iCloud: switch backup off deletes data; notes

[transmetacruso]

Hello!
I have got an iPhone XS and use also the icloud.
I have, for example, notes from my iPhone uploaded to iCloud. Now my questions are:
1) Is it possible to delete the data on one side, in iCloud or on my iPhone, so that the other side is not effected? I just want to have the data on one side? DO I have to switch backup OFF for that?
2) I go to "Settings > [My NAME (Apple-ID, iCloud...)] > iCloud" and want to switch off the Notes backup. If I click on it my iPhones tells me this warning (translated from German):

Deactivate Notes
Are you sure to continue? All iCloud notes will be removed/(deleted) from your iPhone.
[Remove/(Delete) from iPhone] (This is the button below the text)

3) How is it possible to edit and or delete several files in my iCloud, e.g. notes. I have not found any function for this.

Thank you!

 

[0128672]

I'm not 100% sure I understand what your intention is, but one option is to change the Notes default account to On My iPhone (Settings > Notes), which allows you to store your Notes locally on your phone instead of in iCloud. You can move some or all of your iCloud notes to On My iPhone by right clicking, select Move, then select On My iPhone. When Notes are stored on your iPhone, they are not accessible from your other devices. You can also have a mix of On My iPhone stored notes and other notes still stored in iCloud. How you organize them is up to you.

On your phone, you can select multiple notes at a time to move or delete them by tapping in the Notes view > upper right circle with 3 dots > select Select Notes. Then you'll tap next to each note you want to select.

Does that help in some way toward what you want to do?

 

[transmetacruso]

I'm not 100% sure I understand what your intention is, but one option is to change the Notes default account to On My iPhone (Settings > Notes), which allows you to store your Notes locally on your phone instead of in iCloud. You can move some or all of your iCloud notes to On My iPhone by right clicking, select Move, then select On My iPhone. When Notes are stored on your iPhone, they are not accessible from your other devices. You can also have a mix of On My iPhone stored notes and other notes still stored in iCloud. How you organize them is up to you.

You can select multiple notes at a time to do different things with (such as delete) by tapping in the Notes view > upper right circle with 3 dots > select Select Notes. Then you'll tap the notes you want to do something with.

Does that help in some way toward what you want to do?

Hi and thank you!

I did what you said. I went to Settings > Notes looked into the Default Account option there. Here, only iPhone was listed. Afterwards I went into the setting "On my iPhone" Account below it and enabled it. Now the option On My iPhone (in Default Account) exists.
My Default Account is: On My iPhone.
"On My iPhone" Account: enabled.

After these steps I try to go to Settings > [My NAME (Apple-ID, iCloud...)] > iCloud in order to swtich OFF the Notes App (Apps using iCloud), but the warning remains:

Turn off Notes
Are you sure you want to continue? All iCloud notes will be removed from your iPhone.
[Delete from my iPhone] (This is the button below the text)

I do NOT want tot delete from my iPhone at the moment. I want to delete from iCloud.
Can I delete from iCloud without being afraid that after deletion the notes are also deleted from my iPhone?

 

[0128672]

I think you might be making it too complicated. In the Notes app, move your iCloud notes to On My iPhone (using the steps I gave you above). Once you've done that, they're not in iCloud. In other words, you don't need to delete them, just move them from iCloud to On My iPhone. Easy, yes?

If I'm not understanding what you want to do, maybe more explanation would help.
[automerge]1594853897[/automerge]
And P.S. Don't worry about Notes backup because you want to back them up to iCloud. When you store them all on your On My iPhone location, you won't be able to access them in iCloud. Make sense?

 

[transmetacruso]

ok, now i understand. I will do that. Is there any possibility to view every note's size in Byte or KB?

 

[0128672]

ok, now i understand. I will do that. Is there any possibility to view every note's size in Byte or KB?

I don't know of a way to view the size of individual notes.

 

[transmetacruso]

Is there a way where I can see at when exactly (date and time) iCloud and iPhone have synchronized? Or can I even do a synchronization on my own?

