Keeping iCloud drive files ONLY in iCloud—is that possible and/or wise?

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Keeping iCloud drive files ONLY in iCloud—is that possible and/or wise?

Hello!

I've searched high and low on here and, like so many others, not found an answer. In my iCloud settings on my M1 iMac, I have selected 'Optimise Mac Storage' when says: "The full contents of iCloud Drive will be stored on this Mac […]'. If I deselect this, will it affect files on iCloud drive? Are the files on iCloud Drive backed up somewhere in 'The Cloud'? What becomes of the folder 'iCloud Drive (archive)' on my iMac hard drive if I were to deselect 'Optimise Mac Storage'? Finally, this little button is poorly labelled, because what it really means is that if you *deselect* it, then you will optimise storage on your desktop.

Thanks!

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 31, 2024 2:51 AM

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Answer 1

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FoxFifth

Level 10

475,449 points

Jan 31, 2024 8:52 AM in response to Dr. Hudba

The Optimize Mac Storage option is an on/off switch.

If you don't turn on Optimize Mac Storage, all iCloud Drive files will always have a copy both on iCloud and a local copy on your Mac.

If you do turn on Optimize Mac Storage, all iCloud Drive files will always have a copy iCloud.

If there is enough space on your Mac they will also have a local copy on the Mac (the same as if the Optimize Mac Storage switch is off) but if the space on your Mac is low, some documents will be stored only in iCloud (i.e, no local copy on your Mac until you access the file to edit or view the data in it).

The iCloud (Archive) folder is something that is created if you turn off iCloud Drive and it is not affected by the Optimize Mac Storage option.

I don't turn on Optimize Mac Storage as I want to insure that I always have a local copy of all my files on my Mac and so that I can back them up locally. However it is something that I might do if I didn't have enough storage space on my Mac.

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Keeping iCloud drive files *ONLY* in iCloud—is that possible and/or wise?

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Keeping iCloud drive files ONLY in iCloud—is that possible and/or wise?