iCloud gets a new name. iCloud Plus does everything you’re used to, only better. Your privacy in particular is greatly improved. These are the main features of iCloud Plus.
How iCloud Plus will improve your privacy
Last Monday, Apple presented all its new software versions. The star of the evening was iOS 15 – the new iPhone update – but an important announcement was also made for iCloud.
Apple’s storage service is on the shovel. The cloud storage service will be rebranded to iCloud Plus (or as some write, iCloud+) later this year.
The bad news is that you don’t get more storage space. 5GB remains the limit for free members. The good news is that iCloud Plus is going to do a lot more to protect your privacy.
1. Private Relay
It’s swearing in church for Apple, but the bottom line is that the company has created a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN ensures that you can surf the internet more anonymously. For example, your traffic is encrypted and redirected so that no one knows which websites you visit.
iCloud Plus gets a built-in VPN, but calls it Private Relay. According to Apple, this will prevent others from seeing your IP address (similar to the home address of your Internet connection), location and browsing history.
It is also made a lot more difficult for marketers to build up a personal profile of you and thus bombard you with personal advertisements. Pixels – small pieces of code that are on many websites – are automatically blocked. That is, if you access the internet via Apple’s own Safari browser.
Also of interest: Guide: Everything you need to know about using a VPN on your iPhone and iPad
2. Hide Email Address
Also new in iCloud Plus, you’ll soon be able to hide your real email address by using a temporary address. For example, you can log in to one-time services without having to provide your personal email.
3. Secure camera images
Do you have a security camera with HomeKit? Then iCloud Plus can store the camera images encrypted. This is handy, because that way only you can view the images. Even Apple (or the maker of your camera) can’t watch. Nice detail: the storage of these encrypted recordings is not at the expense of your iCloud storage.
4. Create your own domain
How cool is it to have your own email address? Thanks to iCloud Plus, you will soon be able to create your own iCloud domain.
At the moment, the addresses still end with @icloud.com by default, but later this year you can set the part behind the at sign yourself. For example, you can use your own name as an email domain: this looks more chic on a business card than a standard iCloud address.
How much does iCloud Plus cost?
iCloud Plus prices remain the same. This fall, when iOS 15 is available to everyone and the iPhone 13 is announced, paying iCloud members will be automatically transferred. So you don’t have to do anything for this.
| Storage | Euro price per month |
|---|---|
| 50GB | 0.99 |
| 200GB | 2.99 |
| 2TB (2000GB) | 9.99 |
Are you now using iCloud’s free entry-level package with up to 5GB of storage space? Then the above functions will unfortunately pass you by. For example, you can choose to take the 50GB package, which costs less than a euro per month. You can also go for Apple One, the bundle where you get Apple services more cheaply.
Also read: This is how much money you can save with an Apple One subscription
More about iOS 15
Apple fans are in for a nice fall. Not only will the successor of the iPhone 12 be announced, we can also get started with all new software versions.
iOS 15 is coming to all phones now running iOS 14. The update (finally) brings FaceTime to Android, improves the notification shade and helps you focus. In our article of iOS 15 features, we list all the innovations.
Also new: watchOS 8 and macOS 12. The Apple Watch and Mac get some more modest updates, which are nevertheless very useful. Thanks to Universal Control, you can, for example, operate multiple Apple devices (such as an iPad and Mac) at the same time.
Read more about:
- iOS 15
- watchOS 8
- macOS 12 Monterey
- iPad OS 15