iCloud is Apple's cloud storage and cloud computing service, which was launched in 2011. It allows users to store and access data like music, photos, documents, and app data across their Apple devices. The service also provides features like email, contacts, calendars, file backup and restoration, Find My iPhone, and more. iCloud is the successor to Apple's previous cloud services MobileMe and .Mac and aims to seamlessly sync user data across devices.

1. Curriculum Seminar(NCS-851) Report
On
“iCloud By Apple”
B.Tech CS (8th Sem)
Session 2016-2017
Submitted to
Mr. Ankit Kumar Varshney
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Shri Ram Murti Smarak College Of Engineering & Technology
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (APJAKTU)
Submitted By
Mohd.Aslam (1374510015)

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It gives us a great sense of pleasure to present the report of the B. Tech Curriculum Seminar
undertaken during B. Tech. 2016-17. We owe special debt of gratitude to Department of Computer
Science and Technology.
We also take the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Mr. L. S. Maurya, Head,
Department of Computer Science and Technology (SRMSCET, Bareilly) for his full support and
assistance for conducting seminar. Last but not the least, we acknowledge our friends and parents
for their contribution in the completion of the project.

3. CONTENTS
1) About iCloud
2) History
3) Features
4) Privacy & Security
5) About incorporating iCloud into your app
6) Advantages & Disadvantages
7) Competitors
8) Conclusion
9) References & Bibliography

4. CHAPTER 1
ABOUT ICLOUD
iCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple Inc. launched on October 12,
2011. As of July 2013, the service has 320 million users.
The service allows users to store data such as music and iOS applications on remote computer
servers for download to multiple devices such as iOS-based devices running iOS 5 or later, and
personal computers running OS X 10.7.2 "Lion" or later, or Microsoft Windows (Windows
Vistaservice pack 2 or later). It also replaces Apple's MobileMe service, acting as a data syncing
center for email, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, reminders (to-do lists), iWork documents,
photos and other data. The service also allows users to wirelessly back up their iOS devices to
iCloud instead of manually doing so using iTunes. iCloud data center is located in Maiden, North
Carolina.
Original author(s) Apple Inc.
Developer(s) Apple Inc.
Initial Release Developers release
June 6, 2011
Public release
October 12, 2011
Development Status Active
Operating System OS X(10.7 Lion and Later)
Microsoft Windows
iOS5 or later
Available In Multilingual
Type Online backup service

5. License Freeware
Website www.icloud.com
1.1 ANNOUNCEMENT
The first official mention of iCloud from Apple came on May 31, 2011, when a press
release announced that it would demonstrate the service at the WWDC on June 6, 2011. A banner
hung at the Moscone Center for WWDC revealed the iCloud logo five days before the official
launch.
In the WWDC 2011 keynote speech, Apple announced iCloud will replace MobileMe services and
that the basic iCloud service will be free of charge.
1.2 Apple ID
You need an Apple ID to sign up for iCloud. You may already have an Apple ID if you've
purchased or downloaded content from iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore, or signed in to
Game Center or FaceTime.
1.3 USE ICLOUD.COM
You can access your iCloud information using a computer web browser instead of using apps on
your iOS device, Mac, or Windows computer. You go to iCloud.com, sign in, and then use the
iCloud.com web apps: Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, Find My iPhone, Pages,
Numbers, and Keynote.
To prevent anyone from accessing your iCloud information on iCloud.com (such as your email)
while you’re away from your computer, you can sign out. If you’re now signed in from more than
one browser, you can sign out from all browsers at once.

6. CHAPTER 2
HISTORY
iCloud is the latest branding of Apple's cloud computing services. It has previously been branded
as iTools in 2000, .Mac in 2002, and MobileMe in 2008.
iCloud was announced on June 6, 2011, at the 2011 Apple Worldwide Developers
Conference (WWDC). Apple announced that MobileMe would be discontinued after June 30,
2012, with anyone who had an account before the unveiling of iCloud having their MobileMe
service extended to that date, free of charge.
The official website, www.icloud.com, went live in early August for Apple Developers. On
October 12, 2011, iCloud became available to use via an iTunes update. iCloud had 20 million
users in less than a week after launch. The iCloud.com domain and registered trademark were
bought from a Swedish company called Xcerion, who rebranded their service
to CloudMe. CloudMe still controls major domains like iCloud.de, iCloud.fr and iCloud.es.
A class action lawsuit by customers unhappy over the transition from MobileMe to iCloud was
filed in early May 2012.

