iCloud Drive is a great way to manage your files. It automatically moves files from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac’s Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud to ensure you have enough local storage space. But one annoying aspect of this solution is that there is no way to indicate that you want a file to stay on your device and not be moved to iCloud.
This changes in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. As reported by MacRumors, Apple is adding a “Keep Download” option that prevents the file from being moved to iCloud and keeps the file on the device. While iCloud for Windows lets you keep downloaded files on your PC, in macOS Sonoma and earlier, files are periodically uploaded to iCloud and must be re-downloaded before you can access them.
In IOS 18, when using the Files app to browse iCloud Drive, long-press on a file, and in the context menu, a new “Keep Downloading” option is available. On macOS Sequoia, control-click a file in the iCloud folder to see “Keep Download.” When this option is selected in either operating system, the iCloud icon turns solid gray and the file remains in the iCloud folder. It does not move to On My iPhone, Documents or any other location.
It is unclear how this feature works when a user edits this file. Is the downloaded file a copy of the file on iCloud and are the changes synced to the iCloud version? What happens when a file downloaded to one device is accessed by another device? We’ll experiment with this new feature and provide details when the public beta is available, but it’s a feature users have been asking for for some time.
For more information on upcoming OS updates, check out our iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia superguides.
