Unidy vs iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is bulk storage that keeps every file in step across your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Unidy is for your most important personal documents, like your passport or your lease, shared with a PIN and an end date, and for your contacts and your digital business card.
| Feature | Unidy | iCloud Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Price and free storage | 1 GB free for your documents. More space: $1 per GB a year. It costs more than bulk storage because Unidy reads and encrypts each document, and makes a new protected copy every time you share it | 5 GB free. 50 GB: $0.99 a month. 2 TB: $9.99 a month |
| Encryption when stored (at rest) and sent (in transit) | AES-256 at rest. TLS 1.3 with a hybrid post-quantum key exchange | Encrypted at rest and in transit. Algorithm and version not named on the page |
| End-to-end encryption | Not end-to-end. One key per person, kept apart from your information. No master key | With Advanced Data Protection, free and opt-in, only your trusted devices hold the keys. Not offered in the UK since February 2025 |
| A copy for each recipient, with their name on it | A fresh copy for each person, company or government office, never your stored file, with their name, the purpose of the share and the date watermarked by default | People you share with open the same file. No watermark |
| PIN or password on a shared file | A 6-digit PIN, on by default. If you want, also a password on the PDF copy, which it still asks for once downloaded | Not found on their site |
| End date and limit on openings for a shared file | Every shared copy stops opening after 7 days at most, and can be limited to 1, 3, 5 or 10 openings | An end date: not found on their site. No limit on views |
| See who opened a shared file | Every opening of a shared copy, with time, approximate place and device, and refused attempts | Not found on their site |
| Share only some pages or some details | Chosen pages of a document, or chosen details such as name and photo | Not found on their site |
| Reads expiry dates and reminds you | Reads a document’s expiry date and reminds you months before, free | Not found on their site |
| Contacts that update themselves, and a digital business card | People you’re connected with on Unidy get your new details. A personal digital business card and up to 5 professional ones, free | Not found on their site, for contacts that update or a business card |
| Selling your data, or using it for ads | Unidy never sells your personal information and builds no ad profiles | Not stated for iCloud Drive on Apple's advertising privacy page |
Prices checked on October 13, 2026, in US dollars.
Where iCloud Drive is the better choice
- End-to-end encryption: with Advanced Data Protection turned on, only your trusted devices hold the keys to iCloud Drive. Unidy is not end-to-end.
- Keeping all your files, photos and backups the same on every Apple device, with iCloud built into iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Plans with up to 12 TB of space, and Family Sharing, which shares a plan with up to 5 other people.
Where Unidy is different
- Each time you share a document, Unidy makes a new copy just for that recipient, a person, a company or a government office, with their name and the date written across it.
- Every document you share has a PIN by default, stops opening on the end date you choose, 7 days at most, and can be limited to 1, 3, 5 or 10 openings.
- You see each time someone opens a document you shared: when, roughly where, and on what device.
- You can share chosen pages, or only some details, such as a name and photo instead of a whole passport.
- Unidy reads the expiry date of a passport or driver’s license and reminds you months before it runs out.
- Your digital business card opens on any phone from a link or QR code, with no app and no account.
Using both
Keep your files and photos in iCloud Drive. Keep your important documents, such as your passport and ID card, in Unidy, and share them from there.
Unidy accepts PDF, photos (including iPhone HEIC), Word and Excel files, so you can add the documents you already have.
Sources
Checked on October 12, 2026. Products change: tell us if something here is out of date.