Easy Ways to Disable OneDrive on Windows and Mac

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Unlink OneDrive from your computer and stop it from starting up

Co-authored by Travis Boylls Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: March 27, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Unlinking OneDrive
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• Uninstalling OneDrive (Windows)
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• Uninstalling OneDrive (Mac)
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• Disabling OneDrive AutoStart (PC)
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• Disabling OneDrive AutoStart (Mac)
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• Hiding the OneDrive Folder
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• Hiding the OneDrive Icon
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

OneDrive can be useful for syncing, backing up, and sharing files. However, if you don't use it, you can unlink it to stop the backup and syncing features, which allows you to have separate local storage while still being able to access OneDrive online. If you really don’t want to use OneDrive, you can uninstall it from your computer after unlinking it first. This wikiHow article teaches you how to disable OneDrive on your PC or Mac.

Quickly Disable OneDrive

1. Click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar or menu bar.
2. Click the Settings/Gear icon.
3. Click Settings or Preferences.
4. Click Account.
5. Click Unlink this PC or Unlink this Mac.
6. Click Unlink account.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Unlinking OneDrive

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1. 
   1
   Click the OneDrive icon. On Windows, it’s the cloud icon in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen on the right side. You may need to click the up arrow to see it. On a Mac, it’s in the menu bar at the top of the screen. This displays the OneDrive panel.

   • If you don’t want to use OneDrive, you can disable it by unlinking OneDrive from your Microsoft account. This will allow you to have a separate local storage on your computer, while still being able to access your OneDrive files online via the cloud.
   • This will not remove the OneDrive app from your computer, but it will no longer sync your data. After unlinking OneDrive, we'll show you how to uninstall the app.
2. 
   2
   Click the Settings icon

   

   . It’s the gear in the upper-right corner of the OneDrive panel. This displays a drop-down menu.
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3. 
   3
   Click Settings or Preferences. It’s the first option in the drop-down menu. On Windows, it says “Settings.” On Mac, it says “Preferences.” This opens the OneDrive settings menu.
4. 
   4
   Click Account. On Windows, it’s the second option in the menu to the left. On Mac, it’s the second tab at the top of the screen.
5. 
   5
   Click Unlink this PC or Unlink this Mac. It’s below your name in the Account page. This will display a confirmation pop-up.
6. 
   6
   Click Unlink account. This confirms that you want to unlink your PC or Mac from OneDrive. This will disable syncing with OneDrive. All your local files saved on your computer will still remain on your computer. All the files saved to OneDrive will still be accessible online. You can now delete files from OneDrive online without deleting them from your computer.

   • If you want to link your PC to OneDrive again, open the OneDrive icon in the Taskbar and sign in with your Microsoft account.
   • You can access your OneDrive files at onedrive.live.com. You’ll need to log in to your Microsoft account.
   • To completely uninstall OneDrive, jump to our steps for Windows and Mac.
   • If you think you'll want to use OneDrive in the future, you can just disable OneDrive automatic startup on your PC or Mac instead of completely uninstalling it.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Uninstalling OneDrive (Windows)

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1. 
   1
   Click the Windows Start menu

   

   . It’s the icon that has the Windows logo in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

   • On some versions of Windows, OneDrive is integrated and can’t be uninstalled. If you can’t uninstall OneDrive, make sure you disable it in startup and hide the OneDrive folder.
2. 
   2
   Type Programs. This displays a variety of search results in the Start menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Add and remove programs. It should be the first option in the Windows Start menu when you type “Programs.”
4. 
   4
   Uninstall OneDrive. Use one of the following steps to do so:

   • Windows 11: Click the icon with three dots (•••) next to OneDrive and click Uninstall.
   • Windows 10: Click OneDrive in the list of apps. Then click Uninstall.
5. 
   5
   Enter your password. Enter the password you use to log in to Windows, and confirm you want to uninstall OneDrive.

