An Introduction to iCloud

iCloud isn’t a singular thing, but rather a suite of services: email, calendar sync, password sync, file storage, and more, all accessible from and synced between any of your Apple devices signed in to the same iCloud account. With iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Music Library, you can even sync your photo and music collections between devices, although these last two generally require a fee. Here’s an overview of the many services it offers to iOS 11 users.

Sign in to iCloud and Manage Storage

To sign in to iCloud and work with your iCloud settings, go to Settings, and if you’re not signed in, tap Sign In to Your iPhone and follow the prompts.

Your iCloud account includes 5 GB of free disk space—located on Apple’s servers—for storing device backups, app data, iCloud Drive files, iCloud Photo Library photos, email, and more. As of iOS 11, you can purchase up to 2 TB of total space—see the Apple article iCloud storage plans and pricing. You can now also share that space with members of your Family Sharing circle if you choose Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Manage Storage > Share With Family. See All in the Family Sharing.

To manage iCloud settings after signing in, go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud. An infographic at the top of the screen shows how much of your iCloud storage space has been used, and what’s using it.

There are a few different ways to reduce your iCloud storage usage, but the easiest way to do so is to go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Manage Storage. Each app and/or service offers different management options. However, they usually boil down to disabling that service and deleting all the related data.

Here are some effective, specific methods of pruning iCloud:

• If an abandoned device (like a replaced iPhone) has a backup taking up space, tap that device listing in Settings > Your Name and tap Remove from Account.
• If an app is hogging iCloud space, open the Files app, go to your iCloud Drive, tap the app’s folder, identify the large file, touch and hold it, and then tap Delete from the popover. See Say Hello to the Files App later in this chapter.
• Clean out your iCloud mailbox in Mail.
• Delete unwanted photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library. See Delete Photos and Videos.

iCloud Services

For the most part, the iCloud services are listed on the Settings > Your Name > iCloud screen with switches that control whether a service is on or off. Let’s consider each option, from top to bottom—you can toggle most of these options as you read along.

• Photos: Tap Photos to see these options:
  • iCloud Photo Library: iCloud Photo Library sends almost all photos and videos in the Photos app to the cloud—using a cellular or Wi-Fi connection—where they are added to your iCloud storage space and synced to any of your devices that are running at least iOS 8 or 10.10 Yosemite. Edited photos are also synced, and deleted photos are removed from all devices. Hidden photos are not synced. See Get to Know Photos. With iCloud Photo Library on, you can choose Optimize iPhone (or iPad) Storage to store only low-res copies of your photos on your device, thus saving local storage space (originals download automatically when you need them, such as if you want to make edits). Keeping only low-res copies is essential for devices with smaller storage capacities.
  • My Photo Stream: My Photo Stream automatically syncs new photos (but not videos) to your other Apple devices. It works only over Wi-Fi, and although it can be tricky to grok its 1000-photo/30-day limit, it is free and doesn’t take up space in iCloud Drive. It’s probably best to leave it off if you use iCloud Photo Library.
  • iCloud Photo Sharing: iCloud Photo Sharing lets you share photo albums from the Photos app and see photo albums shared by others. I recommend leaving iCloud Photo Sharing on in case a friend or family member wants to share photos with you.
• Mail: Apple gives all iCloud users a free @icloud.com email address. Leave it enabled even if iCloud is not your preferred email provider, because Apple may use it to contact you.

  At the bottom of iCloud settings, there is another entry for Mail that lets you adjust iCloud mail settings.

• Contacts: iCloud Contacts syncs your contacts with your iCloud account, and from there to your other Apple devices. You can also view these contacts on the iCloud.com site (as long as you sign in with the same Apple ID).
• Calendars: This service syncs your calendars with iCloud and thus with your other Apple devices, much like contact syncing. You can also view these calendars on iCloud.com.

  To share a calendar in a read/write fashion with another user (someone not using your Apple ID), you have to go beyond just turning on the Calendar switch. See Scholle McFarland’s Take Control of Calendar and Reminders for how to share calendars.

