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why are my files moved from my local desktop to a folder in my home folder when I turn off iCloud Drive? Why don't they stay where I left them?

I don't want my files to be on a drive in the cloud. I want them on my laptop, and no where else. But then suddenly they get uploaded onto the iCloud Drive without me turning that setting on. So I go to turn it off, but then it says my files will be moved to a different folder. WHY?! Why do my files not stay on the Desktop, or in the Documents folder?! Why do they get moved?!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 17, 2020 10:04 AM

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Posted on Aug 17, 2020 10:33 PM

yeah, I saw that too. I did turn it off, but then my stuff got moved from my actual "Desktop" and "Documents" folder to another folder called "Desktop" and "Documents"... so all my stuff was suddenly gone... I'm asking why that is a thing.... why did my stuff get moved?

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2 replies

Aug 17, 2020 10:42 AM in response to DutchTristan

From support.apple.com:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206985

"Turn off Desktop and Documents

When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.

  1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
  4. Click Done.

If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents."



why are my files moved from my local desktop to a folder in my home folder when I turn off iCloud Drive? Why don't they stay where I left them?

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