{"id":"icloud.how-do-i-stop-an-app-using-icloud","url":"/faq/icloud/how-do-i-stop-an-app-using-icloud","category":{"id":"icloud","title":"iCloud & iCloud Photos"},"subcategory":{"id":"icloud-drive-basics","title":"iCloud Drive basics"},"question":"How do I stop a particular app from syncing to iCloud on my Mac?","alt_questions":["Turn off iCloud for one app Mac","Apps syncing to iCloud Drive list","Stop app using iCloud storage","choose which apps use icloud mac"],"short_answer":"In System Settings → your name → iCloud, switch off the built-in service, or open iCloud Drive's list of apps syncing and turn the app off. It stops syncing from now on; data already in iCloud stays until you delete it.","answer_markdown":"Open **System Settings → your name → iCloud**. Built-in services (Photos, Notes, Messages and so on) have their own switches; for other apps, open **iCloud Drive** and look for the list of apps syncing to iCloud Drive, then turn off the ones you don't want.\n\nTurning an app off stops it syncing from now on. Depending on the app, macOS may ask whether to keep its existing data on the Mac. Data already in iCloud stays there until you delete it — see [deleting an app's iCloud data](/faq/icloud/how-do-i-delete-an-apps-data-from-icloud).","answer_html":"

Open System Settings → your name → iCloud. Built-in services (Photos, Notes, Messages and so on) have their own switches; for other apps, open iCloud Drive and look for the list of apps syncing to iCloud Drive, then turn off the ones you don't want.

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Turning an app off stops it syncing from now on. Depending on the app, macOS may ask whether to keep its existing data on the Mac. Data already in iCloud stays there until you delete it — see deleting an app's iCloud data.

","answer_text":"Open System Settings → your name → iCloud. Built-in services (Photos, Notes, Messages and so on) have their own switches; for other apps, open iCloud Drive and look for the list of apps syncing to iCloud Drive, then turn off the ones you don't want.\n\nTurning an app off stops it syncing from now on. Depending on the app, macOS may ask whether to keep its existing data on the Mac. Data already in iCloud stays there until you delete it — see deleting an app's iCloud data.","tags":["icloud drive","apps","sync"],"related":[{"id":"icloud.how-do-i-delete-an-apps-data-from-icloud","question":"How do I delete an app's data from iCloud to free space?","url":"/faq/icloud/how-do-i-delete-an-apps-data-from-icloud"},{"id":"icloud.why-are-there-pages-numbers-keynote-folders-in-icloud-drive","question":"Why are there app folders like Pages and Numbers in my iCloud Drive?","url":"/faq/icloud/why-are-there-pages-numbers-keynote-folders-in-icloud-drive"},{"id":"icloud.how-do-i-see-whats-using-my-icloud-storage","question":"How do I see which apps and backups use my iCloud storage?","url":"/faq/icloud/how-do-i-see-whats-using-my-icloud-storage"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"How do I stop a particular app from syncing to iCloud on my Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"In System Settings → your name → iCloud, switch off the built-in service, or open iCloud Drive's list of apps syncing and turn the app off. It stops syncing from now on; data already in iCloud stays until you delete it.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"iCloud & iCloud Photos","path":"/faq/icloud/"},{"name":"How do I stop a particular app from syncing to iCloud on my Mac?","path":"/faq/icloud/how-do-i-stop-an-app-using-icloud"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/icloud/how-do-i-stop-an-app-using-icloud","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I stop a particular app from syncing to iCloud on my Mac?","alternateName":["Turn off iCloud for one app Mac","Apps syncing to iCloud Drive list","Stop app using iCloud storage","choose which apps use icloud mac"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Open System Settings → your name → iCloud. Built-in services (Photos, Notes, Messages and so on) have their own switches; for other apps, open iCloud Drive and look for the list of apps syncing to iCloud Drive, then turn off the ones you don't want.\n\nTurning an app off stops it syncing from now on. Depending on the app, macOS may ask whether to keep its existing data on the Mac. Data already in iCloud stays there until you delete it — see deleting an app's iCloud data.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/icloud/how-do-i-stop-an-app-using-icloud"}}]},"fragment":"
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iCloud & iCloud Photos · iCloud Drive basics

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How do I stop a particular app from syncing to iCloud on my Mac?

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Short answer: In System Settings → your name → iCloud, switch off the built-in service, or open iCloud Drive's list of apps syncing and turn the app off. It stops syncing from now on; data already in iCloud stays until you delete it.

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Open System Settings → your name → iCloud. Built-in services (Photos, Notes, Messages and so on) have their own switches; for other apps, open iCloud Drive and look for the list of apps syncing to iCloud Drive, then turn off the ones you don't want.

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Turning an app off stops it syncing from now on. Depending on the app, macOS may ask whether to keep its existing data on the Mac. Data already in iCloud stays there until you delete it — see deleting an app's iCloud data.

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