Apple holding "Documents" folder hostage - iCloud

Vice-Versa Said:

“Apple's holding my "Documents" folder hostage when I try to deactivate iCloud drive syncing. The message says, it will delete the local copy and just keep the cloud copy which is exactly the opposite of what normal user intend is.”

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This is Normal for All Cloud Services:

Everything is uploaded to cloud storage. It will not be saved, but rather instantaneously deleted, unless you download it for local storage (i.e. Internal Hard Drive).

And that makes sense, because without downloading it, it would not just stay there. Apple would not keep inaccessible items on their servers — nor would I, for note, because it would just be a waste of space.

So, be certain you download it all. Save it to an external Hard Drive, to save state in your internal Hard Drive.

From the Apple Support article referenced below:

"If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents."

Nothing is being held hostage.

I recommend, just to prevent a loss, you copy the contents of your documents/desktop folder to another location on your Mac or external drive, before turning that setting off. Please read the entire article, especially the last part: Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

Also, in general, I'm sure you're making regular backups of your Mac.

Vice-Versa Said:

"Apple holding "Documents" folder hostage - iCloud: My point is that the whole messaging & functioning is deliberately confusing in order to keep people in their money grabing eco-system. To make sure I keep my system consistent, I had to upgrade again to iCloud storage (long upload), and hopefully afterwards, I will be able to deactivate without corrupting the file location and cancel the iCloud storage."

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1. Go Here: Feedback - iCloud - Apple
2. Select: "iCloud Drive" for the "Feedback Type"
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