What happens when you "delete documents and data"?

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Level 1

64 points

What happens when you "delete documents and data"?

Hi,

I've never paid much attention to icloud storage, backing up in other ways, so I don't have a good understanding of how iCloud storage works. I have a query about the attached screenshot. I'm trying to free up space in iCloud. I don't need e.g. iMovie files to be backed up in iCloud. When I click on 'delete documents & data', I get the warning that iMovie docs and data will be deleted immediately form iCloud "and all of your devices" (see screenshot). What? Does this mean that if I remove iMovie files from iCloud, they get scrubbed form my MacBook pro as well? How can that be right? How is Apple allowed to remove my private files on my computer if I remove them from iCloud? Or does it just mean that the iMovie files won't be synced to my other devices?

And there are other docs I don't need in iCloud either, eg Health.

Thanks,

Tom

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.14

Posted on Oct 26, 2019 9:40 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MrHoffman

Community+ 2024

Level 10

127,035 points

Oct 28, 2019 7:20 AM in response to Tomdbl

If the files are accessed through iCloud on those devices, yes. The files will be deleted.

If those files are actually stored locally, no. The local files will not be deleted.

Many of the apps work with iCloud storage the same as they work with local storage.

That is, the apps access files and projects local storage, and the apps can access files and projects shared iCloud storage.

The local storage is local storage.

The shared storage is, well, shared storage.

If the shared storage is deleted, the shared storage is gone. From all clients. Not just the one doing the deleting.

’The references to the shared storage in all of the clients are shared, and the deletion across all clients will be shared, too.

The local caches of shared documents will also be deleted. Local system caches, as differentiated from local user storage.

Move or copy the data out of iCloud, and then delete the copy in iCloud. Your local copy (maybe under /Users/yourloginfolder somewhere, or out on a NAS disk storage array, or over on Dropbox, for instance) will not be sought out and will not be deleted. But local references to iCloud and local cache for the iCloud copy will be deleted.

or...

Buy a little more iCloud storage and defer this reconciliation?

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Answer 2

Tomdbl Author

Level 1

64 points

Oct 28, 2019 7:31 AM in response to MrHoffman

That's extremely helpful, thanks.

There's one other query I had about iCloud storage. When I open my iCloud drive in the finder or online in iCloud.com, there are only a few random files visible, amounting to no more than a few MB, yet when I access iCloud in preferences, it shows almost all the storage used up in things like mail, iMovie and documents - see comparison screenshots. But I can't see any of these files in the iCloud drive.

Why can't I see the mail files etc in my iCloud drive? What happens if I lose those files on my computer and I want to download them from the iCloud drive?

Thanks,

Tom

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Answer 3

Oct 28, 2019 8:48 AM in response to Tomdbl

You still seemingly don’t understand local and remote storage.

The mail messages on your iCloud (icloud.com, me.com, etc) are stored off of your computer on iCloud, on the iCloud servers, stored remotely, not stored locally, and are only cached locally for performance. You can lose your Mac, and the files on the server will remain available. Everything else on the Mac that wasn’t backed up elsewhere—and to be absolutely clear, iCloud is not a Mac backup scheme—would be gone.

The iCloud mail files are accessible across all of your devices. (Same for stuff on other mail servers, this remote storage isn’t just iCloud. The mail messages relocated to and stored under “on my Mac” in Mail.app are, however, on your Mac. Not on any remote mail server.)

All of that Finder view is (part of) your iCloud drive usage.

As for your mail, the usage is shown in blue, and the files and attachments are not shown in the Finder interface.

For mail files and attachments, look in Mail.app. Look for the files stored on the iCloud server.

Folks would use a (hypothetical) Finder interface into mail, and would delete random mail messages, and that would be a disaster.

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Answer 4

Oct 28, 2019 6:22 AM in response to Tomdbl

Move the iMovie project(s) that have been stored on iCloud elsewhere, if you want to keep that.

Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support

Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

and...

https://www.macworld.com/article/3226482/how-to-safely-clean-imovie-files-from-iphone-or-ipad.html

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Answer 5

Tomdbl Author

Level 1

64 points

Oct 28, 2019 6:31 AM in response to MrHoffman

I still don't understand. So, if I hit 'delete' in the example above, and remove iMovie files from my iCloud drive, Apple will somehow scrub those same files from all my devices, and the only way I can avoid that is to store the files offline somewhere where Apple can't get at them?

Surely that's not right?

Tom

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Answer 6

Tomdbl Author

Level 1

64 points

Oct 28, 2019 11:48 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks.

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What happens when you "delete documents and data"?

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