Upon upgrading to Sonoma, Apple apparently thought it would be useful to automatically back up my Documents and Desktop folder to iCloud. While useful on my main computer, it is not for others in my network. How do I turn it off for those computers?
Knowledge base documents direct me to Settings>Apple ID>iCloud>Account Storage and click on "Manage.", then "Backups." My Documents and Desktop folders are not listed.
Mac mini (M1, 2020)
For information on turning off iCloud Desktop and Documents, see the following from: Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support
Turn off Desktop and Documents
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.
Another option would be to completely turn off iCloud Drive on that Mac but that may not be something you want to do if you want to possibly selectively sync some file or files in the future. See the following from the same support article:
What happens when you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud
If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. You also have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. If you keep a local copy of your files in iCloud Drive, they're copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. You can move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents to your new local Desktop and Documents.
For information on turning off iCloud Desktop and Documents, see the following from: Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support
Turn off Desktop and Documents
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.
Another option would be to completely turn off iCloud Drive on that Mac but that may not be something you want to do if you want to possibly selectively sync some file or files in the future. See the following from the same support article:
What happens when you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud
If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. You also have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. If you keep a local copy of your files in iCloud Drive, they're copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. You can move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents to your new local Desktop and Documents.
How Do I Stop Automatic Backups in Sonoma?
