I'm trying to help a family member by sharing a folder from their iCloud account where I can upload scanned files and photos from their SD cards. However, even after transferring everything, my computer is still full. I thought iCloud would keep things stored remotely and not locally, but it seems to be downloading random photos across multiple folders, which ends up taking up all my space. Restarting my computer helps a bit, but not enough, and now I have to manually remove files from each sub-folder to free up space. I'm also worried about inviting other family members to this shared folder as it might fill up their computers too. Is there a setting I'm missing, or is iCloud just not the right tool for this?
2 Answers
Honestly, iCloud isn't the best for file sharing like this. The 'Optimize Mac Storage' feature helps, but you don't get specific control over which files get downloaded. If you're looking for better management, you should consider alternatives like Dropbox or Google Drive.
Have you checked if you have the 'Optimize Mac Storage' feature enabled? That could help manage local storage by keeping older files in iCloud instead of on your Mac.
I have that option on for other apps, but iCloud shows that I shouldn't turn on 'Store in iCloud' for this computer.
Thanks! I'm thinking of switching to Google Drive, even though it means paying for that service when I'm already paying for iCloud storage. It's frustrating that I can't just stop my Mac from downloading files from someone else's shared folder.