How to Uninstall and Remove Google Drive From Your Laptop or Mac

Want to stop using Google Drive? Here's how to disable Google Drive on your PC or suspend it.

Want Google Drive removed from your computer? It's possible that you no longer wish to use Google Drive or that you need to reinstall it to resolve a bug.

We'll demonstrate how to uninstall Google Drive from a Mac or Windows computer. We'll also go over disconnecting from and suspending Google Drive in case you don't need this last resort.

How to Uninstall and Remove Google Drive From Your Laptop or Mac

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Google Drive vs. Backup and Sync

Before we go into detail on how to remove Google Drive from your computer, we should point you that the desktop application for Google Drive has undergone a number of rebrandings.

Although Google changed the name of the program from Google Drive to Backup and Sync in 2017, the software's core features remained the same. For corporate customers, a different software called Google Drive File Stream provided more options.

Google has integrated all previous Google Drive desktop capabilities into a single program, still called Google Drive, as of 2021.

Therefore, the methods to remove Backup and Sync can be a little different if you still have the previous Backup and Sync app on your computer. Update to the most recent version of Google Drive for the best results before proceeding.

How to Disconnect Google Drive From Your Computer

You should unplug your current computer from your Drive account before deleting Google Drive entirely from it. If you don't want to completely delete the Google Drive app yet, this is also a helpful stand-alone step.

You'll need to launch the program in order to disconnect Google Drive. But doing a search for it will do nothing but launch the app. Instead, while the program is open, you must click its icon.

On Windows, the recognizable green, yellow, blue, and red triangle symbol for Google Drive may be found in the System Tray in the lower-right corner of your screen. To display every icon, you might need to click the arrow.

On a Mac, the menu bar at the top of the screen will display the same symbol. On its macOS version, the Google Drive symbol, however, lacks color.

In the absence of this indicator, Google Drive is not active. Hit the Windows key, enter "Google Drive," and then press Enter to start it on Windows. To launch Google Drive on a Mac, use Cmd + Space to bring up Spotlight, then type "Google Drive" and hit Return. You ought to notice the symbol as soon as the app launches.

Regardless of your platform, click this symbol to get a panel containing Google Drive information. To access Google Drive's settings menu, click here and then select Preferences from the Settings menu.

Click the Settings gear icon once again in the options page for Google Drive. 

Select Disconnect Account after that. Any files in My Drive and mirrored files will stay on your computer, but any future modifications won't sync to Google Drive, as will be noted in the warning. To confirm, click Disconnect.

Any changes you make to files in your Drive folder on your computer won't sync to other devices, and whatever you do in your Drive account on other devices won't reflect on your present computer. To resume file synchronization in the app, you must rejoin your Google account.

How to Uninstall Google Drive

You need to reload the program or have decided against Google Drive. How to remove Google Drive from your computer is shown below.

Notably, uninstalling Google Drive disables your files from synchronizing with the cloud but does not remove any already present data. After uninstalling, you can relocate or remove them as necessary without affecting the cloud-based copies.

Uninstall Google Drive on a Windows PC

Simply uninstall Google Drive from Windows like you would any other software to get rid of it. Open Settings on Windows 10 or Windows 11 and navigate to Apps > Apps & features. You may also use the Win + I shortcut to achieve this.

For Google Drive, use the search bar or scroll down. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Google Drive from your computer by clicking it and selecting Uninstall.

If you wish to resume syncing files to this computer after completing this task, you'll need to reinstall the program. Your Google Drive folder will continue to exist, but it is no longer connected to your account.

You should stop using Google Drive before removing it in case you receive an error stating that it is still doing activities. To accomplish this, click the icon for it in your System Tray as previously mentioned, then select Settings from the menu that appears. To stop Google Drive from operating, click Quit in the resulting dialog box. Then you ought to have no trouble uninstalling it.

Uninstall Google Drive on a Mac

Similar to uninstalling any other macOS software, removing Google Drive from your Mac follows the same steps. Navigate to the Applications folder in Finder. If you can't find it in the left sidebar, you can also access it by pressing Shift + Cmd + A or by going to Go > Applications in the menu bar.

Locate the Google Drive program under Applications, then drag it or select Move to Trash from the context menu to place it in your Dock's trash. The program is then removed from your computer.

It's simple to exit the program if your Mac prompts you to do so. On your menu bar, select Google Drive, then click the Settings cog. To exit Google Drive, select Quit from this option. Now it ought should uninstall smoothly.

How to Pause Google Drive

You don't have to disconnect or uninstall Google Drive if you only want to temporarily stop the syncing process. If necessary, you may temporarily halt Google Drive using the Windows and Mac programs.

Click the Drive symbol once more to accomplish this, as was mentioned previously. Choose the Pause syncing option from the Settings gear menu. As long as you don't repeat the procedure and choose Resume syncing, Google Drive won't be able to upload or download anything. All the modifications made while the app was paused will sync once you restart.

As we indicated above, you may also stop Google Drive from syncing by selecting Quit from this option. The software won't sync after being closed until it is opened again. The next time you turn on your computer, Google Drive will launch automatically if you have it set to launch at startup.

Turn Off, Quit, and Delete Google Drive

You now understand how to disconnect Google Drive for less serious situations as well as how to uninstall Google Drive from your computer.

Generally speaking, you should only delete the program if you need to fix it or are certain you will no longer use it. If you wish to make significant changes to local files without affecting what is in your Drive, disconnecting is sufficient. When you don't want Drive to commit temporary changes to a folder, for example, pausing is a decent short-term option.