 

[0128672]

Syncing between your device and iCloud happens immediately when you've made a change to an app, i.e., if you've edited a Calendar event, it syncs once you've clicked Done. The sync might be delayed if you're having a network connectivity issues though. There isn't a way to generally view the sync info (unless there's a third-party app that does, but I'm unaware of such a utility).

You can, of course, view the last time an iCloud backup was performed.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you into the Files app, you can see the date and size of files in your iCloud.

 

[transmetacruso]

Hi!
Thank you Namara, you helped me out!

If you into the Files app, you can see the date and size of files in your iCloud.

I am in the files app on my iPhone but there is no such functionality.
I am in Files App > ["root" folder, BROWSE]: In Locations there is iCloud Drive, but if I enter it it says:

Turn on iCloud Driveto keep your documents safely stored in iCloud

iCloud is active, but iCloudDrive is disabled, I thought this is only needed for data transmissin/sync between several apple devices!?

Also, if I click Files App > ["root" folder, BROWSE] > On My iPhone, there is no note file listed with size, date etc. But at the moment I have all my notes locally on my iPhone, no iCloud any more. So there should be note files listed.

 

[0128672]

Using iCloud Drive is for document storage for many Apple apps like Pages, Numbers, Garageband, and many third-party apps. Enabling iCloud Drive = the Files app. What BasicGreatGuy was saying is that for the apps that use iCloud Drive for document storage, you can see file sizes and last edited date and time.

You won't see your Notes in the Files app though just like you won't see Calendar, Mail, Reminders, etc. there either.

If you want to use iCloud Drive via the Files app, you can enable it by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Drive. But again, this is a separate app and functionality from the Notes app. I recommend staying focused on making sure Notes is now working the way you want it to, and then decide another time if you need to use iCloud Drive/Files app for anything.

Here's an Apple support article about iCloud Drive in case you might find it helpful.

Set up iCloud Drive - Apple Support

Files in iCloud Drive stay up to date across all of your devices.

support.apple.com

 

[transmetacruso]

Thank you for the link!

In Addition. Is it possible to keep any data (photos, ...) on the iPhone OR in the iCloud after backing data up to the cloud? . Does the customer have the choice ?

scenario 1: if you have photos backed up to iCloud, then is it possible to disable the iCloud sync functionality without deleting photos on one side (iPhone or iCloud)?

scneario 2: you have no memory free on iPhone, so you want to copy all your photos to the iCloud and delete them from your iPhone. Is this possible?

scenario 3: After backing up my data to iCloud, is it possible that you delete them from iCloud again so that you have the data only on your iPhone again or are you forced (from that time on) to synch every time and keep the data on both sdes? Will the data (any file etc...) be deleted if you delete it on one side?

Btw: I know that one can free (a bit) memory space by clicking on the function for Settings > [My NAME (Apple-ID, iCloud...)] > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage.

 

[0128672]

First, it's important to understand the difference between iCloud storage and iCloud backup.

- Apps that use iCloud (which you can see in your iCloud settings) store data and documents there. Using iCloud provides access to the data and documents for these apps across all of your devices for which you are signed into iCloud.

- iCloud backup creates a backup file in iCloud that is not accessible or readable to the user except when doing a device restore. You can see what's included in your iCloud backup by going to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > [your device].

- What happens when you optimize Photos storage is that iCloud will store the full size version of your photos in iCloud, and what you see on your phone is a smaller representation of the photos. If you delete a photo from your phone, it will also be deleted in iCloud.

To answer your scenario questions:
1 - no
2 - deleting the small version from your phone deletes them from iCloud Photo too, so don't do that.
3 - If your goal is free up storage on your phone, the best option is to use iCloud Photo optimize iPhone storage, and to delete photos you don't want to keep.

To help fill in your understanding of how iCloud works, you may want to read more Apple support articles. The easiest way to find an article is to search starting with apple.com and a few keywords, i.e., apple.com iCloud photos. Here's a couple more for you:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

iCloud Photos works with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud, and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.

support.apple.com

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone and iPad that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com