iCloud

September 19, 2016 / Arun Patwardhan / 1 Comment

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Collection Type, Sequence Type & Indexable Type

August 20, 2016February 27, 2017 / Arun Patwardhan / 1 Comment

This is for Swift Version 2.2 & earlier. I will be adding the snippet of code for the changes the Swift 3.x have introduced.

What are the Collection Type & Sequence Type Protocols?

The Collection Type, Sequence Type & Generator Type Protocols define rules that govern how different data structures or collections of data can be used, interacted with and operated within the Swift programming language. The CollectionType is a special case of the SequenceType.

Why do we need such Protocols?

Lets take the example of the Swift For-Loop.

var arrOfStrings : [String] = [String]()

arrOfStrings.append("Jill")
arrOfStrings.append("Jack")
arrOfStrings.append("John")
arrOfStrings.append("Jane")

for name in arrOfString
{
     print("The name is \(name)")
}

Now, if we have created our own data type. We would not be able to use the above for-loop as it would not conform to the … type protocols. The for-loop is expecting a data structure that acts and behaves in a way that is governed by the … protocols.

Just like the for-loop example above there are many other features within the Swift Programming Language that expect data structures to act and behave in a particular way. By designing our data structures to conform to these protocols we can make the easily compatible with the existing code and language features out there.

How do we use these protocols for our own data structures?

First we need to decide what kind of collection are we making. For the sake of this example I will create a Custom Stack.

class CustomStack<Element>
{
    var data : [Element] = [Element]()

    func push(Element newElement : Element)
    {
        data.append(newElement)
    }

    func pop() -> Element
    {
        return data.removeLast()
    }
}

The above code is very simple for the purpose of this exercise. Its a stack. Which is internally really an Array. It has functions to push data and pop data. We are now going to convert this type to a collection to conform to the CollectionType protocol.

Implementing the Indexable Protocol methods

As a first step we are going to make our CustomStack conform to the Indexable Protocol.

extension CustomStack : Indexable
{
    //INDEXABLE PROTOCOLS
    typealias Index = Int

    var startIndex : Int
    {
        return 0
    }

    var endIndex: Int
    {
        return (data.count - 1)
    }

    subscript (position : Int) -> Element
    {
        return data[position]
    }
}

The above change makes the data structure conform to the Indexable protocol. This is a requirement for it to be of type CollectionType. In order to conform to the Indexable protocol we need to implement a few computed properties. Let us look at the changes

typealias Index = Int

This line informs the system that the Indexing type for my data structure is an Int.

var startIndex : Int
{
    return 0
}

var endIndex: Int
{
    return (data.count - 1)
}

The next 2 are computed properties. Each provides the implementation of the startIndex and endIndex properties. Note that the type for both is Int as we have declared the Index type earlier as Int.

subscript (position : Int) -> Element
{
    return data[position]
}

The last implementation is of subscript. This provides the implementation to access an Element from the Stack using the Subscript operator.

Implementing the Sequence Type Protocol

Next we will implement the Sequence Type Protocol methods.

extension CustomStack : SequenceType
{
    typealias Generator = AnyGenerator<Element>
    
    func generate() -> Generator
    {
        var index = 0
        
        return AnyGenerator(body: {() -> Element? in
            if index < self.data.count
            {
                let res =  self.data[index]
                index += 1
                return res
            }
            return nil
        })
    }
}

Let us examine this code line by line.

typealias Generator = AnyGenerator<Element>

Objects of type Generator allow us to navigate through our collection. Quite like how iterators work in C++. This line specifies the type to be AnyGenerator for Elements.

func generate() -> Generator

Next we start the implementation of the generate function. This is required as part of the SequenceType protocol.

var index = 0

This index variable is used to track the element that is currently being accessed.

return AnyGenerator(body: {() -> Element? in
            if index < self.data.count
            {
                let res =  self.data[index]
                index += 1
                return res
            }
            return nil
        })

The return statement is the main statement. Here we are creating an object of type AnyGenerator. As an argument to the constructor call we are passing in a closure that will be used to iterate through the sequence. Note that the closure captures the index variable and holds a reference to its value even though we have left the original function.

