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What is iCloud?
iCloud securely stores your photos, videos, documents, music, apps, and more—and keeps them updated across all your devices. With iCloud, you can easily share photos, calendars, locations, and more with friends and family. You can even use iCloud to help you find your device if you lose it.
![The same files and folders appear in iCloud Drive in a Finder window on a Mac and the iCloud Drive app on iPhone and iPad.](https://help.apple.com/assets/5AA195BD094622847B7F3DA3/5AA195BE094622847B7F3DAA/en_US/a38b0d667c07a694a8ea1431d2fedf5c.png)
To get started, just set up iCloud on your Mac, and on your iOS devices, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Windows computer, too.
To set up iCloud on your iOS device, Apple TV, or Windows computer, see the Apple Support article Set up iCloud on all your devices.
Here are some ways you can use iCloud.
![]() | Keep your photos up to date iCloud Photo Library securely stores all your photos and videos and keeps them up to date on your Mac, your iOS devices, Apple TV, and iCloud.com. Any edits you make in the Photos app are automatically updated everywhere. And with iCloud Photo Sharing, it’s easy to share photos and videos with the people you choose and invite them to add photos, videos, and comments to your shared albums. Learn more about Photos. | ||||||||||
![]() | Get your desktop and documents on all of your devices Use iCloud Drive to automatically store your Desktop and Documents files and folders in iCloud so you can access them on all your devices set up for iCloud Drive and on iCloud.com. You can also use iCloud File Sharing to share documents with other iCloud users who can work on them and share their changes with you. Learn more about iCloud Drive. | ||||||||||
![]() | Share music, books, apps, and more with your family Family Sharing lets up to six family members share their iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store purchases without sharing accounts. Pay for family purchases with the same credit card and approve kids’ spending right from a parent’s device. Plus, share photos, a family calendar, reminders, and locations. Learn more about Family Sharing. | ||||||||||
![]() | Find your missing Mac Locate your Mac on a map, play a sound on it, lock its screen, or erase its data. Learn more about Find My Mac. | ||||||||||
![]() | Mail, Calendar, Notes, Contacts, and Reminders Keep your mail, calendars, notes, contacts, and reminders up to date using the apps on your Mac, iOS devices, and iCloud.com. Learn more about the apps included on your Mac. | ||||||||||
![]() | Music, apps, and iBooks Store Automatically get purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store on all your devices, and download past purchases anytime. Learn more about “content everywhere.” | ||||||||||
![]() | iCloud Tabs, bookmarks, and reading list in Safari See the webpages you have open on your Mac and iOS devices (your iCloud Tabs). Read articles from your Reading List, even when you’re offline. Plus, use the same bookmarks on your Mac, iOS devices, and Windows computer. Learn more about Safari. | ||||||||||
![]() | iCloud Keychain Keep your passwords, credit card information, and more up to date, and have it entered automatically on your Mac and iOS devices. Learn more about iCloud Keychain. | ||||||||||
![]() | iCloud storage With iCloud, you get 5 GB of free storage for your mail, documents, photos, and iOS device backups. Your purchased music, apps, TV shows, and books don’t count against your available storage. Learn more about iCloud storage. |
Note: iCloud requires an Internet connection; some iCloud features have minimum system requirements. For more information, see the Apple Support article System requirements for iCloud. iCloud may not be available in all areas: iCloud features may vary by area.