Just looking for some advice.
My understanding is that there is no easy, automatic way to back up files that I store on iCloud Drive. That is, back up the files to a local hard drive.
So do people just trust that Apple will never make an error with their cloud service, causing the loss of personal files? Or do people use Dropbox or other similar services which maintain both cloud and local copies?
iCloud Drive by default maintains a local copy on your hard drive. You can view it in Finder via the Finder "Go" menu > iCloud Drive. You can also add it to the Finder sidebar via Finder Preferences.
There is however an option that you can turn on that may result in no local copy. See the following from Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support
If you need more space on your device, iCloud Drive can help. On your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options and turn on Optimize Mac Storage. Then your Mac keeps all of your recent files on your computer, but keeps your older ones only in iCloud, ready for you to download when you need them again. If you want to free up more space on your Mac, follow these steps.
iCloud Drive by default maintains a local copy on your hard drive. You can view it in Finder via the Finder "Go" menu > iCloud Drive. You can also add it to the Finder sidebar via Finder Preferences.
There is however an option that you can turn on that may result in no local copy. See the following from Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support
If you need more space on your device, iCloud Drive can help. On your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options and turn on Optimize Mac Storage. Then your Mac keeps all of your recent files on your computer, but keeps your older ones only in iCloud, ready for you to download when you need them again. If you want to free up more space on your Mac, follow these steps.
Thanks, but I'm still confused. On my Mac, I have NOT optimized Mac storage. But when I click on iCloud Drive in Finder, I see little cloud symbols next to the file names. So, I am not convinced that Apple's iCloud service is maintaining a full copy of my files both in iCloud Drive and on my Mac.
What am I missing?
I don't have an explanation for that; it is not what is expected.
How to back up iCloud Drive files to local hard drive?
