The iCloud logo is seen on a computer tablet screen in this photo illustration on October 20, 2017. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhotoCredit: jaap arriens/Nur Photo
After some speculation, Apple has finally confirmed that it uses Google Cloud Services for iCloud storage. The admission was made in the company’s most recent update to its iOS Security Guide, spotted by CNBC.
The Security Guide has previously indicated that iCloud services relied on Google competitors Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. But the most recent version, released in January, states that iCloud files are stored using “third-party storage services, such as S3 [a product of Amazon Web Services] and Google Cloud Platform.”
According to the guide, all items stored on iCloud, including contacts, calendars, photos, and documents are stored with such third-party services. Each file is broken into chunks and encrypted. The encrypted chunks are then stored on Google Cloud Platform without any user-identifying information.
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The guide does not specify when or why Apple switched from Microsoft to Google, or whether the company is taking advantage of Google Cloud services for anything other than object storage.
Coca Cola, Best Buy, Niantic, Spotify, Motorola, and Airbus rank among the platform’s almost 300 corporations that use the platform. Apple is not listed among Google Cloud Platform’s prominent customers.
Monica wrote for Mashable’s Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
