sync your settings and info
behind the scenes, iCloud keeps your services in sync between devices
The iCloud concept started off as a way to sync settings between devices, and that’s still one of its most useful The less you notice it, the more useful it’s probably being.
On a Mac, check what iCloud is managing in System Preferences > iCloud. In iOS, open Settings and tap your name, then iCloud. Your Contacts, Calendars and Reminders will all appear the same everywhere if you turn on their switches on all your devices.
For Safari, iCloud syncs your bookmarks and enables Safari Tabs, which shows web pages currently open on other devices. In iOS, scroll to the bottom of the Tabs view (bottom right icon on iPhone, top right on iPad) or in macOS, click the Tabs icon at the top right. It’s also meant to combine your browsing history, although many users report it doesn’t; turning Safari off and on again in iCloud’s settings on all your devices may help. Private browsing windows aren’t synced.
Scroll down the iCloud list and you’ll see lots of third-party apps too. It’s a
good way for them to store data, including your preferences, and sync it between devices, but remember they won’t necessarily sync every document you create: it may be your choice whether to store it in iCloud Drive or not, and you can also move documents in the Finder or the Files app (see page 26).
Key information
Keychain is an important feature that syncs personal data including passwords, logins and credit card details that are available for autofill in Safari and apps. Like data belonging to Apple’s Health and Home platforms, it’s handled using end-to-end encryption (read more about that on page 30).
Messages and Game Center are shown as options in the iCloud settings in iOS, but not macOS. If you have the same iMessage account set up on each device (plus your iPhone’s phone number for texts), you’ll see the same conversations everywhere, but storing messages in iCloud and syncing changes is a separate option that requires twofactor authentication (see page 30). If you need to enable this from macOS, go to Preferences > iMessage within the Messages app (requires macOS 10.13.5 High Sierra or later).
Apple’s Game Center is increasingly irrelevant, especially on the Mac, but if you do have games that use it to sync progress and high scores or enable multi-player, you set it up, rather bizarrely, in System Preferences > Internet Accounts. Click the then choose Add Other Account.