What is icloud

iCloud Drive is one of several ways to store, sync, and update data between your Apple (and even Windows) devices. Apple has now updated its cloud storage system to make it more visible and accessible to users and third-party developers.

It’s time to see how iCloud Drive works.

How to Set Up iCloud Drive

If you’re a new user of Apple devices, and you have an Apple ID account, you should know that some of your Apple content, including apps downloaded from iTunes and the Mac App Store, your iCloud email, and iTunes songs are automatically stored and available in your iTunes and iCloud accounts, which means that data can be re-downloaded, with your password, if ever lost or deleted.

On other hand, you probably have other data, such as documents, photos, and third-party content that is not automatically backed up. This is where iCloud Drive comes in. It can store all your data, sync it between devices, and download it to a new iOS device.

You were asked to update to iCloud Drive when you installed iOS 8 and/or OS X Yosemite. If you didn’t enable it upon installation, it can be accessed on your iOS device via Settings > iCloud then enabling iCloud Drive. You will see a list of default apps and data enabled for backup and syncing.

On your Mac, iCloud Drive is located in System Preferences > iCloud. Enable iCloud Drive, and then click on Options to manage how other applications interacts with your cloud storage. Notice that some data, such as Mail, Contacts, and Safari bookmarks are already stored and synced in your iCloud account.

Under Options in iCloud Drive for the Mac and Storage for iOS, you can decide which app data you want backed up and synced to the drive — such as photos, iWork documents, and third-party supporting apps. Some of the listed apps, such as the keychain app 1Password and journaling app Day One, may offer the option to backup to another cloud service like Dropbox. Some apps (like Evernote) may have their own storage solution, which you won’t need to worry about.