Apple plans to replace its iCloud Documents & Data service with iCloud Drive starting in May 2022, according to a support document released late last week.
iCloud Drive and iCloud Documents & Data share the basic ability to back up data from apps. However, iCloud Documents & Data has often been a clunky, confusing experience. In contrast, iCloud Drive is more unified, allowing users to access their files and content across all devices via the Files app. As Apple explained, starting in May of next year, users who use iCloud Documents & Data will have their accounts automatically migrated to iCloud Drive. However, users will have to manually enable iCloud Drive to view their files once the merger occurs.
Activate iCloud Drive on iOS, iPadOS or macOS – here's how
In May 2022, we'll retire iCloud Documents & Data, our legacy document syncing service, and fully replace it with iCloud Drive. If you use iCloud Documents & Data, your account will be migrated to iCloud Drive after that date. If you use iCloud Documents & Data, you'll need to turn on iCloud Drive using the steps below to see your files. Upgrading to iCloud Drive doesn't change the amount of storage your stored files use in iCloud.
iCloud Drive was introduced in 2014 as a unified, seamless way for Apple users to sync all their files, documents, and more across all their devices. To enable the service, users can go to iCloud in Settings on iOS or iPadOS devices and enable "iCloud Drive" or go to System Preferences -> iCloud and select "iCloud Drive" on macOS. (Photo by New Africa / Bigstockphoto)