• Reminders: The built-in Reminders app is handy for tracking to-do lists and tasks. This service syncs your reminder lists with iCloud.com and between your devices.
• Notes: This service syncs notes in the Notes app between devices and iCloud.com. If you don’t use Notes, turn it off.
• Safari: The Safari service syncs bookmarks and open tabs between copies of Safari on your Apple devices. If you use Safari, it can be helpful to turn on this service, but if your battery tends to drain quickly, constant bookmark syncing may be part of the problem.
• News: The News app can use iCloud to sync favorites and saved articles between your devices.
• Home: This setting syncs your HomeKit settings between devices. If you’re using the Home app, you probably want to leave this on. See Control Your Home to learn more.
• Health: New to iOS 11, you can now sync data from the Health app to your other devices. If you’re paranoid about your health data, turn this off. See Additional Apple Apps.
• Wallet: Keep this switch on if you want to keep your Wallet cards synced between your devices. See Organize Your Wallet.
• Game Center: This enables or disables Game Center sync between devices. If you don’t play games, disabling this may help battery life and performance, but it won’t likely have a major effect either way.
• Siri: In iOS 11, Siri can sync its data between devices to learn more about you. If this gives you the creeps, turn this off. Frankly, I want to give Siri all the help understanding me that I can.
• Keychain: Keychain syncs saved passwords between your Apple devices. It also syncs any credit card information that you’ve stored in Safari. Note that Keychain requires that you set a passcode for your device.
• Find My iPhone: This feature—called Find My iPad or Find My iPod touch on those devices—makes your device discoverable if it’s misplaced or stolen. It also shows the location of devices owned by family members if you use Family Sharing. I recommend keeping Find My iPhone on, even if you’re not worried about theft. I often use it to make my iPad chime to find it in my house. See Use Find My iPhone.

  Find My iPhone also enables Activation Lock, which prevents your device from being wiped or activated with a cellular carrier if it’s lost or stolen. Disable Find My iPhone before selling your device or taking it to Apple for service!

• iCloud Backup: iCloud Backup automatically backs up your device to Apple’s servers once per day if it’s plugged in, on a Wi-Fi network, and the screen is locked. You should enable iCloud Backup if you have enough iCloud storage space.
• iCloud Drive: iCloud Drive provides a cloud-based storage area that works like a normal drive for files created by iOS (and Mac) apps that support iCloud Drive.

  Files stored in iCloud Drive are accessible on any Apple device signed in to your iCloud account (or in Windows with iCloud for Windows), although the details vary by device and operating system.

• Look Me Up: Some apps can look up information about you tied to your Apple ID. Any apps that do this are listed here, and it can be disabled entirely. In my experience, developers hardly ever use this feature.
• Location Sharing: Under Share My Location, you can choose whether to share your location and from which of your Apple devices to share your location. If you have an iPhone and iPad, for instance, you probably want to share the iPhone’s location, since you are more likely to take it along when you leave the house.

  When location sharing is enabled, you can also see who among your family and friends can view your location.

Say Hello to the Files App

The iCloud Drive app has been replaced in iOS 11, or rather updated to a new app called Files. In addition to the capabilities of the iCloud Drive app, Files can manage files stored locally on your device, in other online services, tags, and it allows for true collaboration using iCloud Drive. Here are some tips for using it:

• Copy or move a file or folder: You can touch, hold, and drag a file or folder to move it. Another method is to touch and hold a file or folder until the popover appears, tap copy or move, and then select which folder you want to copy or move the item to.
• Enable third-party services: From the Browse screen or sidebar, tap edit, and enable the switch for the desired app. It will appear under Locations—tap it to view files from that service. If the service you want isn’t listed, you’ll need to install the associated app, like Dropbox, assuming it integrates with Files.
• Use tags: Tagging is a way to organize files and folders, even if they’re not all in the same folder. On the iPad, tags are displayed on the left-hand side of the Browse screen. On the iPhone, tags are listed on the main Browse screen. If you have files in iCloud Drive that have already been tagged on macOS, those tags will be there when you first open Files.

  To tag a file or folder, touch and hold on it until the popover appears, and then choose Tags. Tap the tags you want to select, or tap Add New Tag to create a new one. Tap Done when you’re finished.

  You can also open a file, tap the Share button, and then tap +Tag on the Share sheet.

• Create a folder: Tap the New Folder icon in the upper-left corner of the file browser.
• Operate on multiple files: Tap Select in the upper-right corner. Tap each item you wish to act upon—a checkmark appears on it—and then choose either Duplicate, Move, Share, or Delete at the bottom of the screen.
• Mark up images and PDF: Tapping an image or PDF lets you mark up that file, with the tools described in Create PDF.
• Collaborate on files: One of iCloud Drive’s biggest faults has been that it doesn’t let you collaborate on files with others—you could send a copy to another person, but you couldn’t both work back and forth on the same file. That changes with the Files app.

  To begin, you must pull up the Share sheet for a file or folder. There are three ways to do that:

  • As mentioned above, tap Select in the upper-right corner, select the files or folders you want to share, and then tap Share at the bottom of the screen.
  • Touch and hold a file or folder and choose Share from the popover.
  • Tap a file to open it and tap the Share icon.

Choose Add People from the Share sheet. You can tap Share Options to choose who can access or modify the file. Choose a sharing method, such as Message or Mail, enter the contact information for the recipient, and send the invitation.

The recipient will receive a message with a link to the file. iOS 11 users who tap the link will open it in the Files app. Users running older versions of iOS can view the shared file, but not act upon it.