Issue with local documents folder

Yeah, it is never good if an Apple tech is not able to understand the basic functional behavior and normal side affects of a macOS feature. It shows that the Apple documentation is insufficient since usually an Apple support agent should be able to easily find official documentation for the basic features of a product (in this case iCloud).

I don't use iCloud, but I have seen it mentioned on these forums that the regular "Desktop", "Documents", and "Downloads" folders will be affected if iCloud is enabled and these folders are being synced to iCloud. I am not certain of the details on what happens to the default macOS folders when iCloud is enabled. Unfortunately Apple's documentation on exactly what happens is either sparse & confusing, or non-existent (one of the reasons I don't enable the feature...because what happens when you disable it? The notifications Apple provides don't always explain things enough to understand the full ramifications of either option presented to the user).

I will not set up AppleID in the System Preferences for a similar reason as I'm not sure what Apple will activate automatically. I just log into my AppleID whenever an app I use requires it, like the Messages app, since it only associates my AppleID with that particular app and leaves all other AppleID options disabled which I never configured (from what I can tell).

Just be careful and make sure to have a local backup of all your files from the computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data. Frequent & regular backups are extremely important to minimize data loss.

You can give Apple product feedback here:

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rudra102 wrote:

No, but I don't think you need to post your experience as it all worked out in the end. Apple Support Community is for finding solutions to your problems.

I think the OP wanted to alert people to how iCloud behaves and to get a better understanding of the process. Unfortunately that information is lacking in the Apple documentation and people only get a bit of understanding only after an incident like the OP encountered and some experimentation with the feature.

Plus the OP was presenting a solution to others who may first search the forums for answers before contacting support. Many people tend to have negative experiences with various support services (not necessarily Apple) so will try to avoid them and put them as a last resort option (I'm one of those people...I don't want to wait in a queue or be told basic troubleshooting steps over & over...it is hard to get support to sometimes jump ahead in their steps).

No, but I don't think you need to post your experience as it all worked out in the end. Apple Support Community is for finding solutions to your problems.