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Do you use an iPhone in addition to an iPad? Are you also using a Mac or a Windows PC? In any of these cases, or even if you’re using just an iPad on its own, you can make use of iCloud, Apple’s free cloud-based sync, backup and file storage service. 

To put it simply, iCloud enables you to sync your music and movies plus your photos, contacts, calendars and various kinds of data wirelessly to the cloud. This means they’re all stored on Apple’s online servers and are then available on any compatible devices. How does it work? First, you need to be using the latest versions of iOS and OS X (and there’s also a handy Windows desktop tool and iCloud control panel if you use a PC instead of a Mac  find it at http://apple.co/icloud). To sign up for the service, you’ll need an Apple ID.

Then you simply enable iCloud and choose which types of files and data you want to sync: contacts, calendars, reminders, notes, bookmarks, mail account settings (your email messages too if you opt to set up an iCloud Mail account) and more. Now instead of backing up to your Mac or PC via iTunes, your device will sync with iCloud over Wi-Fi, even if you plug it manually into your computer using a cable.

Part of the service is iTunes in the cloud, which enables you to wirelessly download all your purchased iTunes music and movies to any or all of your devices. The same goes for App Store and iBook Store purchases.

Next is iCloud Photo Library, which syncs your photos: take a snap on your iPhone, and it is automatically available on your Mac and all your other iCloude linked devices. All your shots are stored in Cloud Photo Library, so you get the complete collection wherever you are provided you have enough space in your iCloud storage for them all. You get 5GB of storage by default, but can upgrade, as we’ll explain below.

You can also sync your web browser bookmarks, and adding items to your Reading List on one device means they’ll then appear in the Reading List in Safari on all your other devices linked to the same iCloud account. You can also see what tabs you have open in Safari on your other devices, and open them with a tap or click on any other device. iCloud can even sync playback: if you start to play a movie, TV show, podcast or audio book on one device and then pick up another, it will resume playing from the point where you left off on the first device. This works for content bought or rented from Apple, and also for your own movies stored locally.

Finally, there’s iCloud Drive (formerly iCloud Storage). This also uses your free 5GB of storage, in this case for backing up your documents and data (but your music, apps or other purchases don’t count towards the quota). If you need more you can pay for it with a monthly subscription from 20GB to 1TB extra but be aware that the prices jump rather sharply as capacity rises. The 20GB option is only a small fee, though .

Tap Settings > iCloud and, if you didn’t enable iCloud during setup, you can do so now. Decide which iCloud services you want to switch on. Choosing Mail won’t sync all the email accounts you may access via the Mail app, only your free @icloud.com account.

Tap Documents & Data to enable your apps to use iCloud to store documents you create and other data such as saved games (you must not have used iCloud Drive yet). You can also choose whether it uses a Mobile (cellular) connection if Wi-Fi is not available.

To enable iCloud Backup, tap Storage & Backup and switch this on. Your iPhone will no longer sync and back up automatically to iTunes. Instead, it will back up to iCloud when switched on and connected to Wi-Fi. You can also tap Back Up Now to back up manually.

Tap iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > Change Storage Plan. You still get 5GB for free; if you need more, you can tap to select a new tariff (pay monthly) under ‘Choose Upgrade’. An extra 20GB (making 25GB, including your initial free 5GB) is just 79p per month.

But do you really need more? On the Manage Storage screen you’ll see your devices that use iCloud backup, as well as a summary of Documents & Data being stored in iCloud. Tap the name of this iPad to see details of what data on the device is being backed up.

To save space and stop backing up items you don’t really need, you can turn each app’s backup on or off. Tap Show All Apps to see smaller apps. iOS apps store user data internally, so Photos contains all the photos you’ve shot, iBooks all the books you’ve bought, and so on.

For devices other than the one you’re using, you can’t view this level of detail but you can see when it was last backed up and how big the backup is. You can also delete any device’s backup, but think carefully before you do this, especially in the case of other devices!

If you’re using iMovie or any of the iLife apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote), make sure to tap each one in Settings and enable iCloud there as well so that your documents are saved to iCloud, accessible at icloud.com and synced on all your linked computers and devices.

If you use Safari on iOS and Mac, you can sync any open browser tabs across all your devices and computers, as long as each is connected to the internet and signed into your iCloud account. In Safari on your iPad, tap the tabs icon at top right to see a list of the tabs open on other devices.