What Is Apple iCloud+?

iCloud is Apple's cloud-based infrastructure for storing and syncing data, available on all Apple devices. iCloud+ refers specifically to premium iCloud tiers, which primarily grants additional cloud storage but also comes with some handy additional perks. Here's what you need to know.

What Is iCloud+?

You get 5GB of free iCloud storage with an Apple ID, but this doesn't last long. If you decide to upgrade to any paid iCloud storage tier (starting with the $0.99 monthly charge for an additional 50GB), you're considered an iCloud+ subscriber.

On top of the additional storage which lets you do things like store media in iCloud Photo Library, iCloud+ comes with additional subscriber-only features: Private Relay, Hide My Email, a custom email domain, and unlimited HomeKit Secure Video recording.

If you cancel your iCloud subscription (and revert to the free 5GB tier), you'll lose your iCloud+ benefits too..

iCloud Private Relay is Apple's Take on a VPN

iCloud Private Relay is a feature built into Safari for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as iOS and iPadOS. It's designed to protect your privacy when browsing the web with Apple's browser, plus unencrypted activity in iPhone and iPad apps. It's not a VPN (virtual private network), but it's designed to achieve a similar goal: secure and private internet browsing.

The feature is designed to protect your identity online by encrypting all traffic that leaves a device, effectively hiding your online activity from internet service providers, governments, and snoopers. It's one of iCloud's stand-out privacy features.

Like a VPN, all traffic is encrypted. This means that if someone were to intercept traffic, for example, by using a man-in-the-middle attack on a public wireless network, they would still need to decrypt the data to see what you're doing.

What separates Private Relay from other similar VPN services is the "two-hop" approach. Once internet traffic has been encrypted, it's sent through two separate relays.

According to Apple: "The first assigns the user an anonymous IP address that maps to their region but not their actual location. The second decrypts the web address they want to visit and forwards them to their destination. This separation of information protects the user's privacy because no single entity can identify both who a user is and which sites they visit."

With Private Relay in place, Apple claims that even it cannot see what you're doing online. An Apple white paper published in December 2021 describes in detail how Private Relay works and which technologies are in use. iCloud Private Relay isn't available in all counties, though Apple doesn't keep a list of general availability.

The two-hop approach is novel since it relies on a first party (Apple) and a third party (a trusted partner) to anonymize your browsing activity. Apple will know who you are since you're using its service, but not where you're going since the destination is encrypted. With the second hop, the trusted partner knows where you're going but has no idea who you are since your IP address is anonymized.

There are pros and cons to Apple's approach when tossing up between a VPN and using Private Relay. Apple's "zero knowledge" design where the company cannot interrupt your request by virtue of the infrastructure involved. No such policy exists with a VPN, since your requests only involve your VPN provider's servers. You have to be sure you can trust your VPN.

On the other hand, VPNs let you do things like appear to be in a different geolocation by switching the "exit point" when routing your traffic. You can do things like access foreign Netflix catalogs and book cheaper airfare by switching your location. VPNs also aren't limited to the Safari browser, and many can even work on so-called VPN routers to protect your entire network. iCloud Private Relay isn't designed for this.

Apple still has to comply with requests from authorities to provide court-ordered information about users, but keep in mind that iCloud Private Relay uses encryption that not even Apple can circumvent.

对于 VPN，您所在位置和所需的加密级别等因素可能会对性能产生显着影响。苹果声称 Private Relay 的工作原理不会影响性能。不幸的是，私人中继仍然容易受到服务器停机的影响，这可以有效地阻止依赖它的设备的网络流量。

您可以在大多数支持 iOS 和 iPadOS 15 或更高版本以及 macOS 12 Monterey 的 Apple 设备上使用 iCloud Private Relay。

通过隐藏我的电子邮件轻松创建电子邮件别名

iCloud+ 订阅者可以使用的另一个功能是隐藏我的电子邮件，它允许您即时创建和删除电子邮件别名，而无需透露您的真实地址。

该功能镜像“Sign in with Apple”，旨在使用户匿名并提供增强的垃圾邮件防护。如果您不信任某项服务不会向您发送未经请求的电子邮件，您只需在 Safari、Mail 或 iCloud 设置中创建一封新电子邮件即可。

该地址的功能与其他地址一样，所有邮件都将转发到您的收件箱。如果您发现该特定地址已成为垃圾邮件发送者的目标，您可以在 iCloud 设置下轻松将其删除。了解有关使用隐藏我的电子邮件创建电子邮件别名的更多信息。

将自定义电子邮件域与 iCloud Mail 结合使用

iCloud+ 还允许您将自定义电子邮件域与 iCloud Mail 电子邮件帐户结合使用。添加最多五个自定义域，以便您可以使用“you@yourdomain.com”电子邮件地址（而不是通常的“@icloud.com”后缀）发送和接收电子邮件。

您可以通过访问 iCloud 网站上的 iCloud+ 自定义域设置页面来进行设置。

无限的 HomeKit 安全视频录制

iCloud+ 提供的另一个值得注意的功能是为 HomeKit 连接的安全摄像头提供无限的录制空间。所有视频都不会会计入您的 iCloud 总存储空间，您可以在 iPhone、iPad、Mac 和 Apple TV 上的“家庭”应用中查看过去 10 天的活动。 HomeKit 安全视频片段也经过端到端加密。

这里唯一的限制是您可以连接的设备数量。 50GB 套餐的用户可以连接一个摄像头，200GB 套餐的用户可以连接到五个摄像头。如果您支付 2TB 或更多的 iCloud 存储空间，则可以向您的家庭应用程序添加无限数量的摄像头，而不会产生存储损失。

为此，您选择的摄像头需要与 HomeKit 安全视频兼容。查看我们最好的户外家庭安全摄像头综述，了解一些想法。

包含在您的 iCloud 订阅中

云存储非常昂贵，尤其是当您认为它是持续订阅时。您可以尝试通过减少设备备份大小等操作来释放 iCloud 存储空间，但最终您可能必须升级您的 iCloud 存储计划。

至少 iCloud+ 通过添加一些您可以利用的有用且有价值的功能来提高价值主张。

• iPhone
• iCloud
• VPN

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