iCloud+ brings privacy and security to paid storage tiers

More ways Apple is protecting your identity online.

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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.

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.

iCloud recovery contact

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.

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 and other data.

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. You can connect up to five cameras, and the files those cameras make do not count against your iCloud storage.