Depends on what regular use is. You can go into your settings and selectively block what you don't want going to the cloud. For myself, I never allow pictures to automatically go to iCloud. I selectively pick pictures and use sharing to stream them to relatives and friends. The public can't access them, and the pics are harmless if seen.
If you turn off iCloud then you're losing the ability to access your other data from multiple sources. Pick your poison. You can use your own encryption for data prior to it going to iCloud, then no one but who you choose to have your encryption password can access the content. As others mentioned, invest in NAS storage. I have two hard drives connected to my router so all my computers can share content, as well as do backups to them. Critical files are encrypted and protected. Periodically swap hard drives by cloning them and storing in a safe location, as protection in case your NAS disappears.
I’m against cloning. :-) thanks!