Implementing the Collection Type Protocol

Next we will implement the Collection Type Protocol methods. We don’t really need to implement a lot in order to conform to the CollectionType protocol. In fact, if we just conform to the CollectionType protocol and use the implementations of the previous 2 extensions we should be just fine. However, for the sake of demonstration we are implementing the subscript functionality within the CollectionType.

extension CustomStack : CollectionType
{
    typealias SubSequence = CustomStack<Element>
    
    subscript (bounds: Range<CustomStack.Index>) -> CustomStack.SubSequence
    {
        let newStack : CustomStack<Element> = CustomStack<Element>()
        
        for i in bounds.startIndex...bounds.endIndex
        {
            newStack.push(Element: data[i])
        }
        return newStack
    }
}

Let us look at the code line by line.

typealias SubSequence = CustomStack<Element>

Again, as before this line indicates that the SubSequence type is actually a CustomStack.

subscript (bounds: Range<CustomStack.Index>) -> CustomStack.SubSequence

Here we start the implementation of the subscript functionality.

let newStack : CustomStack<Element> = CustomStack<Element>()
        
for i in bounds.startIndex...bounds.endIndex
{
     newStack.push(Element: data[i])
}
return newStack

The rest of the code is the implementation of the subscript range behaviour. One can have different implementations to achieve the same result.

CollectionType Video

Conclusion

As we can see, by designing our data structure to conform to a particular set of protocols. We have made it possible for our data structure to take advantages of the different features, functionalities and even API’s available within the Swift Language and the Frameworks used as a part of iOS, macOS, watchOS & tvOS development.

Creating Frameworks for iOS/OS X App Development

August 6, 2016 / Arun Patwardhan / 1 Comment

Creating Swift Frameworks

Creating Swift Frameworks is easy. The steps below walk you through creating a Swift Framework. The steps below have been performed on Xcode 7.3

Launch Xcode.
Select Create New Project. Or from the menu bar select File > New > Project
From the Template chooser select the Framework & Library Option under iOS
Select Cocoa Touch Framework
Give your project a name.
Make sure the language selected is Swift.
Feel free to enter values of your choice for organisation name and organisation identifier.
Save your project. Optionally, if you have a version control repository like Git you may save it there.
In left hand side bar make sure you have selected the Project Navigator.
Within the Project Navigator make sure you have selected the folder named after your project.
Click on File > New > File.
Make sure iOS Source is selected on the left hand side.
Select the file type as Swift.
Write down the code that you want to make available through a framework.
Now this is the key point. Place the keyword public before all the elements that you want to make publicly accessible.Why do we need to do this? To understand this we need to understand the scope of different elements within a typical Swift project.
Different variables/classes/functions that are declared within a module are accessible freely within the module. Swift files contain code & are themselves found within Swift modules. So a module can mean project or a framework.So, to access the variables/functions/classes from module A in module B, we have to make those elements of module A public in order to access them in module B.

For more information, do read Apple’s Swift Documentation.
The next steps depend on what your ultimate objective is. If you wish to build a framework for distribution then you need to follow a process that is similar to distributing an app. You need to get the code signing done & prepare the project for distribution.
If however, you plan to release it internally, or even just test it. Then you can follow the steps below.
Firstly, our objective is to make this framework run on both OS X(macOS) as well as iOS.
To do that we will be adding a new target. Click on File > New > Target.
Select OS X & the Frameworks & Libraries from the sidebar.
Select Cocoa Touch Framework
Give your framework a unique name. Something that indicates this framework is for OS X(macOS).
Now, we don’t need to rewrite the code for the Mac. We can simply make the file we have written a member for the OS X Framework Target.
To do that make sure that the right hand side sidebar is visible.
In the left hand side sidebar make sure that you have selected the new Swift file with the code you have written in there.
In the right hand side sidebar select the Document Inspector.
Under Target Membership make sure that both the Targets are checked. The target for iOS should already be checked.
Thats it. If you do not wish to make your code available for both iOS & OS X then skip steps 19 – 27.
The next part is building the framework. We will be building this framework for use internally. We will first build the iOS framework.
From the tool bar, make sure the target selected is for iOS. For the device you can select any device that you wish.
Then click on Product > Build to build the framework. If all goes well then you should get the message Build Succeeded on your screen.
To get hold of the framework, expand the product folder from the left hand side sidebar.
Select the Framework you have just built. Note that it should be black in colour. If you have opted to make a framework for OS X, then you should see that framework listed too, it should be in red colour. The red colour indicates that it has not yet been built.
Control-click on the iOS version of the framework and select Show in Finder.
This will take you directly to the folder containing the framework. Copy paste it to the desktop or to any other location to easily access it when required.
Repeat steps 30 – 34 to build the OS X version of the Framework. Make sure that the target selected is OS X.
Once we have done that, we need to test the framework we just created.
Create a dummy iOS Project for testing.
From the left hand side project navigator make sure that the blue project settings file is selected.
Make sure that the Target is selected within the settings screen.
Under the General tab scroll down to the Embedded Binaries section.
Click on the ‘+’ sign to add a framework.
Click on Add other
Navigate to the folder where you saved the Framework and select it.
Click Open
Select Copy Items if needed
The framework should be added to your project.
In the ViewController.swift file import your Framework: import CustomStack
Replace CustomStack with your frameworks name.
Try to write the code which uses the elements you have packaged within the framework.