7. CHAPTER 3
FEATURES
The cloud-based system allows users to store music, photos, applications, documents, bookmarks,
reminders, backups, notes, iBooks, and contacts, and provides a platform for Apple's email servers
and calendars. Third-party iOS and OS X app developers are able to implement iCloud
functionality in their apps through the iCloud API.
3.1 BACKUP AND RESTORE
iCloud allows users to back up the settings and data on iOS devices running iOS 5 or later. Data
backed up includes photos and videos in the Camera Roll, device settings, app data, messages
(iMessage, SMS, and MMS), ringtones, and Visual Voicemails. Backups occur daily when the
device is locked and connected to Wi-Fi and a power source. In case of a malfunction of any Apple
device, during the restoration process, iCloud offers to restore all data along with App data only if
the device was synced to iCloud and backed up.
3.2 BACK TO MY MAC
Back to My Mac, also previously part of MobileMe, is now part of iCloud. As before, this service
allows users to log in remotely to other computers that have Back to My Mac enabled and are
configured with the same Apple ID.
3.3 EMAIL, CONTACTS, AND CALENDARS
As with MobileMe (and .Mac and iTools before it), an iCloud account includes an email account.
Unlike MobileMe and its previous iterations, an email address is an optional part of an iCloud
account, in that the user can choose not to use it but can still use the email as their iCloud Apple
ID. The email account can be accessed using any standard IMAP-compatible email client as well
as the web portal mail client on iCloud.com. Additionally, on an iOS device, iCloud email is push-
enabled.
Users converting existing MobileMe accounts to iCloud accounts kept their existing "@me.com"
email addresses, and users whose accounts pre-dated MobileMe and had both me.com and
mac.com email addresses kept both. In iOS 6 beta 3, Apple gave notice to developers that new

8. signups would instead get "@icloud.com" email addresses. As with the .Mac to MobileMe
transition, existing users get to keep their old addresses and also get a matching new icloud.com
address, so messages sent to a valid account with multiple addresses all end up in the same inbox.
Users setting up new iCloud accounts, whether completely new or attaching them to existing non-
MobileMe Apple IDs, can opt to not have email with their iCloud account. These users don't see
the iCloud webmail component when signing in at iCloud.com. They still need a valid email
address with another email provider to sign-up (e.g. a Gmail account), and that existing non-Apple
email address becomes their iCloud login.
3.4 FIND MY FRIENDS
In iOS 5, iCloud introduced a new feature called Find My Friends. Find My Friends is very similar
to Find My iPhone, except users can share their location with other friends or family using the
feature. Concurrently with the launch of iOS 5, Apple released an app for Find My Friends. iOS 6
added location-based alerts to notify the user when a device arrives at a certain location.
3.5 FIND MY IPHONE
Find My iPhone, formerly part of MobileMe, allows users to track the location of their iOS device
or Mac. A user can see the device's approximate location on a map (along with a circle showing
the radius depicting the margin of error), display a message and/or play a sound on the device
(even if it is set to silent), change the password on the device, and remotely erase its contents. The
feature was first announced on June 10, 2009 and was included in iOS 3.0 software update as a
feature for paying MobileMe users. Find My iPhone was made free of charge with the iOS 4.2.1
software update on November 22, 2010, but only for devices introduced in 2010. An iOS app was
also released by Apple on June 18, 2010, which allows users to locate their device from other iOS
devices running iOS 4 or later software. In iOS 5, Find My iPhone was continued as a feature for
iCloud. iOS 6 introduced Lost Mode, a new feature that allows the user to mark a device as "lost",
making it easier to protect and find. The feature also allows someone that finds the user's lost
iPhone to call the user directly without unlocking it. Similar phone finder services under various
names are available for other families of smartphones.

