Every Apple user gets 5GB of free storage space in iCloud to store their personal data. With increasing share of Apple products, the demand for corporation’s data services is also on the rise. Recently, the company refreshed iOS Security Guide, in which Apple admitted that it uses Google and Amazon (S3) data-centres for iCloud.
In this 78-page document, the company noted that files stored in iCloud are broken down into chunks, which are stored separately: “The encrypted chunks of the file are stored, without any user-identifying information, using third-party storage services, such as S3 and Google Cloud Platform.”
Apple worked with Amazon and Microsoft since 2011. However, the guide said nothing about Azure (Microsoft’s cloud service). It is believed, that Apple ended their relationship with Microsoft in 2016 and started working on the Project McQueen. This project is aimed to provide Apple with its very own data-centres, that are capable of accommodating stable iCloud operation together with other corporation’s needs.
Regarding the project, it is known today that Apple is building data-centres in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Guizhou (regions of China). Another centre is being built in Ireland after the company won a fight with the local council over the detrimental impact on the ecology of its centres.