How to Stop a Google Drive Sync on PC or Mac

Download Article

Explore this Article

methods

1Selecting Individual Folders

2Disabling All Sync

Other Sections

Related Articles

Download Article

This How.com.vn teaches you how to stop files and folders from automatically syncing between your Google Drive cloud and your computer's local storage, using a desktop internet browser.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Selecting Individual Folders

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open Google Drive in your internet browser. Type drive.google.com into the address bar, and hit ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard.

   • If you're not automatically signed in, enter your email address or phone number, click NEXT, enter your password, and click NEXT again.
2. 
   2
   Click the

   

   icon on the bottom-right. This button looks like a white cloud icon with a blue arrow in the lower-right corner of your screen. It will open your backup and sync menu in a pop-up window.

   • You will see this icon only when a sync is in progress. If you don't see it, try uploading a new file to your Drive.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Click the ⋮ icon in the sync window. This button is in the upper-right corner of the backup and sync pop-up. It will open your sync options on a menu.
4. 
   4
   Click Pause on the sync menu. This will pause the current file sync on your account.

   • You can resume syncing anytime by clicking Resume on the same menu.
5. 
   5
   Click Preferences on the sync menu. This will open your backup and sync preferences in a new window.
6. 
   6
   Click Google Drive Settings on the left menu. This option is located on a navigation menu on the left-hand side of the Preferences window. You can see a list of all your sync folders here.
7. 
   7
   Uncheck a folder on the list. Click the blue checkbox next to a folder on the list here, and make sure the box is empty.

   • Unchecked folders will not be synced from your Drive to your computer's local storage anymore.
   • Checked folders will still be automatically synced between your computer and your cloud storage.
8. 
   8
   Click the blue OK button. This button is located in the lower-right corner of the window. It will save your new settings, and prevent the unchecked folders from syncing in the future.
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Disabling All Sync

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open Google Drive in your internet browser. Type drive.google.com into the address bar, and hit ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard.

   • If you're not automatically signed in, enter your email address or phone number, click NEXT, enter your password, and click NEXT again.
2. 
   2
   Click the

   

   icon on the top-right. This button is located below your profile picture in the upper-right corner of your screen. It will open a drop-down menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Settings on the menu. This will open your Drive settings in a new pop-up window.
4. 
   4
   Click General on the left menu. This button is at the top of a navigation menu on the left-hand side of the Settings window.
5. 
   5
   Uncheck the box next to Offline. When this option is checked, all your Drive files are automatically synced to your computer's local storage for offline access.
6. 
   6
   Click DONE. This is a blue button in the upper-right corner of the Settings window. It will save your new account settings.
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!