Apple introduced new iCloud features during its WWDC21 keynote on Monday as part of a new iCloud+ service. These features focus on preserving your privacy, and the company is making these features available to paid iCloud subscribers at no additional cost.
Updated on 6/8/21 with a Reuters report on countries where Private Relay will not be available.
Account Recovery
Apple adds another option to getting a security code that you need to access your account. The new option allows you to add a trusted contact to get the code info. For example, if you select your mother as an Account Recovery contact, she will get the forgotten password code that you need. She can then relay that code for you to use.
Apple
Legacy Contact
Sooner or later, it happens to all of us: we die. And if you rely heavily on the cloud to store your pictures, videos, and other important files, you need a way to give access to those files to the people important to you. With iCloud+, you can pick a contact to be your Legacy Contact, so when you pass on, that person can get access to your iCloud account.
iCloud Private Relay
Data collection by websites is rampant, and Apple has created Private Relay to help preserve your privacy. When you use Safari, the data that is sent is encrypted, and then it travels through two intercept relays—points on the internet that data travels through—to help hide your location, IP address, and browsing activity to prevent a profile about you from being created. Reuters reports that the second relay is performed by a third-party service to prevent Apple from knowing the user’s information.
Reuters also reports that Private Relay will not be available in these countries, due their regulations: Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, and Uganda.
Hide My Email
If you use an iCloud email account, this new feature can now let you create aliases that you can use to enter on websites and other places that require it to perform a task, like online shopping. Email sent to that alias is forwarded to your actual email account. You can create several different aliases, and delete ones you no longer want to use.
HomeKit Secure Video
If you’ve set up your home with HomeKit devices, you may have set up cameras to watch your property. iCloud+ lets you use your iCloud storage to store your surveillance camera’s footage. The files those cameras make do not count against your iCloud storage, and they are encrypted to protect your privacy.
Custom email domain
You can personalize your iCloud Mail email address with a custom domain name. Family members can be invited to use that domain name on their iCloud Mail accounts.
iCloud plan pricing
The pricing for iCloud+ is the same as the previous plan. Here are the prices.
- $0.99 per month: 50GB of iCloud storage and support for one HomeKit Secure Video camera
- $2.99 per month: 200GB of iCloud storage and support for up to five HomeKit Secure Video cameras
- $9.99 per month: 2TB of iCloud storage and support for unlimited number of HomeKit Secure Video cameras
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.