iCloud EXPLAINED! Here's what you need to know!

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There’s a part of the Apple ecosystem that I’ve not touched on in all the years that I’ve been working on this channel, but I get asked about a lot in the comments, and that’s iCloud. It’s something that I reckon we all use every day as Apple users, yet a huge number of people find it really confusing. And to be fair, that’s because Apple make it way more confusing than it needs to be.

So in this video, I’m going to explain what iCloud is, and what it isn’t. I’ll debunk some myths, and try and answer some Frequently Asked Questions, so that hopefully by the end of this video, iCloud will be a tool you can use with confidence, to get the most out of it, rather than be confused by.

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Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - What is iCloud?
4:55 - What does iCloud store?
7:05 - Isn't iCloud Drive basically iCloud?
10:56 - What about Shared Photo Albums?
13:11 - What about Backups?
15:17 - Managing iCloud Storage
18:40 - What about iCloud+?

[zorikn]

I'm watching this video in complete awe of how good you are at explaining things. You have a combination of patience, intelligence, and clarity that's just out of this world.

[dismaldunc]

The way I explained it to my very old mum was " imagine you have a statue in the front garden, you can see it from the living room, dining room or bedroom. the view is of the same thing, just from different places. If I go in the garden and break its arm off, you will see its arm is missing whichever window you look out of.

[djgdroid]

I have been an android user for several years and just in the last month have bought into the Apple eco system. I watch your videos daily and would really be struggling without them. This video on iCloud was amazing and you answered so many questions, THANK YOU!

[djross]

I'm pretty good with tech, but I have always found iCloud far more confusing that (say) Google Drive or OneDrive. This was a really excellent, informative video that cleared up a lot of my questions. Well done, sir!

[PatricioBenavente]

Tip: you can have more than one Photo Library. One shared on the iCloud and one just local. To do this: open photo app while holding the Option Key. To go to a different library: close photo app and open it again with the option key

[IMHO]

I'm a long time Apple user who randomly stumbled on this video and I can't believe how useful it has been! I didn't know about the "Remove download" feature. Could have saved me a lot of headache all these years. Many thanks mate!

[hettytravels]

Very good! Years ago, as a new Apple user, I learned the hard way that deleting photos on one device deletes them everywhere. Never again!

[christianc]

Your videos are so clear, concise, and crisp. And they replicate the ease and intuitiveness of the Apple experience. The graphics/visuals are professional and clean. Really enjoy your channel.

[mvl]

I watched the whole video from beginning to end (a miracle by itself), and consider it far more useful and informative than anything else I've watched on the subject. Up till now Apple iCloud was a mystery to me, and not a good one as I don't want to pay £10 each month for the privilege. I can now, with your help, start working on what I dó want. So, thanks a lot from a new subscriber!

[SoNowWhat]

Thanks for this. A point of clarification - Shared Albums do not count against your iCloud storage limits. Also, as someone else commented here, media is compressed to lower resolutions in a shared album.

[PixelSplash]

It's a shame that Apple doesn't allow you to delete photos from the phone and keep the uploaded photos in the cloud just like how iCloud drive does with the pdf files etc.

[Orwic]

Excellent video - really useful and well explained. I am generally familiar with I cloud, but this filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Thanks for explaining it so well.

[marcdupuis]

Thanks for this great video on this particular subject. Don’t know how you do it every time but it is so well explained, so clear and concise. Keep up the good work. You’re TOP in my book 🏆

[artysanmobile]

I’ve explored alternatives and realized iCloud is unique. Not storage by any means. Others do storage very well. What iCloud does for me is take away the fear of any of my devices suffering catastrophic failure or theft. It just doesn’t matter anymore and that’s a huge relief.

[GT-hoco]

Well described and helpful. Now please explain iTunes music syncing for those that don’t subscribe to Apple Music 🤔🤷🏻🤷🏻‍♂️

[Primo_extracts]

Your explanation of the shared album changed the game for me. I have over 10, 000 videos and pictures from my travels and I've never been able to organize them the way I want. I am very thankful. For this video because the information you gave me is going to simplify everything.

[robinriesner]

great topic that i need fully explained..thank you..i really enjoy your channel :)

[kimlarjohnson]

I teach older adults IT and to get them to understand icloud & Apple Storage is a minefield. you are so clear at explaining everything! Wonderful!

[andrejstemmle]

WOW, what an AWESOME TIP YOU’VE GIVEN ME, regarding the Shared Photo-Album. Up until TODAY exactly this ISSUE (having 2 photos of the same if moved 2 another album) is (was) the GREATEST NUISANCE I‘ve had regarding the photo album.
Greetings from Switzerland 🇨🇭

[rudybriskar]

Still clear as mud but very informative. I'm new to Apple and the ecosystem. Thank you for your content.