if you have no use for the iCloud drive on the mac you can disable iCloud drive in macOS. by turning off the iCloud drive all documents that are stored in iCloud will be removed from the mac though you have an option to keep a local copy when turning the iCloud drive off.
NOTE: disabling iCloud drive completely on the mac and not simply disabling iCloud desktop & documents which only store those two directories in iCloud by turning off the iCloud drive on the mac you will have no access to the iCloud drive or any files in the iCloud drive from that computer.
the iCloud drive is a very helpful feature that allows you to easily share files and documents between your own devices by automatically syncing and copying files between devices so Disable iCloud drive should only be done if you do not actually use the feature at all on the mac.
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How To Disable iCloud Drive On Mac
the mac has an active internet connection before attempting this procedure so that any decision on file downloading can be respected.
- go to the Apple menu and choose ‘system preferences’
- select iCloud settings.
- uncheck the box next to “iCloud Drive”
- confirm that you want to turn off the iCloud drive and remove the iCloud files from the mac then select the option for what to do with your files.
- “keep a copy” this will keep a downloaded copy of the files from the iCloud drive on the mac this is the recommended choice for most users to preserve their files.
- “remove from mac” this will delete any files from the iCloud drive from the mac.
- exit out of system preferences when finished. check Disable iCloud or Not
turning off the iCloud drive on the mac you no longer have the “iCloud Drive” option visible in the Finder sidebar or as an option in the dock or elsewhere on the mac because the feature is disabled completely. you won’t be able to save files to iCloud Drive from the mac.
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How To Enable iCloud Drive On Mac
if you Disable iCloud Drive and now want to re-enable the iCloud Drive on the mac here the step for it.
- go to the Apple menu and select “system preferences”
- select iCloud and check the box next to “iCloud Drive”
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re-enabling the iCloud Drive also brings back the default option in newer mac versions to have the iCloud be the default save location for some files.