How to Turn Off Google Drive Sync (Pause, Stop, or Disconnect)

To stop Google Drive from syncing for a while, open Google Drive for desktop and click the Pause syncing button at the top right. To stop it for good, click the gear, then Preferences > gear > Disconnect account, and confirm.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to turn off Google Drive sync on a Windows or Mac computer, how to stop one folder or save disk space instead, what the Drive app on your phone does, and what to check when syncing won’t stop.

Pause Google Drive sync on a computer

I tested all of this on a Windows 11 PC with Google Drive for desktop version 132, signed in to the demo Drive I use for Bluebird Landscaping Co., a made-up landscaping company in Austin. It’s a personal Gmail account.

If you don’t have the app yet, here’s how to install Google Drive for desktop. Pausing is the quick fix when Drive is eating your bandwidth or you’re on a slow hotel connection.

Open Google Drive for desktop. On Windows, its icon sits in the system tray at the bottom right (click the arrow to show hidden icons). On a Mac, it’s in the menu bar at the top right.

The app opens a full Drive window with Home, Sync activity, and Notifications on the left. The Sync status card on Home said “Your files are up to date” for me.

At the top right, next to the gear, click the Pause syncing button. It’s the one with the pause icon.

The card switched to Paused with “Last synced 4 minutes ago” under it, and the button turned into Resume syncing with a play icon.

Google says that while sync is paused, Drive for desktop stops updates to streamed files, syncing in both directions for mirrored folders, and backups to Google Photos.

To start again, click the same button. Mine picked up right where it left off.

Heads up: Pausing is a short break, not an off switch. If you want Drive to stay off, use the steps below.

Stop Google Drive from syncing for good

You’ve got three levels here: quit the app for now, keep it from starting with Windows or macOS, or disconnect your account. Pick the smallest one that solves your problem.

Pause, quit, or disconnect: which one fits?

• Pause when you need your bandwidth back for an hour, like during a video call. The app stays open and you can resume with one click.
• Quit when you want Drive closed until you restart or open it again. Streamed files on the G: drive aren’t reachable while it’s closed.
• Turn off Launch on login when you only use Drive now and then and don’t want it running all day.
• Disconnect when you’re done with this computer, selling it, or switching accounts. It removes the streamed and offline copies from the PC.

Quit Drive for desktop

Click the gear (Settings) at the top right of the Drive window. The menu shows Preferences, Offline files, Error list, About, Help, Send feedback, and Quit.

Click Quit. Nothing syncs until you open the app again or restart your computer. If it won’t open again later, here’s what to do when Drive for desktop won’t launch.

Turn off Launch on login

Click the gear, then Preferences. In the Google Drive Preferences window, click the gear at the top (Open Advanced Settings) to reach the Settings page.

Uncheck Launch on login, the box that says “Launch Google Drive when you login to your computer.” Then click Done.

Now Drive stays closed after a restart, and nothing syncs until you open it yourself.

Disconnect your account

This is the real off switch. On the same Settings page, the top row shows your account and storage. Mine said “Using 7.5 GB of 5,120.0 GB.” Click Disconnect account under it.

A box asks “Disconnect account?” and warns that files streaming from Google Drive, including ones marked Available offline, will no longer be on your computer. Click Disconnect.

Before I disconnected, File Explorer showed a G: drive with My Drive and my Bluebird Landscaping folder in it. Right after I clicked Disconnect, the G: drive disappeared.

Your files aren’t deleted from the cloud. They’re all still in Drive on the web.

Google also says that any files that failed to sync may sit in a Lost & Found folder, which is deleted when you disconnect. If the app shows sync problems, check the Google Drive error list and copy anything stuck to a safe place first.

I then opened Drive on the web and clicked Computers. It said “No computers syncing,” which is a nice way to confirm nothing on that PC is still connected.

Uninstall Drive for desktop

Google’s order is: disconnect the account, click the gear and choose Quit, then uninstall the app the standard way for your computer.

On Windows 11, that’s Settings > Apps > Installed apps, then the three dots next to Google Drive > Uninstall. On a Mac, Google just says to follow your operating system’s usual steps.

Stop syncing one folder or save hard drive space instead

Sometimes you don’t want Drive off. You just want it to stop copying one folder, or stop filling up your disk.

Folders from your computer

When I set Drive up, the welcome screen offered to sync Documents, Desktop, and Downloads, all ticked as suggested folders. I unticked all three, and the Next button changed to Skip.

If you already sync a folder from your PC, Google’s steps are: open Drive for desktop, go to Preferences, select the folder, and uncheck Drive and/or Photos. These folders show under My Laptop (Folders from your computer).

I didn’t have a PC folder syncing, so I couldn’t test that part. While you’re in there, it helps to know what the green checkmark means on synced files.

My Drive: stream instead of mirror

Under Google Drive in Preferences, My Drive syncing options has two choices. Stream files keeps everything in the cloud and opens files on demand. Mirror files keeps a full copy on your computer.

If your real problem is disk space, switch to Stream files. Google says streaming uses very little space on your computer. It’s also worth reading why Drive storage looks full with no files.

To switch, click the gear, then Preferences, click Folders from Drive on the left (Google Drive in my version), and select Stream files under My Drive syncing options.

Switching from mirror to stream? Google says to let your files finish syncing first. Your files then live on a virtual drive instead of a folder, and the old mirrored folder stops syncing. On Windows, quit Drive before you delete that old folder.

Shared drives can only be streamed, and folders from your computer can only be mirrored. So this choice only affects My Drive.

What about the Drive app on Android or iPhone?

The Drive app on a phone doesn’t sync a folder from your phone the way Drive for desktop does on a computer, so there’s no sync switch to turn off.

What it does have is offline files. On Android, you tap More next to a file and Make available offline. On iPhone, you turn on Available offline in the same menu. Here’s more on how to save Google Drive files to your phone.

To see which files you’ve saved offline, open the Drive app and tap Menu > Offline.

If uploads are the thing you want to stop, that’s a different fix. See how to stop a Google Drive upload.

When Google Drive keeps syncing anyway

• You paused instead of quitting. Quit from the gear menu and turn off Launch on login.
• You have more than one account. Drive for desktop can hold up to four. Disconnect each one on the Settings page.
• It’s a work or school account. Google says your admin may manage or restrict some settings, so ask them. Here’s how personal and business Google accounts differ.
• You’re following an old guide. If it mentions Backup and Sync, that’s an older Google app. The current app is Google Drive for desktop, and the steps above are for it.
• You meant Chrome. “Turn off sync on Google” often means Chrome sync, which is a separate browser setting and has nothing to do with Drive files.

If Drive is just acting up, a restart (Quit, then reopen) often helps. You can also check why Google Drive keeps going offline.

Want to keep tidying up Drive? These might help

• stop Google Drive from duplicating files
• why Google Drive is so slow
• Google Drive stuck on waiting to upload
• stop Google Drive notifications

Quick answers