9. 3.6 ICLOUD KEYCHAIN
iCloud Keychain was announced at the 2013 Apple Worldwide Developers
Conference (WWDC), to be released as part of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks (version 10.9). It was
not released with the initial release of iOS 7, instead being added with the release of iOS 7.0.3 and
OS X Mavericks following Apple's October 22, 2013 event. It re-introduces the old MobileMe
Keychain syncing function that was removed with the initial release of iCloud in 2011, but now
renamed iCloud Keychain.
It functions as a secure database that allows information including a user's website login
passwords, Wi-Fi network passwords, credit/debit card management (though without CVV), and
other account data, to be securely stored for quick access and auto-fill on webpages and elsewhere
when the user needs instant access to them. They are always stored encrypted using 256-
bit AESencryption, are stored on device and pushed from iCloud between devices, and only
available on a user's trusted devices.
The service can also suggest new longer and more secure passwords to the user, if and when
required. It will only be available for use on Apple platforms, and even more specifically, when
using inside a browser, will only work with Safari browser on iOS 7.0.3 and OS X Mavericks
(version 10.9) onwards.
3.7 ITUNES MATCH
iTunes Match debuted on November 14, 2011. It was initially available to US users only. For an
annual fee, customers can scan and match tracks in their iTunes music library, including tracks
copied from CDs or other sources, with tracks in the iTunes Store, so customers do not have to
repurchase said tracks. Customers may download up to 25,000 tracks in 256 kbit/s DRM-
free AAC file format that match tracks in any supported audio file formats in customers' iTunes
libraries, including ALAC and MP3. Customers also have the choice to keep their original copies
stored on their computers or have them replaced by copies from the iTunes Store. Any music not
available in the iTunes Store is uploaded for download onto customers' other supported devices
and computers; doing this will not take storage from the customers' iCloud's storage allowance.
Any such tracks stored in the higher quality lossless audio ALAC, or original
uncompressed PCMformats, WAV and AIFF, are transcoded to 256 kbit/s DRM-free AAC format

10. before uploading to the customers' iCloud storage account, leaving the original higher quality local
files in their original format.
If a user stops paying for the iTunes Match service, all copies of the DRM-free AAC iTunes Store
versions of tracks that have already been downloaded onto any device can be kept, whether on iOS
devices or computers.
From iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks onwards, the iTunes Radio function will be available across
devices, including integration with the Music app, both on portable iOS devices and Apple
TV (2nd generation onwards), as well as inside the iTunes app on Macintosh and Windows
computers. It will be included in an ad-free version for subscribers to the iTunes Match service
and will initially be available in the US only, before rolling-out to other countries later.
As of December 9, 2013, iTunes Match is available in 116 countries with the addition of Finland,
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, while iTunes in the Cloud is available in 155 countries.
3.8 IWORK FOR ICLOUD
During the 2013 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote speech, iWork for
iCloud was announced for release at the same time as the next version of the app versions of iWork
later in the year. The three apps for both iOS and OS X that form Apple's iWork suite
(Pages, Numbers, and Keynote), will be made available on a web interface (named as Pages for
iCloud, Numbers for iCloud, and Keynote for iCloud respectively), and accessed via the iCloud
website under each users iCloud Apple ID login. They will also sync with the users iOS and OS
X versions of the app, should they have them, again via their iCloud Apple ID.
This allows the user to edit and create documents on the web, using one of the supported browsers;
currently Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. It also means that Microsoft Windows users now
have access to these native –previously only Apple device– document editing tools, via the web
interface.
3.9 PHOTO STREAM
Photo Stream is a service supplied with the basic iCloud service which allows users to store the
most recent 1,000 photos on the iCloud servers up to 30 days free of charge. When a photo is taken
on a device with Photo Stream enabled, it is automatically uploaded to the iCloud servers; from
there, it is automatically pushed to the rest of the user's registered devices. Photos in Photo Stream

11. will automatically be removed from other devices after the user reaches the 1,000 photo or 30 day
limit. Users who utilize Photo Stream on their Mac or PC can choose to have all photos
permanently saved on their computer - their photos in Photo Stream will not be removed from the
computer when they are dropped out of Photo Stream after the user reaches the 1,000 photo or 30
day limit. The service is also integrated with Apple TV, allowing users to view their recent photos
wirelessly on their HDTV.
3.10 STORAGE
Since introduction in 2011, each account has 5 GB of free storage for owners of either an iOS
device using iOS 5.x or later, or a Mac using OS X Lion 10.7 or later. Additional storage can be
purchased in tiers of 10, 20, or 50 GB – 50 GB being the maximum. The amount of storage is
shared across all devices per iCloud Apple ID.
Several native features of iCloud use each user's iCloud storage allowance, specifically, Backup
and restore, and email, Contacts, and Calendars. On Macs, users can also store most filetypes into
iCloud folders of their choosing, rather than only storing them locally on the machine. While Photo
Stream uses the iCloud servers, usage does not come out of the user's iCloud storage
allowance. iTunes Match music content that is not sold in the iTunes Store also gets uploaded to
the user's iCloud storage and comes out of the user's allowance. Other apps can optionally integrate
app storage out of the user's iCloud storage allowance.
Not all of a user's content counts as part of their iCloud storage allowance. Apple is able to keep a
permanent track of every purchase a user makes under their Apple ID account, and by associating
each piece of content with the user, means only one copy of every Store item is needed to be kept
on Apple's servers. For items bought from the iTunes Store (music, music videos, movies, TV
shows), iBookStore (books), or App Store (iOS apps), this uses a service Apple call iTunes in the
Cloud, allowing the user to automatically, or manually if preferred, re-download any of their
previous purchases on to a Mac, PC, or iOS device. Downloaded (or streamed, provided the user
is connected to the Internet) iTunes Store content can be used across all these devices, however
while iBookStore and App Store content can be downloaded to Macs and PCs for syncing to iOS
devices, only the iOS devices themselves can be used to read books or use the iOS apps. Similarly,
OS X apps purchased from the Mac App Store are also linked to the Apple ID they were purchased
through, and are able to be downloaded to any Mac using the same Apple ID. Also, when a user