Creating Mixed Frameworks (Swift & Objective-C)

The process of creating a mixed library is straightforward. Its almost the same as above with some minor differences.

Follow the steps mentioned above to add your Swift Code.
Add your objective-C files to the project.
While adding the files make sure that the checkbox for the targets is selected appropriately.
Write the code that you wish to write in Objective-C. Of course, if you are including prewritten files then you do not need to do this.
To make the Objective-C code accessible in Swift you need to make the following changes:
1. In the umbrella header of your framework add the line to import the header
```
#import "<FrameworkName>/<HeaderName>.h
```
2. Modify the access property located within the target membership of the Objective-C header file.
This should make your Objective-C code accessible to the Swift files.
Test the changes by accessing your Objective-C code in your Swift files within the framework.
Test the changes further by embedding your mixed language framework into a project & then try to access both the Swift as well as Objective-C versions of the code in your new project.
To make your Swift code accessible to Objective-C File make the following changes:
1. Make sure that your Swift code is compatible with Objective-C. There are 2 ways of doing this. One you can make your Swift class inherit from NSObject. The second way is to use the @objc keyword before your class declaration.
2. In the Objective-C header file add the line to add the bridging header which is auto generated. You do not need to create your own bridging header.
```
#import "<FrameworkName>/<FrameworkName>-Swift.h"
```
  Replace the word FrameworkName with the name of your Framework.
3. This should allow you to access your Swift code in your Objective-C header file within the same Framework Project.
This way you can make a single framework which contains code written in both Swift & Objective-C.

What to do before buying/selling Apple devices?

June 1, 2016 / Arun Patwardhan / Leave a comment

Apple’s devices are getting more and more popular by the day. People are really excited to get hold of the newest product that comes out of its stable. This guide walks you through some of the things you need to keep in mind while buying used devices or selling your existing device. This may not apply when buying a new product from the store for the first time, however, its still good to know these things & run your device through a checklist.

Note the checklist provided below is by no means comprehensive nor is it complete. There might be other things to keep in mind before buying &/or selling used devices, depending on the geographic area, situation, and circumstances.

Buying

Before buying a used products run them through this checklist. Some items are device specific.

Make sure there is no physical damage to the device. Dents, scratches, cracks, missing screws.
Start the device & make sure it loads up as expected.
Check the different user interface elements: touch screen, 3d touch, keyboard, iSight camera, speakers, home button, Microphone
Check the different ports: USB, Ethernet, FireWire, Thunderbolt, USB-C, HDMI, Audio-out, SD card reader, lightning connector, 30-pin connector
Check the power cord, adapter & charging port
Note the version of the OS. Eg: OS X 10.10.3
Note the build number
Check the model number. This is important for Software Upgrades/Hardware upgrades. Older hardware may have an upper limit on the hardware expansion capability &/or the ability to run latest software optimally.
Check the Support Coverage for your device. This is important, especially if you have to take your device in for repairs.
https://checkcoverage.apple.com/in/en/
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204308 – Find your devices Serial Number
Note down the serial number
Make sure that the device does not contain any personal data belonging to the seller. While it is the sellers responsibility to ensure this, it still is a good idea to verify that there are no accounts are signed into. This is VERY IMPORTANT for iOS Devices due to its implications on Activation Lock.
Activation lock is used to prevent anyone from using a stolen device: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201365
Before buying please check the Activation lock status: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/
Make sure there is no personal digital content in the form of Apps/Song/Movies or documents.
For Mac, make sure that there is no Firmware Password that is set.

Selling

The list above should give you a good idea on what you need to do while planning to sell your Apple device.

