iCloud Drive

By MacRumors Staff on March 19, 2024

Jump to How Tos Articles

Introduced in 2014, iCloud Drive is Apple's cross-platform file hosting platform and app that is available for devices running iOS 8 and later or OS X Yosemite and later. iCloud Drive is similar to cloud services like Dropbox, allowing users to store any type of file and access it on any compatible device.

On the Mac, there's an iCloud Drive folder, and on iOS devices and Windows PCs, there's an iCloud Drive app. On other devices, iCloud Drive can be accessed through a browser.

iCloud Drive How Tos

How to Sync Desktop and Documents Folder to iCloud on Mac

Monday March 15, 2021 10:10 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

In macOS, you can sync any files on your Mac desktop and in your documents folder to iCloud so that you can access them on any other devices signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID. In other words, you can start a document on your Desktop, and you'll be able to work on it later on your iPhone or iPad, or even through a browser on another computer via the iCloud website. Here's how to ...

How to Share iCloud Folders on iPhone and iPad

Friday February 7, 2020 12:55 pm PST by Tim Hardwick

As of iOS 13.4, Apple lets you share folders that you've synced to iCloud with friends and colleagues who have an Apple ID. Whether you're sharing from an iPhone or iPad, you'll be able to give people one-way access to the file, or allow them to modify the document if you're collaborating on a piece of work. This step-by-step guide shows you how it works. The sharing options that you choose...

How to Share Files Stored in Your iCloud Drive

Monday August 20, 2018 5:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

You can share files you've synced to iCloud with friends and colleagues who have an Apple ID using the step-by-step guide below. Whether you're sharing from a Mac or an iPhone, you'll be able to give people one-way access to the file, or allow them to modify the document if you're collaborating on a piece of work. The sharing options you choose automatically sync across your devices, so you...

iCloud Drive Articles

macOS Sonoma 14.4 Bug 'Destroys Saved Versions in iCloud Drive'

Tuesday March 19, 2024 4:12 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's latest macOS Sonoma 14.4 software update appears to be guilty of another bug, this time affecting saved versions in iCloud Drive. Versions are normally created automatically when users save files using apps that work with the version system in macOS. (To check if your Mac is using the past versions system, look for a "Revert To" option in the app's File menu.) According to The...

Apple Adds 6TB and 12TB iCloud+ Storage Tiers

Tuesday September 12, 2023 12:38 pm PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple today announced new 6TB and 12TB storage tiers for its iCloud+ subscription service, pushing past 2TB for the first time. Every Apple ID receives 5GB of free cloud storage, but users can upgrade to a paid ‌iCloud‌+ storage subscription plan to get 50GB, 200GB, 2TB, 6TB, or 12TB of storage. All paid ‌iCloud‌+ storage plans include features like ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay, Hide My Email, and ...

PSA: Disabling iCloud Drive in iOS 17 No Longer Turns Off Third-Party App CloudKit Syncing

Tuesday June 13, 2023 6:31 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

In iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, turning off iCloud Drive no longer impacts third-party apps that use Apple's iCloud database to sync their data, a notable change that is likely to be welcomed by both developers and users. In previous versions of macOS and iOS, when iCloud Drive is manually disabled in System Settings or the Settings app, this also turns off iCloud (i.e. CloudKit) database access ...

Apple's Merger of 'iCloud Documents and Data' Into iCloud Drive Now Complete

Friday May 6, 2022 5:16 pm PDT by Eric Slivka

Last May, Apple Apple announced that it would be merging its iCloud Documents and Data service into iCloud Drive in May of 2022, and that transition has now been completed. As noted in a support document updated today, users who previously relied on ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data for syncing files across devices will need to turn ‌iCloud Drive‌ on in order to see their files.iCloud Documents...

Apple Merging 'iCloud Documents and Data' Service With iCloud Drive in May 2022

Tuesday May 11, 2021 2:36 am PDT by Sami Fathi

Apple plans to merge its iCloud Documents and Data service with iCloud Drive starting in May of 2022, according to a support document published late last week (via MacGeneration). ‌iCloud Drive‌ and ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data share the fundamental ability to backup data from apps. However, ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data was often a cumbersome, confusing experience. In contrast, ‌iCloud Drive‌...

Apple Says iCloud Folder Sharing in macOS Catalina Coming 'This Spring'

Tuesday October 8, 2019 2:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple has delayed the introduction of iCloud Folder Sharing in macOS Catalina until spring 2020, according to its website. The key cloud storage feature has spent months in development and would have allowed users to share folders in their iCloud Drive with other Apple users via a private link. It first appeared in early beta versions of iOS 13, before it was pulled prior to the official ...

Google Drive Updated to Play Friendly With Apple's Files App

Thursday September 28, 2017 4:53 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Google Drive no longer hijacks file opening duties in Apple's Files and iCloud Drive apps on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The app was updated today with a fix for the issue. Microsoft Word documents and other file types can now be viewed directly in in Apple's Files and iCloud Drive apps on iOS 11 and iOS 10 respectively. Since a previous update to Google Drive earlier this month, the...

Fix Incoming for Google Drive Issue Preventing Many File Types From Opening in Apple's Files App [Updated]

Wednesday September 27, 2017 8:40 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Since the Google Drive app for iOS was updated earlier this month, several iPhone and iPad users have been unable to open Microsoft Word documents and many other file types in Apple's Files app for iOS 11 or iCloud Drive app for iOS 10. Instead, when users with the Google Drive app installed attempt to open a DOCX file in the Files or iCloud Drive apps, for example, the Google Drive app...

Dedicated iCloud Drive App Included Within Settings of iOS 9

Monday June 8, 2015 2:25 pm PDT by Mitchel Broussard

Hidden in the settings menu of the just-unveiled iOS 9, today it was found that iCloud Drive will be getting its own dedicated app experience with the newest iteration of iOS. The app, hidden by a "Show on Home Screen" command in the iCloud Drive section of settings, will allow users to interact and manage all of their saved files within iCloud inside of the app. The specific setting...

Amazon Cloud Drive Now Includes Unlimited Cloud Storage Plans

Thursday March 26, 2015 9:34 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Amazon on Thursday announced two new unlimited cloud storage plans for Amazon Cloud Drive, enabling users to store an endless amount of photos, videos, movies, music, and files. Amazon users can choose either the Unlimited Photos Plan for $11.99 per year or the Unlimited Everything Plan for $59.99 per year, with a free three-month trial available for each plan for customers that want to try the...

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