Products · Product
iCloud
Raised as a usability problem by 310 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2011–2026), in 264 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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- 12Settings are slow to respondUnreviewed
- 13File sharing is unusable on Windows PCsUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Sync gives no feedback on what is synced, some files take foreverUnreviewed
20112026- Sync never finishes, and folders show files as available only when online with no clear way to download everything2026-01-11
- Files fail to sync between devices in the same room, showing an infinite progress bar2024-04-22
- Opaque sync; shows only syncing or cloud-only status with almost no control2024-04-21
Save dialogs keep defaulting to iCloud with no easy opt-outUnreviewed
20112026- Files and backups default to iCloud, so users hit a pop-up forcing a paid upgrade2026-04-09
- Cloud sync options keep reappearing and must be turned off repeatedly2025-10-12
- Save dialog defaults to iCloud, so documents sometimes land there unintended2025-08-27
Login prompt repeatedly pops up at random timesUnreviewed
20112026- Repeated iCloud sign-in prompt keeps reappearing after every dismissal, forcing extra taps2026-01-23
- Keeps getting intermittent notifications to sign in to iCloud, eventually giving in2024-06-11
- Gets random iCloud password prompts with no clear trigger or explanation2024-04-27
Photos don't sync quickly or correctly between family devicesUnreviewed
20112026- Confusing behavior; users can't tell that third-party sync apps may get low-resolution photos2024-12-13
- Photos don't sync quickly or correctly between family members' devices2022-07-28
- Shared album photos stopped syncing to family with no visible way to diagnose why2021-09-23
Can't tell where iCloud stores their filesUnreviewed
20112026- Can't tell whether a file is stored on the phone or only in iCloud2023-09-10
- No easy way to see iCloud sync status without opening Finder2023-07-23
- Commenter says the iCloud folder is hard to reach and should be more visible from the CLI2022-01-07
Can't delete photos from iCloud immediately, they stay recoverableUnreviewed
20112026- Turning off iCloud Photos after accidentally enabling it triggers threatening messages about deleting local photos2026-09-22
- Photos are saved and offloaded to iCloud, and removing them locally is not seamless and needs extra steps2024-03-04
- Can't keep full photos in iCloud while deleting local copies, so phone storage fills up2022-12-07
Downloading photo library is slow, stalls and restarts from beginningUnreviewed
20112026- Downloading a whole photo library is painfully slow and stalls, and restarts from the beginning2026-04-10
- Syncing large photo libraries is so slow it takes days or forever2025-09-19
- Download links time out after a few hundred MB and Mac Photos app quits when syncing2023-03-16
Turning off sync deletes local files and contacts, opt-out in fine printUnreviewed
20112026- Unclear whether turning off sync deletes content from the cloud too2023-09-23
- Turning off sync deletes local files and contacts; opting out is buried in fine print2022-03-19
- Turning off sync deletes local files, and 'keep locally' option still erased contacts2022-01-22
Correct password rejected, and reset fails again right afterUnreviewed
20112026- Signed out after a day; password rejected despite being correct, web says account doesn't exist2023-01-10
- Sign-in failed silently with no error, forcing the user to guess what went wrong2020-12-26
- Correct email and password rejected, and password reset fails again right after2019-10-25
Switching to local backup loses iCloud backup, can't combine themUnreviewed
20112026- ICloud backups carry unnecessary cruft causing weird bugs and slowdown on new phones2023-11-13
- Hard to manage family files alongside phone backups in iCloud2021-05-24
- Switching to local backup loses iCloud backup, so backups cannot be combined2019-09-10
Photos stop uploading silently, requiring hourly manual sync restartUnreviewed
20112026- Photos silently stop uploading, and the user must manually restart sync every hour2025-03-04
- Stays switched on again after the user turned it off, uploading their files2024-05-19
- Photos keeps saying uploads fail, though the user never enabled iCloud2021-10-26
Settings are slow to respondUnreviewed
20112026- ICloud settings are slow to respond2022-05-03
- Restoring messages from iCloud backup takes over 24 hours2021-05-29
- Getting data out of iCloud took two days, mostly spent on export2020-11-03
File sharing is unusable on Windows PCsUnreviewed
20112026- Shared files often fail to appear in iCloud Drive and need restarts2022-04-14
- ICloud file sharing is unusable on Windows PCs2017-07-03
- Users can't discover how to open iCloud Drive documents on the web2014-11-10
Bulk download on Windows fails to sync and duplicates filesUnreviewed
20112026- ICloud randomly evicts files locally, and re-downloading them is slow and gets stuck2024-01-17
- Bulk download from iCloud on Windows fails to sync, duplicates files, and is very slow2024-01-09
- ICloud storage fills up fast and is not good for storing files2023-07-23
Developers find sync edge cases and conflict merging very hardUnreviewed
20112026- Silently picks what to keep; can't manually merge conflicts2024-04-26
- Developers find edge cases and conflict merging for syncing very hard to get working2016-06-18
- Sync conflicts create duplicate notes, forcing manual comparison and repair daily2014-10-20
Syncing bookmarks creates duplicates and is unreliableUnreviewed
20112026- Bookmark order changes between devices, undoing the user's manual reordering2022-10-09
- Bookmark folders get flattened to top level when syncing across devices2016-02-13
- Syncing bookmarks between devices creates duplicates and is unreliable2012-10-26
Forces backing up all photos, with no way to choose whichUnreviewed
20112026- Backing up photos without a Mac is excruciating and some photos end up unusable2026-09-09
- Forces backing up all photos, with no way to choose which ones to sync2020-12-09
