iCloud

Photo Stream can be a convenient way to automatically back up photos from the iPhone to iCloud. It can also mean that private photos are floating around on Apple servers. Just ask the multitude of celebrities who found their Photo Stream had been raided for nude images which were then published online. Remarkably, the intrusion was performed without compromising Apple systems or security procedures.

For iPhone users who are worried about iCloud syncing photos to Photo Stream, the service is entirely optional. Photos are normally protected by a strong password and security questions, but those who don't want copies of private photos on a remote server can follow these steps to turn off the service. Once Photo Stream is disabled and photos are removed from My Photo Stream, they will no longer be stored on iCloud.

Organizing contacts into groups can help to locate specific contacts faster with iOS. Unfortunately, the stock iOS Contacts app does not have built-in support for creating new contact groups. While existing groups can be accessed directly from iOS, new groups must be created and populated with contacts by using iCloud.

This process will only work if iCloud is enabled to sync with the iPhone under Settings -> iCloud -> Contacts. To begin, access the iCloud website at iCloud.com and sign in using the same Apple ID and password that is connected to your iOS device. Once logged in follow these steps:

iPhone lost? With any luck Find My iPhone has been activated and locating the device takes only minutes. In order for this scenario to happen, Find My iPhone must be configured on the iOS device with an Apple ID and iCloud account. The process is simple, and can save many headaches over a lost iPhone.

Besides the free iOS app Find My iPhone, an iOS device can be tracked using a web browser on a computer. This means that a lost iOS device can be found from virtually anywhere with just iCloud login credentials. So how to setup and use Find My iPhone?