TurboTax tried an interesting experiment this year: some of their desktop software users were offered the opportunity to store their tax returns in the on the cloud, which could be useful in the case of hard drive failure or some other catastrophe affecting files on your computer. Those customers will have to download a copy for safekeeping: Intuit has decided to end the experiment and have desktop customers save their returns the old-fashioned way.

That is the whole idea behind testing features, after all: if they don’t work, get rid of ’em. Only about 20% of people who file using TurboTax use desktop software: the rest file using the company’s Web-based services or mobile apps. (Yes, there are phone and tablet apps to do your taxes: some readers were surprised at this during tax season.)

The desktop program automatically saves a copy to the computer on which it’s installed, but cloud backup was offered as an option to some customers this year. Web users’ returns are stored on Intuit’s servers as part of the service.

TurboTax to delete tax returns for CD users who store online [CNN]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.