Everything you need to know about iCloud
The news of hackers stealing dozens of female celebrities’ nude photos through Apple’s iCloud service has renewed scrutiny over the safety of our personal data on our technology devices. As Grant Bollmer, a lecturer of Digital Cultures at University of Sydney says, “We assume what we backup with any cloud services to be ‘our’ data. Yet the Terms and Conditions of whatever you upload to iCloud state: ‘you grant Apple a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display.’”
Apple iCloud is a service that automatically backs up your personal data. This is understandably worrying even if you don’t have any nude photos floating around. What we consider private information on our devices may not be so private after all. If you have an iOS device such as an iPhone and iPad, here’s how to stay safe on iCloud.
Change your iCloud password
The best protection for all your online services is a strong and unique password. People tend to use an easy to remember password and re-use it for multiple accounts. This will only increase the risk of your accounts being breached.
Disable photo stream
Photo stream is a service that automatically uploads photo to your iCloud so you can view them on your computer or laptop. It means you don’t have to manually upload them to your computer however, the recent scandal shows how dangerous this convenience can be.
To disable Photo Stream, go to Settings > iCloud > Turn off any options they don’t want synced to iCloud such as photo stream.
Two-step verification
Another method is to step up the security on your device. Apple has a double-login feature for iCloud.
To set up two-step verification, access Manage your Apple ID > Password and Security > Two-Step Verification > Follow prompts.
Disable iCloud
While it might be convenient having your devices automatically back-up your photos and information, it isn’t necessary. Disabling iCloud means none of your devices with sync together and no data will be automatically backed up.
Delete iCloud by accessing Settings > iCloud > Delete Account.