Question

My App can work with or without iCloud support.

If a user connects a device to iCloud and then wants to disconnect it, it’s pretty easy for me to copy all data back to the local sandbox and stop using iCloud, and this device won’t contribute anything new to iCloud anymore. However, changes from other devices will still be received (although not handled) on this device.

Is there a way to completely disconnect the device from iCloud, so that new changes won’t be received?

Answer 1

iCloud stores data in a folder called “Mobile Documents.” Your app’s container resides in this folder. iOS devices know about new files and changes immediately. However, they do not actually download the file until the app specifically requests it. Here’s an example scenario:

Someone is running your app on their iPhone and their iPad. They use iCloud on both. However, on their iPhone they disable your app’s iCloud but leave their iCloud account active. This means that their device always knows about changes. But since your app never requests those documents, they are never downloaded to the device and therefore do not take up space. Also, iOS will automatically remove the local copy of an iCloud file to free up space if necessary.

For more information, see developer.apple.com/icloud, specifically the videos on how to use iCloud.