Apple has changed the way it integrates iCloud in iOS. A few years ago, signing in and out of iCloud was pretty easy. The option was right there on the main screen in the Settings app. In iOS 11 though, everything has been revamped. Your Apple ID has it’s very own preference in the Settings app and iCloud is no where to be found. While Apple is a bit pushy about getting users to sign into iCloud on an iOS device, there’s still a way to turn off iCloud in iOS.
Turn Off iCloud
Open the Settings app and tap your profile at the top. On the Apple ID screen, tap iCloud. Scroll down and you will see a switch for iCloud Drive. Turn it off.
Next, go through the list of apps above this switch. These are the apps that are still using iCloud. What you’ve done so far is turn of iCloud Drive. There are still apps that are using iCloud to sync and store data. Turn iCloud access off for each one of these apps. Lastly, turn off iCloud backup.
Revoke App Access To iClouc
Some apps will still have access to iCloud despite turning iCloud Drive off. These are apps like iMovie or Pages that save files to iCloud. They aren’t stock apps which is why they don’t appear with the Photos, Contacts, Notes, etc., apps on the Apple ID screen.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to get a comprehensive list of all apps that are using iCloud. You’re going to have to go through each app in the Settings app and check if it syncs over iCloud. Apps that create files and game apps are most likely to use iCloud.
To revoke app access to iCloud, open the Settings app and tap the app you want to revoke access for. In our example, we used iMovie. On the iMovie screen, turn off the Upload to iCloud switch.
A Word Of Caution
Be careful which apps you turn off iCloud for. Some apps like iMovie will continue to work even if iCloud is turned off. The app will simply save files to your device. Other apps, particularly game apps, might not work as well. If a game app syncs or backs up your game progress via iCloud, you stand to lose it by turning iCloud access off.
Apple has made it pretty complicated to disable iCloud though this might be owing to how deeply it is integrated. Regardless, iCloud is an important functional feature in iOS so exercise caution when you disable it.