Delete all personal data. Make sure you have a backup of the same.
Remove any applications you may have installed.
Sign out of all accounts: Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook, iCloud, Apple ID…
Delete any user accounts you may have created. Leave a single admin account.
If you have used any Encryption service then make sure you turn off encryption before selling the device. This is more of a precaution to prevent issues that may arise in the future.
This article illustrates what to do if you are selling giving away iOS Devices: https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201351
As a good measure, delink your Apple ID from your device. You can do this by:
- Go to http://www.icloud.com
- Sign in with your Apple ID
- Click on Settings
- Select the device you want to give away:
- Click on the cross to remove it from your Apple ID
De-register from iMessage.
Remove any custom settings, passwords (Firmware Password) that may compromise your security or prevent the user from fully using the device.
As a good measure completely erase the hard drive of your device.
Document items such as OS Version, Serial Number for your own reference.

Enterprises may take additional steps

To ensure data security, Enterprises may perform Secure Erase or drive replacement to prevent recovery of corporate information, when assigning devices to employees or selling them out in the market.
Enterprises should also protect against Activation lock. When collecting iOS Devices, assigned to an employee who is leaving the organisation, always check to make sure that the device is not locked to the employees Apple ID.

These are some of the things that you can do to make the transaction easy on both the sides.

Apple ID & iTunes

May 17, 2016 / Arun Patwardhan / 3 Comments

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Loading your App on your iPhone

April 1, 2016 / Arun Patwardhan / Leave a comment

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OS X and iOS troubleshooters toolkit

October 28, 2015 / Arun Patwardhan / Leave a comment

This article covers some of the things troubleshooters would need during their everyday work. I’ve also listed links to some products and applications as an example. It is by no means an endorsement of the same.

OS X Install Disk: This is probably one of the most important tool that a troubleshooter must carry around with him/her. Ideally it would be one disk with multiple versions, each corresponding to a specific version of the OS. Exactly how many versions depends on the situation, for example one can have all instances of the present and previous 2 versions of the OS (For example OS X Mavericks 10.9, 10.9.1, 10.9.2, 10.9.3, 10.9.4, 10.9.5 OS X Yosemite 10.10, 10.10.1, 10.10.2, 10.10.3, 10.10.4, 10.10.5 OS X El Capitan 10.11, 10.11.1)

Thunderbolt & FireWire Cables: These come in handy when it comes to transferring data. These cables are necessary when you wish to perform target disk mode troubleshooting. Make sure you have the correct version of the cable.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD862LL/A/apple-thunderbolt-cable-05-m

Portable Storage Device: Along with the cables mentioned earlier having a portable storage device with a large capacity is useful. Mainly when it comes to taking a back up. The user may or may not have a storage device available for this. (Ideally, taking a backup of the data should be done by the user on his/her own storage device.)

http://www.lacie.com/as/en/products/mobile-storage/rugged-thunderbolt/

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HE154VC/A/promise-pegasus2-r8-24tb-8-by-3tb-thunderbolt-2-raid-system

http://www.promise.com/Products/Pegasus

Internet access via USB Dongle: Yet another important tool. Application & OS upgrades require internet access. This will also come in handy when you are trying to perform network troubleshooting. Make sure there is sufficient data available for upload/download. Optionally one can carry multiple Internet dongles from different vendors.

Portable Power Bank: This is more useful for portable devices. Carry one with a large capacity, enough for multiple recharges or charging multiple devices.

Display adapters: Necessary to troubleshoot when the main display isn’t working or to heck the display ports. Carry all combinations HDMI to VGA, MiniDisplay to VGA, MiniDisplay to HDMI, HDMI to HDMI and any others depending on the device to be connected to.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/H9139VC/B/kanex-atv-pro-x-hdmi-to-vga-adapter-with-audio-support

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MB572Z/B/mini-displayport-to-vga-adapter

Secondary Display: This might not be practical as displays tend to be very large and not necessarily portable. However, one can carry a small pocket projector. A secondary display is always handy as it reduces dependency on the user/client to provide one.

Power adapters: Not strictly required but can come in handy. Useful for checking if the user’s power cord is functioning properly. Make sure you carry all the different versions of the power cords.

Lightning & 30 pin cables: Again not strictly necessary but would be useful for checking if the user’s power cord is functioning properly. Make sure you carry all the different versions of the power cords.

