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How To Disable iCloud.com Web Access To Your Data
If you want the ultimate in security, you should disable iCloud web access to your emails, photos, and more…
If you own an Apple device you almost certainly have an iCloud account. An iCloud account is linked to your Apple ID and it’s essentially Apple’s version of Gmail, Google Drive, and more. A basic iCloud account lets you view your iCloud emails, address book, calendar, photos, notes, reminders, and iWork documents online in any web browser.
Additionally, an iCloud account comes with iCloud Drive (basically Apple’s Dropbox), so you can store your files online. All your App Store purchases and iTunes movie, TV show, and music purchases as well as all your Apple Books purchases are tied to your Apple ID, and thus your iCloud account.
That’s all just for the basic iCloud account too! Apple also offers the iCloud Plus subscription, which gives you all the benefits of a regular iCloud account along with more storage, iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, HomeKit Secure Video, and more.
Your iCloud data is protected by Apple’s encryption and you can even make most of your iCloud data end-to-end encrypted thanks to Advanced Data Protection. This means not even Apple can access most of your iCloud data (emails, contacts, and calendars are the exception).
But for the ultimate in privacy and security, iCloud users will want to disable iCloud.com access to their data. Here’s why and how…
Why You Should Disable iCloud.com Access To Your Data
All your iCloud data is available on any Apple device you own so long as you are signed into your iCloud account on the device. However, you can also access your iCloud data from any device in the world using a modern web browser. You do this at iCloud.com and once you log in you’ll be able to see all your emails, address book, calendars, photos, notes, reminders, and iWork documents there.
But by having your iCloud data accessible via a web portal, you are leaving open a point that bad actors could exploit. After all, if they know your iCloud username (usually your @iCloud email address) and password, they could log into your iCloud account from their web browser. Of course, you should have two-factor authentication set up to thwart this, but if you don’t all the bad actor needs is your user name and password.
That’s why it’s best for users who want the ultimate protection of their iCloud data to turn off web access to their data. This means your iCloud data will only be accessible on your trusted devices – the iPhones, Macs, PCs, and iPads your iCloud account is logged in to.
Now, if you’ve already enabled Advanced Data Protection for your iCloud account, your web access to your iCloud data is already disabled. But if you haven’t turned on Advanced Data Protection, your iCloud data can still be accessed via the web – unless you manually disable it. Here’s how….
How To Disable iCloud.com Web Access To Your Data
You disable web access to your iCloud data using different steps depending on if you are doing it from an iPhone and iPad, or a Mac. But you only need to do it on one device.
If you are using an iPhone or iPad, do the following:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap your name at the top of the screen.
- Tap iCloud.
- Tap the switch next to “Access iCloud Data on the Web” to toggle it OFF (white).
If you are using a Mac, do the following:
- Open the System Settings app.
- Click your name at the top of the app.
- Click iCloud.
- Click the switch next to “Access iCloud Data on the Web” to toggle it OFF (grey).