- Default backup duplicates photos, and WhatsApp backup ignores turning it off2015-05-03
Storage prompts repeat on every device with no way to dismissUnreviewed
20112026- IPhone silently removes local copies of files kept in iCloud Drive, randomly2023-08-05
- Baffling iCloud storage behaviour across devices that the parents can't understand or manage2019-01-21
- Repeated iCloud storage prompts appear on every device with no way to dismiss them permanently2017-06-05
iPad documents don't appear on Mac or web, with no way to refreshUnreviewed
20112026- Documents written on iPad don't appear on Mac or web when needed, with no way to refresh2025-12-28
- Documents created on Mac can't be accessed on iOS, and data can't move between apps2013-01-22
- Can't create a document in the cloud and access it on a mobile device2012-12-11
Notes on iCloud.com lacks attachments, forcing browser useUnreviewed
20112026- Notes app on iCloud.com is hobbled, lacking attachments, forcing use of a browser2023-09-30
- Notes created on updated iPhone silently vanish or are ignored on older Mac2021-07-11
- Can't view or edit shared notes on the iCloud website, which is confusing2021-06-17
macOS pushes iCloud sign-up through dark-pattern promptsUnreviewed
20112026- MacOS pushes iCloud sign-up through dark-pattern prompts the user didn't choose2025-10-23
- Confusing opt-out prompts push users into iCloud they did not choose2021-10-27
- Users are nudged into enabling iCloud by default through dark patterns2021-08-14
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Changed password on Mac doesn't update iPhone and iPad, which keep using the old one2026-10-26
- Windows Hello and 1Password intercept passkey attempts, making setup hard to complete2026-10-14
- Multiple confusingly similar Documents directories make it unclear where files belong2026-10-03
- Turning off iCloud Photos after accidentally enabling it triggers threatening messages about deleting local photos2026-09-22
- Upsell nag keeps reappearing despite repeated attempts to disable it2026-09-22
- Backs up whole phone and renames it to wife's name; can't easily clear photos2026-09-18
- Backing up photos without a Mac is excruciating and some photos end up unusable2026-09-09
- Can't select all and split downloads; must manually select batches under a 10k limit2026-07-03
- Can't access iCloud photo files from WSL or PowerShell, so everyday file handling is painful2026-06-24
- Spent ten minutes unable to figure out how to attach a file to an email2026-05-26
- Photos and videos get uploaded and local copies deleted by default, with the protective setting hidden2026-05-09
- Setting is confusingly named, so users can't tell that photos get moved to iCloud2026-04-11
- Downloading a whole photo library is painfully slow and stalls, and restarts from the beginning2026-04-10
- Defaults upload photos and app data to iCloud, and users must find and disable each app's backup.2026-04-10
- Mass-exporting photos from iCloud website is clunky and people don't know it's possible2026-04-10
- Deletion prompt is vague, so users can't tell whether local copies will be lost too2026-04-10
- Files and backups default to iCloud, so users hit a pop-up forcing a paid upgrade2026-04-09
- Backs up cached, redownloadable app data without telling the user or letting them exclude it easily2026-04-09
- Culling photos on the phone is annoying and cumbersome2026-03-24
- Deletes the last few edits and what was just typed2026-03-01
- Downloads fail midway with no resume, sessions expire often, and file list changes between attempts2026-02-01
- Tool is not user friendly or pretty to use2026-01-31
- Authentication failures, idle CPU use, and empty placeholder files instead of real photos2026-01-31
- Repeated iCloud sign-in prompt keeps reappearing after every dismissal, forcing extra taps2026-01-23
- Sync status is hidden; user must scroll and pull the page twice to see it2026-01-12
- Users may be pushed into accepting data sharing via dark-pattern EULA popups2026-01-12
- Sync never finishes, and folders show files as available only when online with no clear way to download everything2026-01-11
- Can't find a button to download all iCloud photos to Mac2026-01-11
- Syncing a 10 minute video from iPhone to Mac takes over 30 minutes2026-01-05
- Phantom entries persist, forcing manual database edits or removing and re-adding devices2025-12-28
- Documents written on iPad don't appear on Mac or web when needed, with no way to refresh2025-12-28
- Storage list hides apps like GoPro and messages' videos, so the user cannot tell what fills space2025-12-02
- Persistent prompts and dark patterns push users toward paid storage plans2025-11-25
- Keeping some photos local but not others requires moving photos between libraries, one open at a time2025-11-04
- MacOS pushes iCloud sign-up through dark-pattern prompts the user didn't choose2025-10-23
- Cloud sync options keep reappearing and must be turned off repeatedly2025-10-12
- Syncing large photo libraries is so slow it takes days or forever2025-09-19
- Save dialog defaults to iCloud, so documents sometimes land there unintended2025-08-27
- Files scattered across two identical filesystems, hard to find saved items2025-08-20
- Downgrading iCloud storage is hard, with persistent nags and data-loss warnings2025-08-18
- Regularly breaks biometric login, forcing annoying repeated sign-ins2025-06-12
- Users can't tell where their photos are stored or how to access them elsewhere2025-06-11
- Pushed into uploading private files to iCloud despite trying to decline2025-06-08
- Unintuitive how Messages in iCloud and iCloud Backup encryption interact; even the commenter is unsure2025-05-09
- Photos from two accounts merged unexpectedly and can't be easily separated2025-05-01
- Exported data downloads are extremely slow and prone to failing2025-04-21
- Address that was ever tied to a deleted Apple account errors with no clear message when added2025-03-29
- Account deleted mid-update, phone locked, no way to prove ownership or recover2025-03-04
- Photos silently stop uploading, and the user must manually restart sync every hour2025-03-04
- Open tabs don't sync to iPad and user can't figure out how to troubleshoot2025-03-02