12. registers any new device, all previously bought Store content can be downloaded from the Store
servers, or non-Store content from the iCloud servers.
In addition to the free 5 GB of iCloud storage, previous MobileMe accounts (to be precise, those
"individual" accounts, or the master account user only, not the sub-members, on "family pack"
accounts) were automatically given the extra 20 GB tier on iCloud, and those with MobileMe
accounts with 40 or 60 GB of additional purchased storage received a complimentary upgrade of
50 GB of iCloud storage. Originally this was going to be until the close of the MobileMe service
on June 30, 2012, but Apple later extended this to be until September 30, 2012. On September 30,
2012 users noticed that the free storage upgrade had not expired, but had seemingly been extended
50 years longer, with their devices showing an expiry date of September 30, 2038. However over
the course of the next few days this soon changed to show just a year's extension, until September
30, 2013, with Apple emailing customers to advise them of the extension. On August 1, 2013,
Apple posted a knowledge base article and emailed affected former MobileMe customers who
received the free storage upgrade, to notify them that this expires on September 30, 2013, and
would then revert to the free 5 GB tier, also advising them in the email of the amount of iCloud
storage they were currently using. As expected, on September 30, 2013, Apple ended the
complimentary storage plan upgrades for former MobileMe members, re-advising them by
emailing where they also told users the amount of iCloud data they were currently left using.

13. CHAPTER 4
PRIVACY AND SECURITY
Apple takes data security and privacy of your personal information very seriously. iCloud is built
with industry-standard security practices and employs strict policies to protect your data.
4.1 DATA SECURITY
iCloud secures your data by encrypting it when it is sent over the Internet, storing it in an encrypted
format when kept on server (review the table below for detail), and using secure tokens for
authentication. This means that your data is protected from unauthorized access both while it is
being transmitted to your devices and when it is stored in the cloud. iCloud uses a minimum of
128-bit AES encryption—the same level of security employed by major financial institutions—
and never provides encryption keys to any third parties.
4.2 PRIVACY
Apple has a company-wide commitment to your privacy. Our Privacy Policy covers how we
collect, use, disclose, transfer and store your information.
In addition to adhering to the Apple Privacy Policy, Apple designs iCloud features with your
privacy in mind. For example:
4.2.1 FIND MY IPHONE
 You must turn on Find My iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in iOS Settings before your device
can be located.
 You must turn on Find My Mac in OS X System Preferences before your Mac can be located.
 Location data is sent from your device only when you request its location—it is not
transmitted or recorded at any other time.
 Last known device location data is stored on Apple's servers in an encrypted format for 24
hours and then permanently deleted.

14.  Lost Mode data is stored on the device that is in Lost Mode and retrieved on-demand by you
only.
 You are automatically signed out of the Find My iPhone app (on device or on the web) after
15 minutes of inactivity.
 Remote Lock allows you lock a device's screen to prevent others from accessing your data.
 Remote Wipe lets you permanently and securely erase your data from a device.
4.2.2 FIND MY FRIENDS
 To use Find My Friends, you must first download the optional and free Find My Friends app
from the App Store.
 For someone to see your location, you must first give that person explicit permission.
 Your location is sent from your device only when a friend requests to see your location—it
is not transmitted or recorded at any other time.
 There is a single switch you can use to hide from all of your friends at any time.
 Last known location data is stored on Apple's servers in an encrypted format for only 2 hours,
and then permanently deleted.
 If you do not have a passcode lock set on your device, you will be automatically signed out
of Find My Friends after 15 minutes of inactivity.
4.2.3 ICLOUD KEYCHAIN
 iCloud Keychain encryption keys are created on your devices, and Apple can't access those
keys. Only encrypted keychain data passes through Apple's servers, and Apple can't access
any of the key material that could be used to decrypt that data.
 Only trusted devices that you approved can access your iCloud Keychain.
 Advanced settings allow you to choose an iCloud Security Code longer than four digits or
have your device generate one for you.
 You can choose to disable keychain recovery, which means that iCloud Keychain is kept up
to date across your approved devices, but the encrypted data is not stored with Apple and
cannot be recovered if all of your devices are lost.

