iCloud is a cloud storage service and cloud computing, launched by Apple in 2011. iCloud not only stores your content securely, but also keeps your apps and data in sync across all your devices like Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
iCloud Drive is part of iCloud. Save photos, documents, app data, and more to your iCloud Drive storage, then access those files across all your devices, similar to services like dropbox .
With iCloud and iCloud Drive, it’s easy to save files from your Mac and then access them from your iPhone, iPad, or iCloud.com. Here’s a look at setting up iCloud Drive and saving files from your Mac desktop.
The information in this article applies to iCloud Drive on Mac computers (OS X 10.10 or later). Make sure you’re signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID on all your computers and devices.
Set up iCloud Drive
If you haven’t set up iCloud Drive yet, the process is quick and easy. You need to enable iCloud Drive on all your iOS devices like iPhone and iPad as well as your Mac.
Before you begin, update your devices to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS and update your Mac to the latest version of macOS it can support.
On your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
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Open » Settings» on your device, and then tap your name.
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Click iCloud .
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Switch to iCloud Drive .
On your Mac
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From the Apple menu, select » System Settings» .
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If you’re using macOS Catalina, select Apple ID . If you are using macOS Mojave or earlier, you not you need to choose an Apple ID.
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Select iCloud .
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Sign in with your Apple ID when prompted.
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Turn on iCloud Drive by checking the box next to it.
Using Files with iCloud Drive
Once you set up iCloud Drive and turn it on on all your devices, any documents you’ve already saved to iCloud are automatically moved to iCloud Drive. On your iOS devices like iPhone and iPad, you will see your files in the Files app as well as in the Files apps. Pages» Numbers, and Keynote.
By default, iCloud Drive has folders for each of your applications Apple iWork (Keynote, Pages and Numbers), as well as folders for Automator , preview QuickTime Player, Script Editor and TextEdit . Add also your own folders and store any documents you want. (More on this below.)
How you store documents and other files in iCloud Drive depends on which version of OS X or macOS you have. For macOS Sierra and the above is simple. Just enable the Desktop and Documents folders to automatically sync with iCloud Drive. In earlier versions of OS X or macOS, you need to manually move your desktop files and documents to iCloud Drive.
When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more iCloud space, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan.
Save files to iCloud Drive with Sierra and later
Starting with macOS Sierra, you have the ability to store your Desktop and Documents folder in iCloud Drive and access them across all your devices. For example, start a document on your Mac desktop, then work on it from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and iCloud.com. Everything is automatically updated everywhere.
To add your Desktop and Documents folder to iCloud Drive: