Apple announces the launch of iCloud+ premium subscription service

The iCloud cloud storage service currently provided by Apple provides 5GB of free space. If you need to use more storage space, you need to pay for a monthly subscription.

If users are willing to pay for a subscription, then Apple is now also bringing new free features: enhanced privacy protection and iCloud+ services that enable end-to-end encryption.

The service is chargeable, but it is a free upgrade for users who have already subscribed to more storage space, that is, after subscribing, they can enjoy more new features provided by Apple.

The most important of these new features is to protect privacy through complex network connections so that your data will be encrypted multiple times to ensure safety after leaving the device.

The first thing to mention in the new subscription service is the Private Relay function, which is used to protect user traffic from being obtained by the man-in-the-middle attack.

When this function is used, all data leaving the device will be encrypted multiple times, and the encrypted data will be sent to an independent Internet relay node for obfuscation.

At this time, Apple will assign an anonymous IP address to the user’s traffic, and then map this IP address to the user’s area to prevent the advertising network from identifying the user’s actual location.

The obfuscated data is then sent to a new Internet relay node to forward the user’s request so that the intermediary cannot track the user after the information is separated.

Since Internet relay nodes are not operated by Apple, the net effect is that no entity can know who the user is and which sites the user visits.

The obfuscated IP can not only prevent the user’s actual address from being tracked but also prevent the user from being tracked by the IP through the automatic replacement of the IP address.

The second enhanced service provided by Apple is based on random email addresses provided by Apple’s login system. Users can use these addresses to replace their actual addresses.

For example, the Apple login system allows users to register with a random address, but this is mainly used in some applications that access the Apple login system.

The enhanced version launched this time can be used anywhere, such as selecting a random address in the browser or using a random address provided by Apple when sending emails.

These addresses can be used to send and receive mail, but users can easily deactivate this address if there is a lot of spam after the address is leaked.

In this way, users do not need to reveal their real email addresses, and can also control who can send emails at any time to avoid being bombarded by spam emails.

The third enhanced service provided by Apple is the support for Homekit Secure Video, that is, home environment video will be passed through Apple and end-to-end encrypted.

Using this subscription service allows users to connect more cameras, and the recorded video will be stored securely through end-to-end encryption and does not occupy existing space.

The end-to-end encrypted video cannot be viewed unless the user authorizes the device or account to ensure that the user’s home video content will not be leaked and released publicly.

Due to regulatory reasons, iCloud Private Relay is not available in some regions, including but not limited to Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and other countries.

Via: TechCrunch