15. 4.2.4 PHOTOS
 You can delete unwanted photos from My Photo Stream at any time. Learn about deleting your
photos.
 You can delete unwanted photos and videos from your shared photo streams at any time. Learn
how to delete photos and videos from a shared photo stream.
 You can remove subscribers from shared photo streams that you created at any time. Learn
how to move subscribers from your shared photo stream.

16. CHAPTER 5
ABOUT INCORPORATING ICLOUD INTO YOUR APP
iCloud is a free service that lets users access their personal content on all their devices—wirelessly
and automatically via AppleID. iCloud does this by combining network based storage with
dedicated APIs, supported by full integration with the operating system. Apple provides server
infrastructure, backup, and user accounts, so you can focus on building great iCloud-enabled apps.
The core idea behind iCloud is to eliminate explicit synchronization between devices. A user never
needs to think about syncing and your app never interacts directly with iCloud servers. When you
adopt iCloud storage APIs as described in this document, changes appear automatically on all the
devices attached to an iCloud account. Your users get safe, consistent, and transparent access to
their personal content everywhere.

17. 5.1 AT A GLANCE
iCloud is all about content, so your integration effort focuses on the model layer of your app.
Because instances of your app running on a user’s other devices can change the local app instance’s
data model, you design your app to handle such changes. You might also need to modify the user
interface for presenting iCloud-based files and information.
There is one important case for which Cocoa adopts iCloud for you. A document-based app for
OS X v10.8 or later requires very little iCloud adoption work, thanks to the capabilities of the
NSDocument class.
There are many different ways you can use iCloud storage, and a variety of technologies available
to access it. This document introduces all the iCloud storage APIs and offers guidance in how to
design your app in the context of iCloud.
5.2 ICLOUD SUPPORTS USER WORKFLOWS
Adopting iCloud in your app lets your users begin a workflow on one device and finish it on
another.
Say you provide a podcast app. A commuter subscribes to a podcast on his iPhone and listens to
the first twenty minutes on his way to work. At the office, he launches your app on his iPad. The
episode automatically downloads and the play head advances to the point he was listening to.
Or say you provide a drawing app for iOS and OS X. In the morning, an architect creates some
sketches on her iPad while visiting a client. On returning to her studio, she launches your app on
her iMac. All the new sketches are already there, waiting to be opened and worked on.
To store state information for the podcast app in iCloud, you’d use iCloud key-value storage. To
store the architectural drawings in iCloud, you’d use iCloud document storage.

18. 5.3 THREE KINDS OF ICLOUD STORAGE
iCloud supports three kinds of storage. To pick the right one (or combination) for your app, make
sure you understand the intent and capabilities of each. The three kinds of iCloud storage are:
● Key-value storage for discrete values, such as preferences, settings, and simple app state.
● Document storage for user-visible file-based information such as word processing documents,
drawings, and complex app state.
● Core Data storage for shoebox-style apps and server-based, multi-device database solutions
for structured content. iCloud Core Data storage is built on document storage and employs the
same iCloud APIs.

19. CHAPTER 6
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
6.1 Advantages
 Don't have to use a USB chord to sync information
 Pushes all your information to listed devices
 Makes it easier to sync information when you get a new device
 It's free to get 5GB of storage
 Easier access to information
6.2 Disadvantages
 iCloud service is compatible only with IOS devices and has widespread accessibility issues
 iCloud will only keep new photos for 30 days using the iPhone
 iTunes has to be open in order to sync music, apps, etc
 Possible security issues when you have multiple devices synced to one account

20. CHAPTER 7
COMPETITORS

21. CONCLUSIONS
iCloud gives you access to all your music, photos, and documents and more without you having
to think about file transfers via USB or a manual wireless sync. iCloud is a set of online services
that ultimately wants to eliminate the need of a central repository the digital hub from where users
were forced to start moving content onto other devices, like iPods and iPhone.
iCloud permeates every aspect of the operating system and it’s built into the apps you use every
day. If you create or edit bookmarks on Safari for Mac, changes will appear on Safari for iOS;
when you add a page to the new Reading List, that page will be instantly pushed to all your devices’
Safari browser.
Cloud computing has enabled teams and organizations to streamline lengthy procurement
processes.

22. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
 http://www.apple.com/in/icloud/
 https://www.icloud.com/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud/