iCloud Moving from iCloud to Local computing - anyone done it

[JamesMay82]

I do love iCloud and the convenience of it all, especially with how it syncs my photos back to my computers but I often worry about the security of it, plus the costs of it all which is around £15 a month.. which doesn’t sound like much but it does add up And is a modern day cost that didn’t exist before.

Anyways, it’s got me thinking of going old school and just back to local storage and keeping things in sync myself. Has anyone else done this? Is it as inconvenient as I think/remEmber?

 

[mblm85]

I think there's two parts to this: the iCloud features, and your stuff.

I personally wouldn't ditch iCloud because of how useful its features are, but I do have Advanced Data Protection turned on and I do limit what can be done through the iCloud web portal.

That just leaves my stuff.

I used to store a lot in iCloud and then never use it. Using a bit of a decluttering approach, I moved most files local that weren't essential. Movies and documents that I don't need regularly or at a moment's notice from any device. Most of it went onto my Mac or got deleted.

For backups, I already use iCloud Backup for my phone, plus Time Machine and Backblaze for my Mac. If I do get caught out away from home, I can use the Backblaze iPhone app to restore a file from my Mac backup to my phone. Not needed to yet.

And now I pay 99p per month for the 50GB iCloud plan (with room to spare), plus my Backblaze account that I was already paying for anyway. And I use an old hard drive for Time Machine.

 

[Minghold]

I do love iCloud and the convenience of it all, especially with how it syncs my photos back to my computers but I often worry about the security of it, plus the costs of it all which is around £15 a month.. which doesn’t sound like much but it does add up And is a modern day cost that didn’t exist before.

Anyways, it’s got me thinking of going old school and just back to local storage and keeping things in sync myself. Has anyone else done this? Is it as inconvenient as I think/remEmber?

I've been using Macs since the 1980s, and have never had an Apple ID (AKA iCloud account) for more than a day. Ditto Micrsoft. And I've been ignoring my Google drive for over a year now.

Learn how to clone drive-partions (for desktop machines), and always, ALWAYS shirk the manufacturer's widget ecosystem (especially if they're subscription-model). Don't rely on their browsers or their music- and picture-organizing apps. And don't backup sensitive files to the "cloud". (Unless they're pr0n, because NSA cubicle jockeys need some fun in their lives.)