Master safari, mail & messages

3 min read

Master Safari, Mail & Messages

Using iCloud with these Apple apps keeps data in sync across your devices

By sharing data over iCloud, you can get more from some of Apple’s key apps.

The iCloud service offers more than cloud storage for files and media. iCloud.com – in Calendar, Reminders, Notes, Contacts and more. By switching on the iCloud option for key Apple apps on both Macs and mobile devices, you can keep this data in sync between your devices. Make a change on one device, and it’s reflected on all the others. We’re concentrating on Safari, Mail and Messages here, but you can also sync data – and make it available on To turn on iCloud for these apps on a Mac, open System Settings/Preferences from the Apple menu, click [your name] > iCloud and then the Show More Apps button. Make sure iCloud is switched on for the apps in question. On a mobile device, open Settings and tap [your name] > iCloud then Show All, and again turn on iCloud for the apps in question.

In the Safari app, you can sync your Safari bookmarks, Reading List and tabs. With all your devices signed into your Apple ID and iCloud switched on for Safari, you can save a website as a bookmark on your Mac, for example, and it will also appear on your iPad and iPhone. Removed entries also disappear everywhere, but you can restore archived bookmarks on iCloud.com.

Sync the Mail app using iCloud, and the order of your mailboxes, email address suggestions and contacts you’ve identified as VIPs will be kept in sync. You can also turn on Mail syncing in iCloud Drive (on a Mac, go to System Settings/Preferences > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Drive and click ‘Apps syncing to iCloud Drive’. On a mobile, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Drive and tap ‘Apps syncing to iCloud Drive’.) This syncs mail rules, blocked senders, signatures, smart mailboxes and more.

Messages in iCloud

Turn on ‘Messages in iCloud’, and all your Messages, whether sent through Apple’s iMessage service or as regular SMS messages, are synced. If you’re using the latest versions of Apple’s operating systems, improved Messages syncing means you benefit from Text Message Forwarding, Send & Receive accounts and SMS filters. Unfortunately, you can’t read or send them on iCloud.com at the time of writing. We hope this will be added soon.