Where deleted and changed files go

Updated

When a backup finds that a file has changed in iCloud Drive, it moves the older copy into the archive before saving the new one. When a file has been deleted from iCloud Drive, or you've turned it off in Selection or Settings › iCloud Drive, its copy moves to the archive too.

Where the archive is

The archive is the _Archive folder inside your backup folder. Each backup that moves something there gets its own folder, named for the date and time of that backup, such as:

_Archive/
  2026-10-27 02.00.08/
  2026-10-28 02.00.14/
    Documents/
      Budget.numbers

Inside each dated folder, files keep the same folders they had in the iCloud Drive folder of your backup.

You don't need to open these folders yourself: the Restore screen browses them for you. See Restore an earlier version or a deleted file.

How long files are kept

Archived files are kept for 30 days unless you choose otherwise:

  1. Open Destination in the sidebar.
  2. Under Archive, change Keep them for to anything from 1 to 365 days.

At the end of each backup that finishes, CloudBak deletes the dated folders older than that. A backup you stop doesn't delete any.

Turn the archive off

Under Archive on the Destination screen, turn off Keep deleted and changed files in an archive.

With the archive off, when a file is deleted or replaced in iCloud Drive, its backup copy is deleted from the backup as well. Nothing is kept, so it can't be restored later. Archive folders that are already there are left as they are.

When many files go missing at once

If a large number of backed-up files suddenly go missing from iCloud Drive, CloudBak leaves their copies in place and lists Many Files Missing in Issues instead of archiving them. That usually means something is wrong with iCloud Drive, such as being signed out, rather than that you deleted the files. See What the issues in the Issues list mean.