iCloud All iCloud Documents DELETED

[goaliefight]

I just got off of a chat with Apple support. All of the files in my "Documents" folder were deleted, and they were not showing in the recently deleted items. All of the folders were still present, it was just the files in the documents folder. My photos, notes, and other items are unaffected. I am in IT, with over 25 years of experience, I did not do this. My accounts all have MFA and are not shared.

iCloud support said this is a know issue that has affected a few accounts. Has anyone else experienced this? I am really shocked and have lost faith in iCloud. I have iCloud plus and 100GB of data. How can I trust them after this?

Apparently there is a "self service recovery". They say I could be able to get most of my data back using that. Trying it now, but seriously I am shook over this.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Always have a backup of important files in case something like what you experienced happens. iCloud is not a backup service. I hope you can recover your files.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Hoping you get this resolved quickly without much hassle. I always treat iCloud as something that could be compromised or I could become locked out of, so mine is pretty spare.

I'm surprised that a support technician disclosed that it is a known issue, but if it's indeed happening to multiple accounts then it won't be long before it's front page news on the tech blogs.

 

[panjandrum]

As others have mentioned, don't trust the safety of any data that you don't rigorously backup yourself. Computers are a LOT more reliable in this regard than they used to be, but plenty of issues do still occur

Once you have this situation resolved do this: IF your computer has enough storage turn off the iCloud feature that optimizes your storage space do so - you want every single iCloud file to be locally on your own storage. Then implement a proper backup system; even if this is just a dirt-cheap external hard drive and Time Machine. That will allow you to restore, from your end, any files that mysteriously disappear. If you do NOT have enough storage on your machine to do this then you need to move all your critical files off of your iCloud storage and make absolutely sure it is stored locally on your computer in a directory that is not managed by iCloud in any way. Then you still need to maintain a backup.

Note: if you own a second computer with plenty of storage you can have that computer store all iCloud data locally and then backup that computer on a regular basis, allowing you to leave the "Optimize Space" feature turned on for a laptop, iPad, etc. (I've also seen the iCloud service delete files on a routine basis BTW, sometimes entire folders, so it is critical, absolutely critical, to maintain your own, known good, backups!)

Good luck, I hope the icloud.com restore feature works for you. I manage computers in EDU and have yet to see it actually function as it is supposed to.

 

[goaliefight]