MacBook Pro &/or iPad: Carrying your own Mac & iPhone/iPad is very important. Load these devices with various tools required to diagnose and/or fix issues.

https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/inettools-network-diagnose/id561659975?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inet-network-scanner/id340793353?mt=8

Disk Drill: http://data-recovery-software-review.toptenreviews.com/mac-recovery-software/mobile/disk-drill-pro-review.html

Airport Utility: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1664

Airport Utility: AirPort Utility by Apple

https://appsto.re/in/YJ7Dz.i

Simple steps towards securing your iPhone

August 4, 2015 / Arun Patwardhan / 1 Comment

Data safety is always a must. With portable devices it gets even more important. Here are a few steps that one can take to make sure their iPhone/iPad/iPod touch is secure. While the guide says iPhone, you can apply many of these steps to other iOS devices, subject to feature availability.

PASSCODE & TOUCH ID UNLOCK

This is the simplest form of security. You are prompted to setup your passcode during the initial device setup itself. While it is not necessary, it is highly recommended. Of course, you can change this at any time. The other option on the newer devices is to use the fingerprint scanner called Touch ID. This adds a convenience to the user while taking care of the security needs. The important thing is that your finger print details are left on the device. Nothing is shared over the internet. The Touch ID is limited to newer devices.

ACTIVATION LOCK

Activation lock is a feature that was first introduced in iOS 7. The idea behind Activation lock is to make sure that no one is able to use a stolen device, even if it is erased. This is activated automatically once you sign into your iCloud account. To use a device after it has been erased, the user must enter the Apple ID & password that was used to sign into iCloud on the device.

Care must also be taken when transferring devices & Activation Lock: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH13695?locale=en_US

FIND MY IPHONE

This feature is available via the iCloud service. It allows you to locate your device & shows it up on the map itself. This feature is extremely useful if you have lost the device. Note: For this to work, the device requires an active network connection.

Once configured, you can locate the device using the web that is via http://www.icloud.com or through the “Find my iPhone” app on another iOS device.

ERASE PHONE

Another useful option is to automatically erase the phone, if the number of passcode attempts by a user exceeds the maximum specified limit.

This is setup in the Touch ID & Passcode section within the Settings app.

ALLOW ACCESS FOR SERVICES WHEN DEVICE IS LOCKED

Just having a passcode or Touch ID may not be enough in all cases. Some data is also available from the lock screen. One can control the availability of data on the lock screen from the Touch ID & Passcode screen within the Settings app.

PRIVACY

Additionally, you can also control what information from your device is being shared & which apps have access to that information. There is a lot of flexibility available when it comes to controlling the kind of information being shared.

The user can specify which apps can access their contacts, calendar events, location & other data.

AUTO LOCK

It’s very rare that one leaves their iPhone unattended. But in the rare cases that one is distracted from the task they are performing on the device, it would be nice to know if the device can lock itself up.

This is done through auto lock within the General settings under the settings app.

RESTRICTIONS

Located under the general settings within the settings app, restrictions, as the name says, allows us to disable certain applications and actions from being executed.

The passcode is required to enable/disable the feature.

Managing all your data on iOS devices

July 21, 2015 / Arun Patwardhan / Leave a comment

In todays interconnected world managing all your data is quite important. Most of us end up having more than one smart device that we use everyday. As time goes on we will buy a newer version of the device. It is not necessary that we will get a newer version of each smart computer that we own simultaneously. This means that we have to pay special attention to making sure that our data stays up to date on all the devices & that there is no accidental loss of data.

There are various solutions available to users which easily takes care of data management problems commonly faced by multiple users. One of the most common solutions is to make sure that all your data is available on the cloud. I have given a brief overview on the different cloud services available in my previous article.

However, storing information on the cloud is not enough. Some effort still needs to be done on the users end to ensure that the data is there everywhere they want it. In this article I will be talking about managing your data, migrating your data & backing up your data on your iOS devices.

The starting point for this is the iCloud service. It is a free service provided by Apple & is a must for iPhones & iPads.

Through this article I will be referring to the iOS device as iPhone, however, the steps apply to any iOS device. A few settings & options may change depending on the version of the OS on your computer & your mobile device. The steps mentioned below would be applicable for iOS 8. They may be applicable for earlier versions, but all features may not be available.

