Take Control of iCloud, Ninth Edition

Understand iCloud’s capabilities and limitations, and put its key features to good use!

Version 9.1, updated January 16, 2024

Apple’s iCloud service is highly useful, but it can also create headaches for the average user. In this book, Joe Kissell explains how to avoid frustrations and make iCloud work for you across all your devices.

iCloud is a simple idea in theory—access to all your data on all your devices, via the cloud—that can become complicated when put into practice. Instead of wasting time fiddling with iCloud, when there are many other more important things to be done with the information it contains, learn how to minimize frustrations with Take Control of iCloud, Ninth Edition!

Whether you want a quick tip or a deep dive into the inner workings of iCloud, you’ll find what you need in this best-selling book by Apple expert Joe Kissell. Start by learning what iCloud can do, how it differs from other cloud services, and how best to set it up on Macs, iOS and iPadOS devices, Apple TVs, and Windows PCs.

Then, move on to finding out the key aspects—and hidden gotchas—of iCloud’s core features, including:

• iCloud+, Apple's paid membership tiers with extra features

• Photo features: iCloud Photos, iCloud Photo Sharing, and iCloud Shared Photo Library

• Family Sharing

• iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library

• iCloud Drive

• Mail and Mail Drop

• Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, and Notes

• iCloud Keychain

• the iCloud website

• Location features: Find My Device, Find My Item, Find My People, and the Find My app

• Two-factor authentication

• Activation lock

• Backing up and recovering data

• Managing your privacy and security (including the use of Advanced Data Protection)

This edition not only covers the changes to iCloud in macOS 14 Sonoma, iOS 178, and iPadOS 17 but also includes details about recent changes to iCloud that span operating systems, including the iCloud website. It also continues to cover macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 11 Big Sur, macOS 12 Monterey, macOS 13 Ventura and iOS 16/iPadOS 16, but drops coverage of earlier operating system versions.