How difficult is it to shut off iCloud?

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Emmett_1944 Author

Level 1

38 points

How difficult is it to shut off iCloud?

I have an M4 iMac and M3 iPad Air. I will try to keep this short and to the point. Although I have been using Apple computers for decades I have never had 2 Apple devices at once and thus never used iCloud. I am still learning iPadOS. Apparently, without me knowing it, when I initially set up the iMac and iPad, it created an iCloud account for me. On the iMac I went through all the iCloud settings and shut them all off, as I always do when I get a new computer. On the iPad I forgot to do this so apparently the iPad has been syncing to iCloud without me knowing it. I have always been a light computer user. Mainly I use safari and occasionally mail. Most of the apps on my computer I have never used even once. I do keep some documents or photos on my computer which I would rather not lose but if I did it is no big deal. I guess since I already have an iCloud account I will jump in with both feet and turn on all the apps on both devices and get an iCloud email address. I understand if I take 10 pictures with my iPad, with me doing nothing they will just appear in photos on the iMac. Likewise if I create a note on the iMac it will just appear on the iPad. I read some of Apple support and watched some YouTube videos and I understand if I were to go on the iMac and delete 5 Pages documents they will also be removed from the iPad and from iCloud itself (except for the 30 days to restore deleted files). So 6 months from now if I decide iCloud is just too much of a hassle to manage and I want to completely get out of it what happens? Do I just go through settings on both devices and shut off icloud for all applications? Do I "sign out" of iCloud on both devices? I assume on the day I do this both devices will have almost identical data since they have been syncing for 6 months. Does all of my data, files, photos, settings, go "poof" and is gone off both my devices? Or do both devices retain everything that is on them and I go ahead and just continue using them as if I never used iCloud and the only difference is from that day on any additions, deletions, or changes I make no longer sync to the other device?

Also one YouTube video I watched said if I create an iCloud email address it automatically becomes the email address for my Apple ID account. Is this true? I would rather just keep the email address I have now.

iMac (M4)

Posted on Jul 19, 2025 10:25 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 19, 2025 10:47 AM in response to Emmett_1944

Creating an iCloud email address does not change the Apple Account email you use to log into your account.
To stop the syncing between devices, just shut off all apps in the iCloud setting just like you have previously done. When you shut off syncing, you may be asked if you want to keep the data on your device, and if that is what you want to do, then choosing Keep will save that data on the device.
Your Apple Account includes 5GB of iCloud data for free, but you do not need to use it. If you value your data at all, you will want to make sure you are using a backup solution. For the iPad, you can use the iCloud Backup, which is different than syncing the data with your Mac. If you don't want to use the iCloud Backup for your iPad, then you would want to at least backup your data manually to your computer.
An overview of the iCloud features offered by many of the built in app is available here to help you make the decision on if you find it necessary.

Apps and features that use iCloud - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Emmett_1944 Author

Level 1

38 points

Jul 19, 2025 12:20 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Thanks. That was helpful. I saved the link in my bookmarks with my other Apple support articles. I guess I will try iCloud and see what happens. It can't hurt as long as I don't lose anything if I ultimately turn off/sign out of iCloud.

One thing I am not totally clear on is iCloud Drive. Is this correct? - Under the iCloud settings you can turn on or off different apps. So if I take a photo on the iPad it gets saved to Photos and if I have everything set up it automatically appears in photos on my iMac. But let's say a friend emails me a painting he made in some art application on his iPad to my iMac. My iMac and iPad don't have this application so it cannot automatically sync. So I can take this file and save it in iCloud Drive and then it will sync to my iPad. So iCloud Drive is basically a general synced folder that you use to sync any file that does not automatically fit into the Apple applications that are already covered by iCloud. Right?

One Youtube video I watched said you have the option to include the Desktop and Documents folder in iCloud Drive. He suggested if you do that, that you create a folder (let's say on the iMac) that is NOT in iCloud Drive and call it something like "M4 iMac Local Folder" so any file you want to save and NOT have it go to iCloud you could put in this folder. Am I understanding this correctly?

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Answer 3

Jul 19, 2025 1:42 PM in response to Emmett_1944

I would recommend to not save Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive. That will keep those folders on your Mac and they will not be synced to iCloud, just like you are used to without using iCloud. Many times this just leads to unnecessary use of iCloud where it may require more iCloud storage than what you really need it for.

It is fine to leave iCloud Drive on, just don't use the Desktop and Documents folder option. Then when you do have a file on your Mac that you want to make available to your iPad, you just need to drag the file to iCloud Drive on your Mac and the file will be seen on your iPad in the Files app. It works the same in reverse where on the iPad, you can save a file to the Files app and you will see that file on your Mac in iCloud Drive.

Now for the example of your friend sending you a painting on your Mac, you have a couple of options. If this is in a format viewable in the Photos app, you can import into Photos and as long as Photos is using iCloud, then you will also see this in Photos on your iPad. The other option is to move the "painting" to your iCloud Drive on your Mac, and that same file will be seen in the Files app of your iPad. Opening the file will depend on the format it is saved in and if you have an Application that is capable of opening it on either device.

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Answer 4

Emmett_1944 Author

Level 1

38 points

Jul 20, 2025 11:10 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

I just called AppleCare and they helped me fully set up my iMac and iPad with iCloud. I turned on almost all apps to sync. I tested it by taking a picture with my iPad and within seconds it “magically” appeared on my iMac. I am glad I did it now rather than waiting. My old MacBook could not be updated so I was using a very old MacOS. So I am still getting used to the “new” MacOS. This is my first iPad so I am just learning the IPadOS. It would have been a hassle learning the new operating systems and then turning on iCloud and having to relearn the whole set up. This way it is on and I only have to learn it once. The photos seems to sync automatically. But none of my notes on the Mac synced to the iPad. When I looked closer I noticed Notes has in the sidebar an “iCloud” folder. So I assume any notes I want to sync through iCloud I have to save in the iCloud folder. I was somewhat shocked when AppleCare showed me I could sign into my iCloud account using safari at iCloud.com and actually see what was in iCloud. I can also do things like open Pages in iCloud and create a document and save it and it appears on my iMac and iPad. That AppleCare is extremely helpful and well worth it if you are like me and sometimes need to be talked through things.

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Answer 5

Emmett_1944 Author

Level 1

38 points

Jul 19, 2025 4:49 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Thanks. I will try to set it up.

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Answer 6

Jul 20, 2025 11:37 AM in response to Emmett_1944

Right on! Good to hear about your positive experience with assistance and are able to enjoy the benefits of syncing content between devices using iCloud.

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How difficult is it to shut off iCloud?

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