Does iCloud sync using Cloudkit or store data in iCloud drive?

Hi

I know this topic has been discussed previously where potential users have hit issues because their employers do not permit iCloud Drive on their Macbooks… and hence it is not possible to sync between IOS and MacOS.

This is an issue for me and is stopping me form fully embracing Drafts but I wonder if there is a solution lurking somewhere. I hasten to add I am not a Developer(!) but there are other apps I use that sync via iCloud using CloudKit as a transport mechanism only, but do not store files permanently in iCloud Drive. Most of the Apple apps do that for example and work fine in my setup.

As I understand it, Drafts also does not store files permanently in iCloud (I may be wrong but it appears that way), so maybe the application checking that iCloud Drive is enabled as part of the configuration steps is checking too deeply?

Just a thought and - as I say - not a Developer … just someone who is keen to embrace and pay for Drafts if I can get this final piece working !

Hi … I noticed some Twitter chatter on this topic and wondered if I(pad)oS14 or drafts 2.2 had found a way to address it? Haven’t seen anything in the various release notes.

I’m really keen to go all-in on Drafts but this is a blocker for my own scenario sadly.

There is no workaround.

As it stands, Apple requires iCloud Drive to be active for third party apps to use CloudKit services. I do not know why, since their own apps use it without iCloud Drive active, but that is not in my control.

I have no idea what exactly changed, but I am now able to sync Drafts between my personal computer and my work computer, which still doesn’t allow iCloud Drive. The only thing I can attribute it to is upgrading to MacOS Sonoma but I don’t care, It works! You might want to check again.

Yes, with iOS 17 and macOS 14 Apple removed the requirement that iCloud Drive be active to access CloudKit in third-party apps.

That does not guarantee it will work in all circumstances. Some corporate security policies still block access to CloudKit separately, but if they only block iCloud Drive, you should be able to sync if you have updated to those OS versions.

O. How exciting. Will give it a go tomorrow.