Apple fanboys who fancied the "Optimize Mac Storage" feature are now in for a nasty surprise – their file histories have vanished into thin air.

Normally, macOS creates file versions every time you hit save. But Howard Oakley from The Eclectic Light Company has sounded the alarm for those running on macOS 14.4.

If you've got "Optimize Mac Storage" ticked and decide to give a file the boot from iCloud Drive's local home, kiss all those previous versions goodbye.

Any macOS version before 14.4 would allow booting a file to keep its history intact. But now, in a twist of irony, Apple's "optimization" acts more like a memory wipe – once you download that file again it is never seen or heard of again.

Oakley's own sleuthing confirms this blunder is a macOS 14.4 cock-up,  feature – no such shenanigans in Sonoma 14.3 or Ventura.

For the unfortunate souls who've already taken the update plunge, Oakley's advice is to steer clear of saving files to iCloud Drive, or switch off "Optimize Mac Storage" pronto.

And get this – you might have to flick that switch off not once, but twice, because Jobs Mob software does not believe users should have that much control over its software.

For those wanting the nitty-gritty details of this Apple-induced file fiasco, Oakley's got the full lowdown.