   • Check your Windows startup apps. Make sure OneDrive does not appear in the list of OneDrive items. If it is, it may not be completely uninstalled, or you may not be able to uninstall it on your version of Windows.
   • You may still have a OneDrive folder on your computer after uninstalling OneDrive. It is not linked to your OneDrive account. It is just a folder called “OneDrive.”
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Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Uninstalling OneDrive (Mac)

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1. 
   1
   Open Finder and click the Applications folder. This displays all installed applications on your Mac.
2. 
   2
   Drag OneDrive to the trash. Locate OneDrive in the Applications folder and click and drag it to the trash icon in the Dock. This uninstalls OneDrive.
3. 
   3
   Delete leftover files. To make sure there are no leftover files or processes running in the background. Open Finder and press Command + Shift + G. You’ll need to enter each of the following locations and delete files and folders related to OneDrive. Make sure you only delete OneDrive files, as deleting the wrong files can damage your system. Check the following locations and delete any leftover OneDrive files you find:

   • ~/Library/Application Support/
   • ~/Library/Caches/
   • ~/Library/Containers/
   • ~/Library/Cookies/
   • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
   • ~/Library/Preferences/
   • ~/Library/Logs/
   • ~/LibraryCloudStorage/OneDrive-Personal/
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Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Disabling OneDrive Automatic Startup (Windows)

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1. 
   1
   Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc. This will open the Task Manager on your Windows computer. If you don't want OneDrive to open automatically when you turn on your computer, this method will walk you through the steps.

   • If it doesn’t open the Task Manager, select Task Manager from the menu.
2. 
   2
   Click Startup Apps. It’s in the menu to the left. On Windows 10, it’s at the top of the screen.
3. 
   3
   Select One Drive. You may need to scroll down to find it. Click it to select it.
4. 
   4
   Click Disable. It’s at the top of the screen. This disables OneDrive from starting up when you boot up your PC.
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Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Disabling OneDrive Automatic Startup (Mac)

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1. 
   1
   Open the System Settings menu. To do so, click the Apple icon in the menu bar at the top and click System Settings.
2. 
   2
   Click General. It’s in the sidebar menu to the left.
3. 
   3
   Click Login Items & Extensions. It’s in the main menu panel. You may need to scroll down to find it.
4. 
   4
   Click - next to “OneDrive.” This removes OneDrive from your login items and prevents OneDrive from automatically starting up when you boot up your Mac.
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Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Hiding the OneDrive Folder

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1. 
   1
   Press ⊞ Win+E to open File Explorer

   

   . Alternatively, you can click the File Explorer icon in the taskbar or in the Windows Start menu. It has an icon that resembles a manila folder with a blue clip.

   • OneDrive is integrated into earlier versions of Windows and can’t be uninstalled. However, you can hide the OneDrive folder in File Explorer so that it is out of the way.
2. 
   2
   Navigate to the OneDrive folder. If you don’t see the OneDrive folder in the menu to the left, you can usually find it in your user folder. Use the following steps to navigate to the OneDrive folder.

   • Click This PC.
   • Click your hard drive with your Windows installation (usually the “C:” drive).
   • Click Users.
   • Click your user name or computer name folder.
   • Locate the OneDrive folder.
3. 
   3
   Right-click OneDrive and click Properties. This will open the Properties menu for the OneDrive folder.
4. 
   4
   Click the General tab. It’s the first tab at the top of the Properties window.
5. 
   5
   Check “Hidden.” Click the checkbox next to “Hidden” below “Attributes.”
6. 
   6
   Click Apply. It’s at the bottom of the “Properties” window. This applies the changes and hides the OneDrive drive folder.

   • You can access the OneDrive folder by showing hidden files and folders in File Explorer.
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Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Hiding the OneDrive Icon

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1. 
   1
   Click the OneDrive icon. On Windows, it’s the cloud icon in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen on the right side. You may need to click the up arrow to access it. On Mac, it’s in the menu bar at the top of the screen. This displays the OneDrive panel.
2. 
   2
   Click the Gear/Settings icon

   

   . It’s in the upper-right corner of the OneDrive panel. This displays a drop-down menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Quit OneDrive. This displays a confirmation pop-up.
4. 
   4
   Click Quit OneDrive again. This confirms that you want to quit OneDrive and remove it from the taskbar or menu bar.
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