Freeform hasn't been saving my boards to iCloud; I've lost data. How can I prevent this in the future?

I just got off a call with Apple support. Maria was really trying but to no avail. Apparently, I've lost my week's work.


I had three quite big boards, worked on them every day since last Friday. A lot.


Today I noticed, that they were not syncing with my phone (iPhone 13 Pro Max, laptop is Macbook Pro 16 M1, all latest updates installed on both devices). I checked if everything was set properly (syncing, updates, all of that), because I've already talked with Apple about Freeform syncing issues two months ago, so I knew what to check (they didn't figure out what was causing the issues at that time, but it seemed like they somehow managed to make it work. Turns out they didn't). All set properly. So I went and disconnected and reconnected it to iCloud and... small message popped out "Be careful..." but my hand was faster and finished the disconnect and that was it. All data gone.


Freeform was not really saving my data to iCloud. But I had no idea because everything seemed to be just fine.


So yeah, my bad overlooking that popup message. But the thing is - I checked online and it seem this has been an issue for quite a few users. Has anyone figured it out? I like Freeform but this makes it useless as I can't really trust the app. Or is there any other similar app which actually saves its content?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Aug 31, 2023 7:23 AM

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4 replies

Sep 1, 2023 2:04 AM in response to Dani7898

Hi Dani7898

welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community.


Re: Careful With Freeform


Commiserations on all that lost work.

We all mostly find our own ways of working, and of being prepared for "the worst" while expecting "the best".

We can learn to ensure the safety of our work in the event of accident, misuse, power failures, and the like.

in iCloud:

As iCloud is mainly for keeping data in sync across various devices:

We can back-up important data (eg: to an external storage device) so we have a copy.

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

in Freeform:

For securing the work we do as we go :

we can keep a duplicate of boards that are valuable to us as we work:

Select the board :choose File > Duplicate.

and / or

we can select a board in the sidebar and export as a .pdf

Export a Freeform board as a PDF on Mac - Apple Support


Backing up anything valuable before we stop work for the day is important ... we can restore if needed

Maybe others can share their tips for keeping their work secure.


We can also send feedback to Apple, in order to reach those who work behind-the scenes. Contributing what we know and experience, and the difficulties we encounter, may assist in the development of the next Freeform update.


Web-form for feedback:

Feedback - Freeform - Apple


Am grateful there's a handy Freeform User Guide for Mac - Apple Support online.

All the best :-)

Sep 5, 2023 5:45 AM in response to brbo

Hi brbo,


well... It seems like a deeper issue since no other app does this to me (not syncing properly), but Freeform did it twice and I lost data. And judging by what I've read, it happens to others as well.


Thank you for the Recently Deleted Boards tip, but I don't have the option in the sidebar.


All the best


Freeform hasn't been saving my boards to iCloud; I've lost data. How can I prevent this in the future?

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