It's Tuesday, October 1, 2013, which means that if you're a former MobileMe user, you've lost 20GB of free storage on iCloud unless you've migrated to a new paid plan. The upgrade expired on September 30th.
Apple's iCloud service lets you access photos, documents and other files regardless of what device you're connected to - computer, iPad or iPhone. It offers data synchronization capabilities so you can keep your calendar, contact database and other important info the same between devices. And it also helps you back up important files on your iOS devices. iCloud, which is free in its basic form, replaced Apple's earlier subscription-based MobileMe service, so Apple extended MobileMe customers some extra storage capacity for added value.
For many - if not most - users, the standard 5GB of storage included with all free iCloud accounts is perfectly sufficient to manage some light backups and keep other data synchronized. But for those who are doing more with iCloud, Apple offers tiered storage plans - an additional 10GB for $20 per year, 20GB for $40 per year, or 50GB for $100 per year.
Apple had previously sent an email to MobileMe subscribers to remind them of the change, so this shouldn't come as a total shock. In August, when Apple put the word out to remind users that the upgrade would go away, the company noted:
If the storage you're using in iCloud exceeds the total storage available, iCloud Backup, Documents in the Cloud, and iCloud Mail will temporarily stop working. To resume using these features, you can either reduce the amount of iCloud storage that you're using, or purchase a storage plan with a larger amount of storage than you're currently using.
There's no indication if the data that overruns the 5GB of free storage is lost permanently or is returned to you when you upgrade. If you find out, let us know.
Is 5GB enough for you, or did you pay to upgrade? Is Apple wrong to charge extra space for iCloud when other cloud services give you more storage space for free? Sound off in the comments.
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