Apple Merging 'iCloud Documents and Data' Service With iCloud Drive in May 2022

Apple plans to merge its iCloud Documents and Data service with iCloud Drive starting in May of 2022, according to a support document published late last week (via MacGeneration).

Mac-iphone-icloud
‌iCloud Drive‌ and ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data share the fundamental ability to backup data from apps. However, ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data was often a cumbersome, confusing experience. In contrast, ‌iCloud Drive‌ is more unified, with users able to access their files and content through the Files app across all their devices.

As Apple explains, starting in May of next year, users who are using ‌iCloud‌ Documents and Data will have their accounts automatically migrated to ‌iCloud Drive‌. However, users must manually enable ‌iCloud Drive‌ to view their files once the merger occurs.

In May 2022, the iCloud Documents and Data service, our former document synchronization service, will be interrupted and completely replaced by iCloud Drive. Therefore, if you use iCloud Documents and Data, your account will be migrated to iCloud Drive after that date.

If you use the iCloud Documents and Data service, you must activate iCloud Drive by following the steps below to view your files. Upgrading to iCloud Drive does not change the storage space used by your files saved in iCloud.

‌iCloud Drive‌ launched in 2014 as a unified, seamless way for Apple users to keep all their files, documents, and more synchronized across all their devices. To activate it, users on iOS or iPadOS devices can go to Settings -> ‌iCloud‌ and enable ‌iCloud Drive‌, or through System Preference -> ‌iCloud‌, and select ‌iCloud Drive‌ on macOS.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

Aetles Avatar
60 months ago
In 2043 Apple will consider merging Apple ID accounts.
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SW3029 Avatar
60 months ago

In 2043 Apple will consider merging Apple ID accounts.
Honestly. Being stuck with two Apple IDs is the WORST user experience possible. Ironically, it's Apple's longest customers who are likely to have the 2 Apple ID Problem, and thus the most loyal have the worst experience.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
60 months ago

I'm confused. I don't even know what "iCloud Documents and Data" is. Anyone can enlighten me?
It pre-dates iCloud Drive and is essentially cloud storage limited to individual apps.

As there was no Files app on iOS, lets say you created a new document in Pages on your iPad it would auto save in the app. iCloud Documents and Data then put the document in the cloud so if you opened Pages on your Mac you were given a list of documents saved and could continue editing, your changes are then auto saved back into the app.

It was intended to make things simple and fit the new apps paradigm of iOS. I want to play Music, I go to the Music app. I want to edit a document, I go to the Pages app.

The problem is it's very limiting, you can't create folders that have files from two apps etc, and it didn't interface with the file system on Mac making the whole thing confusing. Finally Apple gave in with this approach and allowed a file system on iOS along with iCloud Drive which lets create your own file system that can be accessed across all devices.

It still hangs around though. Create a Pages document and you get the option to save in the Pages app or in Files. You also get app folders that sit in iCloud Drive cluttering it up. Glad it's finally going away.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chris4565 Avatar
60 months ago
I'm confused. I don't even know what "iCloud Documents and Data" is. Anyone can enlighten me?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
60 months ago
I’m confused. Is this about the weird mess where apps have their own folders in iCloud, separate from the Documents folders?

This was invented before file structures were accessible on iOS and I would be very happy if they went away. Saving files “inside” the apps was a horrible idea by Steve Jobs.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
videosoul Avatar
60 months ago
FINALLY!

The amount of times I've had to attempt to explain how iCloud works to people who are not tech-savvy has been unbearable. It was, in my opinion, always such n illogical system. Trying too hard to be clever and simplifying things, and as a result making it more confusing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)