iCloud Drive cache

Open system preferences > iCloud and uncheck the box of iCloud Drive a pop up window appears , showing to keep a copy of documents , and remove from the Mac .

( a ) if you had clicked on keep a copy , they will be archived in home folder that can be viewed by clicking on finder in the dock , take cursor on top menu bar > Go > Home > your user name > iCloud Drive ( Archive ) .

Again double click on empty iCloud Drive box in the last , the circle rotates and iCloud Drive box gets check , the precious data is with you , in any case you exceed the designated storage limit and can't purchase a new storage plan the data is yet in iCloud Drive ( archive ) .

Hi luigi1807,

Thanks for reaching out here in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that you are wondering if the documents that are on iCloud drive on your Mac are recoverable now that you no longer have them in iCloud Drive.

I'm glad to help with this.

If you had downloaded the files from iCloud to your Mac, they may be available on your Mac still. This explains where to find them: Work with folders and files in iCloud Drive

Take Care.

Hi luigi1807,

That's a great question.

Understanding a little more about what iCloud does and doesn't do will help with the answer.

iCloud is not a backup system for anything except an iOS device.

The other iCloud features simply allow you to access information on any device that is using the same Apple ID.

It's important to make sure you have backups of anything you use iCloud for, in case something happens, and you no longer have access to iCloud.

This explains how to Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support

Hope that helps!

perhaps the real question is, if the data on the server are deleted by Apple, will Apple also delete the data in my iCloud folder on my machine(s)? in other words, do I HAVE to move my data to a different folder BEFORE the iCloud account is terminated?

Sort of.

Your iCloud storage will never be less then the free 5GB.

If you allow your subscription to a larger amount to expire, or you terminate it your self, you will have 30 days to move your data off iCloud.

So, yes, you may have to move it but you will have 30 days to do so.