Manage web access to your iCloud data

For additional control over your personal data, you can choose to turn off web access to your iCloud data in iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2 and macOS 13.1 or later.

You can access the data that you store in iCloud on the web at iCloud.com. For additional security and to give you more control over your personal data, you can choose to turn off web access to your iCloud data so that your data is available only on your trusted devices.

When you turn off web access, your iCloud data that’s usually available on the web at iCloud.com — such as mail, contacts, calendar, photos, notes, reminders, files, and documents — can be accessed only on your trusted device. You can still find your devices at iCloud.com/find.

If you turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, data access from iCloud.com automatically turns off. However, you can choose to turn web access back on and use your trusted devices to allow temporary access to your data.

In iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 26.4 or later, if you choose to turn on web access, you can also turn on Allow Search. This lets you use your trusted Apple devices to provide search results for iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos on iCloud.com.

How to manage web access to your iCloud data

You can manage iCloud.com data access in iCloud settings in iOS 16.2 or later, iPadOS 16.2 or later, or macOS 13.1 or later.

In iOS or iPadOS 26.4 or later

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap your name, then tap iCloud.

3. Tap iCloud.com.

4. Tap to turn off or turn on Allow Data Access and Allow Search.

In earlier versions of iOS or iPadOS

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap your name, then tap iCloud.

3. Tap to turn off or turn on Access iCloud Data on the Web.

In macOS 26.4 or later

1. From the Apple menu , choose System Settings.

2. Click your name, then click iCloud.

3. Click Data Access on iCloud.com.

4. Click to turn off or turn on Allow Data Access and Allow Search.

In earlier versions of macOS

1. From the Apple menu , choose System Settings.

2. Click your name, then click iCloud.

3. Click to turn off or turn on Access iCloud Data on the Web.

When you turn off Access iCloud Data on the Web and then sign in to iCloud.com, you get an alert. This alert confirms that iCloud Data Web Access is Off and you can’t access your data. To turn web access back on, select the “Manage on device” link that appears on iCloud.com. Then follow the prompts on one of your trusted devices.

Web access and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

If you turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, web access to your iCloud data at iCloud.com turns off automatically. This ensures your data is only available on your trusted devices. To access your iCloud data on the web:

1. In iCloud settings, turn on Allow Data Access or Access iCloud Data on the Web.

2. Sign in to iCloud.com.

3. Use your trusted device to approve temporary access to your data.

After you approve access from your trusted device, you can access your data at iCloud.com. For the next hour, your device provides approval each time that you access a new category of data — such as photos, notes, or files. When your device provides access to a new category, you get a notification.

After an hour, you need to approve from your trusted device again to access a new category of data. Once you access a category of data, you can access it until you sign out of iCloud.com or close the browsing session.

Some data isn’t available on iCloud.com, such as Health data and passwords in iCloud Keychain.

Web access and privacy.apple.com

When you turn off web access to iCloud data, you also limit the data that you can receive using Apple’s data and privacy management tools at Apple's Data and Privacy page. Your iCloud data, which includes mail, contacts, calendar, photos, notes, reminders, files, and documents, won’t appear on your list of available data. To request this data, you need to turn web access back on.

Additionally, if you turned on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, Apple isn’t able to access or provide copies of iCloud data protected using end-to-end encryption, whether or not you allow web access. Learn about which data categories are protected by end-to-end encryption.

Some personal data that Apple stores and that’s associated with your Apple Account is still available to you at privacy.apple.com, regardless of your web access or data protection settings. This includes account information, transaction history, and support history.