Numbers or Notes and see your changes in real time.
Auto Save: store your content from your iOS or iPad OS devices so that you can save or transfer all your data to another device.

Configuration

Users must first set up iCloud on an iOS or macOS device; they can then access their accounts on other iOS or macOS devices, the Apple Watch or Apple TV.

On macOS, users can go to the menu, select " System Preferences“, click on iCloud, enter their Apple ID and password, and enable the features they want to use.

On iOS, users can touch settings and their name, then they can go to iCloud and enter Apple ID and password, then select features.

After the initial setup is complete, users can sign in with their Apple ID on any other iOS device or macOS computer.

On a Windows computer, users need to download and install the app for Windows first, then enter Apple ID and password, select features and click Apply. Microsoft Outlook syncs with iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Reminders. Other apps are available on iCloud.com.

Discover also: OneDrive: The cloud service designed by Microsoft to store and share your files

iCloud in Video

Price

Free version : Anyone with an Apple device can benefit from the free 5 GB storage base.

If you want to increase your storage capacity, several plans are available, namely:

Free
€0,99 per month, for 50 GB of storage
€2,99 per month, for 200 GB of storage
€9,99 per month, for 2 TB of storage

iCloud is available on...

iPhone app
macOS app
Windows software
Web browser

Users' review

The iCloud allows me to store photos and my back-ups from iPhone 200go family packages. The iCloud file works great for storing from iPhone to pc and vice versa. It's a secondary storage solution, I wouldn't put all my files on it, I prefer my hard drives, like any cloud.
Greygwar

It is good for storing personal photos and videos. Confidentiality also plays an interesting role. For the free version, the storage is really limited.
Audrey G.

I really like that whenever I switch to a new device, I can easily get all my files back from iCloud. Files are updated daily, so you don't have to worry about losing anything. Even though you have to pay for additional storage, iCloud prices are affordable and cost next to nothing. An excellent investment.
Sometimes when I'm locked out of my phone it's hard to recover my password, especially the time my email was compromised. But other than that, I have no complaints.
Siedah M.

I really like how Icloud can store and manage all my photos from my iphone. Over time, I've uploaded a lot of photos to my Icloud, and it's good to know that I have a platform to upload them to my computer or other platforms. The platform is quite cheap compared to others. I like the security levels and efficiency of the platform. I always receive notifications regarding security, which reassures me about uploading personal data to the platform.
It took me a while to get started. I struggled at first, but once I got used to it, it was more than fine.
charles m.

iCloud has gotten easier to use over the years, but I still don't think it's the best cloud computing system out there. I only use it because I have an iphone, but even for loyal iphone users, they charge so much for limited space.
The fact that they only allow you a little free storage, also the fact that it was not user friendly although it has improved over the years. The cloud really should be more generous for iphone users and shouldn't charge so much for limited space.
Somi L.

I wanted to move more of my workflow off of Google. I was very satisfied with iCloud. I like the clean interface and the more useful search results when looking for documents. The online portal also provides rudimentary versions of Apple's basic office software, access to email, calendar, and more. It is very easy to navigate, locate and organize files. The layout is very clean and flexible both in web view and native app.
iCloud naturally wants to group files by their Mac app type rather than prompting you to save them in a user-created folder. Thanks to the excellent search functions, this is not a problem and I am starting to appreciate the logic of this system.
Alex M

In general, iCloud is considered convenient and user-friendly. But, if the user needs more technical information, it is not suitable for the highly skilled user. An autosave system was helpful, I like the part where the system chose night for the process. Also, iCloud's price per storage is reasonable.
There are a few points that I think should be improved. 1. In backup files, if it is possible to choose the content of the file to be backed up, it could be useful. Currently, I don't know what specific content has been stored. 2. Multiple devices, currently I don't know if iCloud backs up all files from each device separately or if it does not store common data file type. It could be useful if the information of two devices is the same then the system has automatically stored only one and not two files.
Pischanath A.

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FAQ

What is the role of iCloud?

It allows you to edit, upload the file to the cloud so that you can access it later from any device.

How do I know what's in my iCloud?

It's easy, just go to iCloud.com and log into your account.

Where is iCloud data stored?

Did you know that Apple's cloud data (iCloud) is partially hosted on Amazon, Microsoft and Google servers?

What to do when iCloud is full?

As you can see, this fills up quickly and there are only two solutions to continue using it (there is no risk of data loss in the event of a failure). – If you have a subscription plan, increase your iCloud storage space in increments of s. – Or back up your data via iTunes.

How to clean the cloud?

Open the Applications and notifications menu. Select the desired app and tap Storage. Select the Clear data or Clear cache option (if you don't see the Clear data option, tap Manage storage).