Moving your data (migrating) from your old iPhone to your new iPhone

This is a very common situation. Most people have a devices for a few years & place a lot of data on it. Once they purchase a new device getting the same data onto the new device is the challenge. This involves a few steps.

STEP 1

Make sure your iCloud service is turned on. By default iCloud provides sync capabilities for the information enumerated below. Note that not all services needn’t be on. But its a good idea to make sure that it is on at the very least for migration purposes.
1. Contacts
2. Calendar Events
3. Reminders
4. Photos
5. Notes
6. Documents for Keynote/Numbers/Pages
7. Any documents you might have placed in the iCloud Drive (iOS 8 & later).
8. Passbook
Data provided by other services such as Google, Microsoft & any other provider will be taken care of by their respective accounts.
Prepare a list of apps that don’t take advantage of the iCloud service or any other cloud based service. Note: Some apps do take advantage of iCloud but need the feature to be turned on explicitly. You may have to back this data up manually. If there are online accounts associated with the app, then make sure you are signed in & that the account offers data retrieval at a later point in time.
Take a backup of your phone on your computer using iTunes.

STEP 2:

Turn on your new iPhone & follow the screen steps.
When asked “if you would like to setup the iPhone as a new phone or not” choose the option to restore from backup (do this only if you plan to restore from a backup taken via iTunes or from iCloud).
This will prompt you to connect your iPhone to the computer where you last backed up your old iPhone.
Once the restore is complete simply sign in with your Apple ID & start using your new iPhone from where you had left off.
All the Apps, songs, movies, books purchased using your Apple ID will be available on your new iPhone. Apps will be available subject to OS Version compatibility.

For those who do not have a computer based backup or don’t have a computer can choose to backup their phone onto iCloud. Note that this will require sufficient free space available on the cloud. When they are prompted to restore users will have to sign in with their Apple ID & restore the backup from there.

Moving data from your computer to your new iPhone or Moving from another smartphone to iPhone

This is for first time buyers or people switching to the iPhone. No matter which is the case there is one important thing to be done. You have to move your data onto a cloud service which is compatible with iPhone.

From a computer

iCloud is available for iOS Devices, Macs & Windows. So if you are moving your data from Windows onto your iPhone you could consider running iCloud for Windows. Additionally the iCloud service is also accessible from the browser. So you can access many documents across both the platforms.

Apart from this you can also use iTunes for Windows to move your data from the computer to the iPhone.

From another smartphone

This will mean that you will have to use a third party cloud service. Good choices for something like this would be Google Drive or Dropbox. Other services such as Evernote could also be used for the same.

On your current device transfer as much content as you can to the cloud service. Note that apps & media purchased on the smartphone may not necessarily be available due to compatibility reasons.
On your new iPhone sign in with the same cloud service & pull in all your data.

Backing up your iPhone/iPad

Backing up data is very important. This is a step missed quite often by many users. A common mistake made is in believing that they can restore all their data from the iCloud whenever they wish. While that is true, iCloud is not meant to act as a backup. You can choose to save your backup on iCloud, but this is simply using the iCloud storage space for holding the backup & is not otherwise accessible.

There are 2 options to backing up your iPhones data. One is to back it up onto your computer using iTunes, the other is to back it up onto iCloud.

Backing up onto iCloud

Pros

Your backup is immediately available.
No need to have a separate computer just for this.
Backup can be restored from any location as long as internet connection is available.

Cons

A very good internet connection would be required.
The backup is restricted by the amount of space available on the cloud.

Backing up using iTunes

Pros

There is no storage limit. Your backup can be very large.
You can have multiple large backups.
Optional encryption capability.
With WiFi, based syncing the backups happen automatically.

Cons

You have to be physically connected to the computer using cable or WiFi to perform the backup.
You have to be physically connected to the computer using cable or WiFi to restore the backup.

Backing up your WhatsApp messages using iCloud

June 9, 2015July 15, 2015 / Arun Patwardhan / Leave a comment

Its a safe assumption that most of us use WhatsApp for our everyday communication. In fact, it is one of the most widely used methods of communication.

People use it for all kinds of things: Staying in touch with friends, family. Collaborating with people on an office project, conducting team meetings, communicating with a client. This means that our conversations are of utmost importance to us. So one should take care & back these messages up on a regular basis. The big advantage with backup is that one can even restore past conversations from the backup when the user switches from one iOS device to the other.

Use the following steps to backup your messages to iCloud