Trying to save HD space. No difference after moving files to iCloud

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Level 1

31 points

Trying to save HD space. No difference after moving files to iCloud

I have never understood iCloud after many years of usage. Why do files moved across from my hard drive to iCloud not create more available space on my HD? They're not there anymore; they're on a server thousands of miles away. I get it that there are 'shortcuts' to my iCloud files, and when I wish to use a file it downloads the full version (hence, the download icon next to each file).

I recently moved 19GB to iCloud, but nothing on my local HD has changed - I would have expected 19GB more space on my MacBook Air.

I am using a 2TB iCloud account for storage purposes, but if it's not actually going to create more space on my laptop, what's the actual point of having an iCloud account?

What can I do?

(no snide remarks please!)

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.5

Posted on Jul 13, 2024 5:18 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 13, 2024 9:18 AM in response to inknpaper

iCloud Drive is not really meant to be offline storage like Dropbox, etc. iCloud Drive is a synchronization service that keeps certain files available on all your devices. That doesn't mean that when you "move" a file to iCloud Drive that it is removed from your Mac-- it's copied to iCloud Drive so that other devices, and web browsers, can have access to it. But it remains on your Mac so that it can be accessed even without the internet. If you edit and update a file on your Mac, then the updated version becomes available on your other devices. If you delete a file on our Mac, then it is deleted everywhere.

What are your settings in Settings>Apple ID>iCloud>iCloud Drive? Is "Sync this Mac" switched on?

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Answer 2

AlWeir

Level 4

3,314 points

Jul 13, 2024 9:14 AM in response to inknpaper

They are also on your HD

If you look at /Users/YourName/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs you'll find what you uploaded to iCloud.

If you really want to back up your files and then delete them is to use local storage, like a formatted SSD or HD (not really recommended with Apples new APFS format).

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