Apple’s iCloud Documents and Data service is merging with iCloud Drive

Apple has announced that its legacy document syncing service, dubbed iCloud Documents and Data, will be discontinued and replaced by iCloud Drive beginning May 2022.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • The old iCloud Documents and Data service is going away.
  • iCloud Drive will be replacing it.
  • The transition will happen in May of 2022.

A promotional image showing Pages on a MacBook Air along with iCloud Drive on an iPhone 12.

iCloud Documents and Data is retiring

“If you use iCloud Documents and Data, your account will be migrated to iCloud Drive after this date,” according to a newly published support document on the Apple website which was first spotted by the French blog MacGeneration.fr.

If you use the iCloud Documents and Data service, you need to turn on iCloud Drive to see your files. Upgrading to iCloud Drive doesn’t change the amount of storage space your saved files use in iCloud.

If you still use iCloud Documents and Data, it may be a good idea to upgrade to iCloud Drive

How to set up iCloud Drive on Apple devices

To configure iCloud Drive on iOS and iPadOS, launch the Settings app and tap your Apple ID name and picture at the top of the interface, then touch the option labeled “iCloud”. As the last step, turn on “iCloud Drive”. You can now find your files in the Files app.

How to share iCloud folders

On macOS, open System Preferences and click “Apple ID,” then select the option “iCloud.” If necessary, sign in with your Apple ID account. Now tick the box next to “iCloud Drive” and that’s it—you can easily find your cloud files using the Finder.

To turn on iCloud Drive in the web interface, sign in to iCloud.com. Now click the Pages, Numbers, Keynote, or iCloud Drive icon and choose the option “Upgrade to iCloud Drive.”

You’ll find your files on iCloud.com in the iCloud Drive section.

What is iCloud Drive?

iCloud Drive is your file locker in the Apple cloud that lets you store, access and share files.

iCloud Drive is supported on iOS, iPadOS, macOS and the web. On iOS and iPadOS, you can access the contents of your iCloud Drive in any apps that support it, such as Apple’s own Files app. On macOS, iCloud Drive is available as a remote storage device in the Finder sidebar.

On Windows PCs and other platforms, you can access the files that you store in iCloud Drive in any web browser through the web interface at iCloud.com.