Apple Reportedly Storing Over 8 Million Terabytes of iCloud Data on Google Servers

Apple has dramatically increased the amount of iCloud user data it stores on Google Cloud, according to The Information.

iCloud General Feature
The report claims Apple now has over eight million terabytes of data stored on Google's servers. As of mid-May, Apple was reportedly on track to spend around $300 million on Google cloud storage services this year, which would represent an increase of roughly 50% from all of 2020. Apple is said to be the largest corporate client for Google Cloud, dwarfing other high-profile customers like Spotify.

Google Cloud staffers have apparently even given Apple an internal code name that hints at its size as a customer: "Bigfoot."

Apple relies on a combination of its own data centers and third-party cloud storage services, such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, to store iCloud user data like photos and messages. Apple does not provide third-party cloud storage providers with the keys to decrypt user data stored on their servers, ensuring a strong level of security.

The report speculates that Apple's increased use of Google Cloud suggests the company's rising cloud storage requirements have outpaced its ability to develop and operate its own data centers needed to handle the resulting data.

Tags: Google, iCloud

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Second Generation AirTag Feature

Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More

Monday January 26, 2026 6:07 am PST by
Apple today introduced the second-generation AirTag, with key features including longer range for tracking items and a louder speaker. For those who are not familiar, the AirTag is a small accessory that you can attach to your backpack, keys, or other items. Then, you can track the location of those items in the Find My app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and iCloud.com. The new...
iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s Gets New Software Update 13 Years After Launch

Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released. iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple to Launch These 20+ Products This Year

Sunday January 25, 2026 6:02 pm PST by
2026 promises to be yet another busy year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements over the coming months. Beyond the usual updates to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches, Apple is expected to release its all-new smart home hub, which was reportedly delayed until the more personalized version of Siri is ready. Other unique products rumored for ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Reportedly Aiming to Upgrade the MacBook Pro Twice This Year

Sunday January 25, 2026 11:46 am PST by
Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display models in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman added that redesigned MacBook Pro models with an OLED touch screen "should be hitting toward the end of 2026," meaning that the MacBook Pro line would be upgraded twice this year. First up...

Top Rated Comments

grantew1 Avatar
60 months ago

Truly a shame.
Apple does not provide third-party cloud storage providers with the keys to decrypt user data stored on their servers, ensuring a strong level of security.

Google doesn't have access to the data. What's a shame?
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
60 months ago
Little do Apple realise that Google just store that 8 million TB of data on their own google@icloud.com iCloud account.
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GubbyMan Avatar
60 months ago
8 Exabytes for $300M a year. Which means Apple is paying Google $1 a month for 320GB of storage.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
60 months ago

Truly a shame.
So what is Apple supposed to do instead? Limit iCloud storage? Magically have data servers and centers appear? It takes time to build centers. If Google or other companies have them already, why not use those temporarily or instead?
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
grantew1 Avatar
60 months ago

Is google has my data? Great!
Reading > you.

Apple does not provide third-party cloud storage providers with the keys to decrypt user data stored on their servers, ensuring a strong level of security.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bobcat32 Avatar
60 months ago
I’m feeling triggered ? lol
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)