In iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, turning off iCloud Drive now not impacts third-party apps that use Apple’s iCloud database to sync their knowledge, a notable change that’s more likely to be welcomed by each builders and customers.
In earlier variations of macOS and iOS, when iCloud Drive is manually disabled in System Settings or the Settings app, this additionally turns off iCloud (i.e. CloudKit) database entry for third-party apps, even when they do not use an iCloud Drive folder. That is even if iCloud syncing of Apple’s personal inventory apps stays unaffected.
This conduct will not be made clear in Apple’s user-facing settings, which confusingly embody separate switches to show iCloud on and off individually for iCloud Drive, system apps, and third-party apps.
Furthermore, iCloud Drive can take a substantial quantity of machine storage, subsequently some customers could select to disable it, with out realizing that also they are stopping some third-party apps from syncing between their units.
By making iCloud Drive and third-party app iCloud entry configuration unbiased from each other in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, cloud administration higher displays the Settings interface. It additionally implies that customers with company-issued units the place iCloud Drive is disabled as a matter of coverage will nonetheless have the ability to use third-party apps that depend upon iCloud syncing to operate correctly.
