Apple’s cloud service can be useful for storing your documents and photos if you are running out of space on your iPhone or iPad. But how do you keep an overview in iCloud?
Organize iCloud
The iCloud service has existed since 2011. It allows users to store their files, such as documents, contacts, photos and calendars on the server (in the cloud). This is not only useful if you have limited space on your iPhone, but also if you want to be able to open the files from any device. By logging in to the cloud, you can always access everything.
But how do you set what should be stored on the server? And how do you know what exactly is on it? We explain that in this article. Do you want to know what the different subscriptions for the service are and how logging into iCloud works? Then read this iCloud login article.
Organize iCloud
If you want to use iCloud, one screen within iOS is particularly important to keep an overview. The iCloud screen is a bit hidden within the iOS Settings app. Navigate as follows:
- Open the Settings app;
- Tap your name at the very top to open the Apple ID settings;
- Choose ‘iCloud’.
In this window you will find everything you need to know. For example, a bar directly indicates how much storage you have in total, how much of it has been used and what uses the most storage. To view that in detail, tap Manage Storage. Any data you have stored on iCloud will be displayed there, no matter how small the file is. Select the apps to see which devices have data synchronized.
Manage apps
You can set which apps are linked to your iCloud. In the iCloud window of iOS you can easily switch access on and off with sliders. The apps that you do not give permission can therefore not be reached via other devices.
Some apps have an additional settings screen, such as Photos. For that, you have to tap to turn iCloud on and off. In the window you can specifically indicate how you want to save your data. For photos, you can set to save photos and videos in reduced resolution on your device, while the original is in iCloud. That in turn saves storage space.
You can also adjust these types of settings for other apps and services, for example for ‘Find my iPhone’.
iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is part of Apple’s cloud service. The documents and files you have stored via iCloud are collected here. You can access iCloud Drive from the Finder on the Mac and Files app on iOS. You can also store files in Drive that don’t necessarily work with Apple software.
The advantage is that you can create folders yourself and organize files in them. This way you determine the organization and structure yourself, so that you can find files faster. Edits you make on one device are also applied to other devices through iCloud Drive. For example, you start on a document on the Mac and finish it on the iPhone. There is also Drive software from Apple for Windows.
Read the latest iCloud news
- How to transfer data from an old iPad to a new iPad (2-4)
- Transfer iCloud photos to Google Photos: this is how you do it in 7 steps (4-3)
- Also Code for Apple Music Android app confirms ‘Apple One’ subscription bundle (13-9-2020)
- Tip: This is how you turn off mobile data for iCloud photos (7/6/2020)
- ICloud Photos sync isn’t working: here’s what you can do (5/5/2020)