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How do you completely turn off the Icloud drive and stop it from hijacking my 3 folders

I am really sick of this icloud junk. I have disabled it in the System Preferences but it still clears out my desktop and downloads on reboot. Just really upsetting. I really wish apple stop pushing this cloud crap for desktops no one wants it that has an IQ above 10.


Posted on Jul 3, 2021 8:04 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 3, 2021 11:35 PM

Which three folders are you referring to? You can sync the Desktop folder and the Documents folder with iCloud Drive, but not the Downloads folder, unless you are directing your downloads to a custom folder on your Desktop or in Documents.


Turning off the syncing of Desktop and Documents should work like this:

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive – Apple Support


"Turn off Desktop and Documents

  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.

What happens when you 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."



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 3, 2021 11:35 PM in response to Necronn99

Which three folders are you referring to? You can sync the Desktop folder and the Documents folder with iCloud Drive, but not the Downloads folder, unless you are directing your downloads to a custom folder on your Desktop or in Documents.


Turning off the syncing of Desktop and Documents should work like this:

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive – Apple Support


"Turn off Desktop and Documents

  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.

What happens when you 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."



Jul 4, 2021 3:00 AM in response to Necronn99

open finder > iCloud Drive > your personal folder ( it could be named say English ) , there is an untitled folder in the screen shot , and some files in the column , hold shift key click on first file and then third file to select , use command and C keys to copy , and paste over untitled folder ( use command V keys ) , the three files are merged .

Then drag and drop the folder in download see the last paragraph of the article Work with folders and files in iCloud Drive - Apple Support the original files ( three in number and reset of files that were not selected are still saved in iCloud Drive ) .

In your case if there are three folders and some files inside it , drag and drop in download folder .


If iCloud Drive is turned off in system preferences .

A pop up window appears , showing to keep a copy of documents , and remove from the Mac .

( a ) if you had clicked on keep a copy , they will be archived in home folder that can be viewed by clicking on finder in the dock , take cursor on top menu bar > Go > Home > your user name > iCloud Drive ( Archive ) .


The 3 folders with files in it are still saved in download .



How do you completely turn off the Icloud drive and stop it from hijacking my 3 folders

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