Disable syncing of iCloud documents to the Mobile Documents directory

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Disable syncing of iCloud documents to the Mobile Documents directory

Aside from disabling iCloud Drive, is there any way to disable the automatic syncing of documents from iCloud to the ~/Library/Mobile Documents directory?

I have 4 Macs and all have iCloud Drive enabled but the Desktop & Documents Folders setting unchecked. And all 4 Macs sync the entire iCloud document library to each machine at the above directory.

While I definitely understand syncing a few docs, syncing the entire iCloud doc library on all machines seems pretty ridiculous. Perhaps I misunderstand the intended usage model and if so, then I'm not seeing any real compelling reason to use iCloud Drive...

Posted on Oct 25, 2021 5:16 PM

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Answer 1

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FoxFifth

Level 10

468,849 points

Oct 25, 2021 6:31 PM in response to cyberzeus

That is what iCloud Drive is designed to do.

You can potentially reduce the storage needed for iCloud Drive by turning on Apple menu > System Preference > Apple ID > iCloud > Optimize Mac Storage.

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Answer 2

cyberzeus Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 25, 2021 7:10 PM in response to FoxFifth

Thanks @FoxFifth...

If having up to 2-4 TB of data 100% in sync with all machines that utilize iCloud Drive is "...what iCloud Drive is designed to do." --- fair enough. It's just a very a poor design. This isn't really directed at you as much as it is the Apple folks who do appear to read these things every now and then. Just to make sure, I have submitted my feedback elsewhere as well. :=)

Thanks again...appreciate the help...

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Answer 3

jnls

Level 1

8 points

Nov 14, 2021 7:08 AM in response to cyberzeus

Is there a distinction between folders you yourself have stored on iCoud Drive and folders on someone else's iCloud Drive that they have shared with you? I don't mind syncing and locally storing the former. That allows my backup programs to catch anything in my local ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder (macOS). But I'm finding that those documents I share with others end up and persist in their ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder. Fine if they want to download some or all of my documents, but 90GB of documents unknowingly and involuntarily? Please tell me there's a way to prevent abuse of my colleagues in that way.

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Disable syncing of iCloud documents to the Mobile Documents directory

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