What appears to be a bug in Apple's iCloud online storage system started showing an expiration date of 2050 for users that received an extra 20GB of storage for free after migrating from MobileMe. The odd date showed up in user accounts on Sunday, which also happened to be the last day they were set to receive the additional online storage space for free.
iCloud's iOS settings show extra storage expiring in 2050
Apple reminded former MobileMe users about a week ago that the extra 20GB of storage they received for free would go away unless they chose to pay for an add-on package starting at US$20 a year for 10GB. The company said that if users didn't choose an extra storage plan they'd drop back to the default 5GB free plan.
By Monday morning, however, subscriber accounts were still showing the extra 20GB of storage and their expiration date was pushed to 2050 even if they hadn't paid for an upgrade plan. Subscribers saw the 2050 date when they checked their iCloud subscription on iOS devices and in System Preferences on their Mac.
System Preferences shows the 2050 expiration date, too
While 20GB of free online storage until 2050 would be a great deal for iCloud users, it's almost certainly nothing more than a bug in Apple's subscription system. Apple also had iTunes Store issues on Sunday, and that also happened to be the day the company's Ping music-related social service was set to shut down.
The Mac Observer asked Apple for clarification on the issue because for now users can't pay to extend their online storage plans, but we haven't received a response yet.