Is iCloud totally worthless?

As iCloud is not an online file storage system or a backup system for Macs or PC's (only for IOS devices) and is not advertised as such it's a bit unfair to criticize it for not doing that which it is not supposed to do.

And as any of the online backup or storage systems (DropBox, Box, SugarSync etc) run perfectly well on an IOS device your recommendation to use one of them applies equally to an iPhone or iPad. No need to descend to Android devices.

Enjoy your Android, good luck with the malware.

My problem is I don't want my data to be accessible to hackers or to the US Government (which has the legal power and ability to access data stored in the US). Some of my work is highly confidential government work (NOT USA government) and it would be a gross breach of security for me to allow that information to be accessed by the US Government or anyone else.

Don't tell me hacking can't happen - because the evidence is very clear that it happens regularly and the larger the target, the more attempts are made.

I don't have a problem with other people deciding to use iCloud. I strongly object to Apple making it very difficult to opt out of iCloud. One result of their process is that if I am not careful when I update my ios, I lose all my contacts and Calendar information etc. and have to restore from back up and then manually re-enter anything that was done in between upgrades, etc.

mysteryrare wrote:

I strongly object to Apple making it very difficult to opt out of iCloud.

Just don't turn it on, you don't have to do anything. Is that not simple enough for you?

So manually backup every day instead of just backing up at upgrade time. It's certainly simple enough. Seems to me would solve your problem. You wouldn't be using iCloud and you'd have a current backup on your computer. Am I missing something else in terms of your concerns?

That was really helpful and so polite!

Unfortunately I can't see any option to just simply not turn it on. I actually have to turn it off, every single time I do an upgrade or a reboot: which is extremely irritating. If there is a way to avoid doing so I would love to hear about it.

Push the big button that says Sign Out

A. I thought I did a backup every time I synced - it says so on the little window. I don't do it daily (sometimes 3-4 times a day and sometimes not for 2-3 days). I thought I had backed up over a hundred times since I got my latest phone. The first time I tried to recover the backups it was not at all clear that I could go back beyond the last backup (which did not have the missing data because I backed the phone up after the upgrade and before I realised my contacts, and lots of other ciritcal data, had gone missing). It was not at all intuitive that the other 4 options for backups (why so few?) were old backups of the existing phones (only two were dated - one with a date from 3 years ago). Instead the backup options looked like old phones. I eventually worked it out and found a backup that I knew predated the re-boot but I lost a lot of data.

B. I was not seeking help just sounding off - but to explain further, something in the upgrade to my phone, led to a major problem with my computer data. All of my calendars in iCal and all of my contacts in Address Book also disappeared: and they were there just before the ios upgrade on my phone. I understood that iTunes should not touch the computer data unless I ask it to do so. Something happened and it is not the first time I have had problems with syncing apple products. So much so that I am thinking of switching to another provider. I am not interested in a product that requires me to do follow complicated processes to prevent things from happening that should not be allowed to happen in the first place.

mysteryrare wrote:

A. I thought I did a backup every time I synced

Backup and sync are 2 entirely different things, it sounds as if you don't backup at all.

I suggest that you start.

Yes, it is totally useless. PDF files do not sync, notes do not sync, and files get deleted without warning. After many hours of frustration, I turned off all syncing and now rely on Dropbox. Automatic, seamless, background syncing is a pipe dream ...