All about iCloud
Apple’s cloud computing service explained
Having your entire life on your iPhone is all very well, but what if you want to sync your data across different devices, share stuff with friends and more. Welcome to iCloud. Apple’s cloud computing service is easy to use, works seamlessly in the background (most of the time) and makes it easy to do all the things we’ve mentioned above, and can even help you back up your iPhone as well as locate it should you misplace it, or worse, have it stolen.
The first thing you need to sort is an Apple ID, which you can sign up for at appleid.apple.com. Once done, you’ll be able to sign in with that ID on your iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and even Windows PCs (once you’ve downloaded the iCloud app), as well as at icloud.com. Your Apple ID also opens a world of other Apple services – from Apple Music to Apple Arcade.
One of the best uses for iCloud is for all those photos and videos you shoot on your iPhone’s camera. iCloud Photos should be enabled by default, but to check, open the Settings app and scroll down to Photos. Tap that option then make sure the iCloud Photos option is switched on.
To save space on your iPhone, make sure Optimise iPhone Storage is ticked. This ensures that your home-made content is stored in the cloud at its original resolution, ready to be downloaded whenever you need it – you’ll always see a low-res version of it on your device. Simply tap an image or video thumbnail to fetch it from iCloud.
iCloud can help you track down lost devices and make it easier to meet up with friends too. For that, you need the Find My app on iOS, or on iCloud.com. In the app, tap Devices and you should see all the devices you’ve registered with iCloud, along with their location – provided you’ve allowed that feature in Settings > Privacy> Location Services > Find My. You can use the Find My app to play a sound to help you find your device, get directions to it, mark it as lost, or even remotely wipe if if it’s stolen.