Do I need iCloud and if not how do I turn it off?

CharlieBrown63 wrote: … I'm afraid of messing things up.

I know that feeling!

You do not need to use iCloud. iCloud is a synchronization service that keeps things the same on your computer and on your iPhone at iCloud.com. That's pretty much everything it does, and if you don't want that, you don't have to use it.

Unfortunately, you've turned it on, so it's probably done some things that may take some undoing. We may not be able to help much without more information, though. Go to System Settings>Apple Account>iCloud and see what the situation is. This is what mine looks like:

I can see that iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive are turned on. With "See All" I can see all the apps that are using iCloud.

If I click on "Drive" I get this:

It shows that I am not Optimizing my storage. Not Optimizing makes it easier to turn things off, so you need to see how this is set. It would also be easer for me to turn things off if I hadn't set Desktop and Documents to are shared. How is yours set?

You should read this:

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

It looks like the opposite of what you want, but there's a "Turn Off" section towards the end. You should probably look at the whole thing, though, to see just what it's all about.

Let us know what you find, and we can help…

CharlieBrown63 wrote: I went into System Settings > iCloud (I can't find Apple Account in System Settings).

Apple Account is the thing with your picture at the top of System Settings. That leads to iCloud settings.

Anyway, I clicked the "See All" button and turned EVERYTHING in the list OFF. I'm assuming this won't mess up anything on my computer???

The only possible problem would be with files or pictures that were removed from your Mac because you had "Optimize" chosen. If you had plenty of room, this may not have happened. If files had been removed, there would be a warning when you turn off iCloud-- that's what happens on my iPhone, anyway.

I have no use for iCloud if it's only for syncing things on my computer and a phone.

Then there was no reason to turn it on. I've never messed with the "Web" button at the bottom--you could go to iCloud.com and see if there is anything to shut down there.

If you don't use an iPhone or iPad then you don't need iCloud synch and you can safely turn it all off.