---
layout: post
title: Moving my calendars from iCloud to FastMail
summary: I recently discovered that iCloud was deleting my old calendar entries, so I switched to FastMail.
tags: icloud misc
---

I used to manage my calendar with iCloud. I have basic needs, and it seemed like a good fit – until I discovered the following [unexpected restriction](https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204055#calendars):

> iCloud Calendars keep information from the last six months, and up to three years in the future.

The practical upshot is that iCloud has been deleting my old events -- it doesn't have anything from before January this year.

Silently deleting old user data is dubious, because a lot of people won't realise it's missing until it's too late to make another copy.
(See also: the horror stories about iMessage deleting threads on your phone to free up space.)

I like having my historical calendar -- it's a nice companion to my written journal -- and so I decided to switch away from iCloud.

Since I already use [FastMail](https://www.fastmail.com/) for email, I looked at their calendar service.
It fits my needs, and their support team confirmed they don't have any time limits or auto-deletion policies.
I followed their [migration instructions](https://www.fastmail.com/help/calendar/migratecalendar.html), and now I'm using FastMail and CalDAV instead of iCloud.

It wasn't hard, but it was annoying, and I wish Apple were more upfront about this "feature".
(Or heck, retain events forever!)

Add a post about iCloud/FastMail calendars
Add a post about iCloud/FastMail calendars
