Some users have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple due to storing iCloud data on third-party servers
iCloud is Apple’s basic free and pay-per-use personal cloud storage service, which is deeply integrated into many of Apple’s products. Of course, most Apple users will upload data to iCloud without knowing it. For example, some applications rely on the service to synchronize configuration data. Apple said that iCloud’s data is “stored by Apple,” which allows users to think that data is stored on Apple’s servers.
In fact, Apple does have multiple data centers to provide Internet services to users, and of course, includes storing some iCloud data in these data centers. But based on the size and cost of the user, Apple actually rents other company servers, which together with the data center provide support for iCloud. For example, iCloud provides support for the three giants in the cloud computing field, namely Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. User data may be stored in Apple’s own data center or it may be stored in other data centers that provide server support for iCloud.
“Touting itself as the provider of the iCloud service (when, in fact, Apple was merely reselling cloud storage space on cloud facilities of other entities) allowed Apple not only to obtain paid subscriptions of class members who subscribed to iCloud believing that their cloud storage was being provided by Apple, but also allowed Apple to charge a premium for its iCloud service because subscribers placed a value on having the ‘Apple’ brand as the provider of the storage service for their most sensitive data,” the suit reads.
In the lawsuit, users believe that Apple violated customer trust and legally binding contracts and used Apple’s name to sell iCloud subscription services to users. This behavior has caused many users to mistakenly think that all data is stored in Apple’s data center, but in fact iCloud also uses servers from other companies. And the data stored on the servers of other companies can’t be fully controlled, so Apple distorts the nature of the service between iCloud and users. Simply put, Apple just rents another company server to resell it to iCloud users. It’s not that Apple uses its own data center to serve users.
Some users said that he used the iCloud service to entrust a large amount of important information to the iCloud, and paid extra fees to ensure the security of the data. While Apple is selling to subscribe to the iCloud excess space, Apple does not explicitly state that all data may be stored in a data center that is not operated by Apple. The user said that if he knows that the data is not stored in the Apple data center, he will not subscribe to the iCloud service. Obviously, this is Apple’s deception.
Via: Apple Insider
