OneDrive is a simple and easy-to-use cloud storage service that offers 5GB of free storage if you have a Microsoft account and often comes preinstalled on Windows PCs. If you don’t want to use the service, you can completely remove OneDrive from Windows. However, it is a useful way to access files, folders, photos and videos that are on your PC on other computers or your phone. However, you may want to restrict which files and folders can be accessed, or disable access entirely. How to turn off syncing on OneDrive.
QUICK RESPONSE
To stop OneDrive from syncing, open OneDrive by clicking the cloud icon in the system tray, clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner, and going to Settings. Open the Backup and sync tab, select Manage backup and turn off the sync option for Documents, Pictures and Desktop.
SKIP TO KEY SECTIONS
How to turn off OneDrive syncing
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
OneDrive doesn’t have a separate app on Windows, but it appears like any other system file to make it easy to transfer and sync files and folders. However, there is a taskbar menu that gives you quick access to settings and other features. To turn off syncing, you need to open OneDrive settings. To access OneDrive, click the blue or white cloud icon in the taskbar. The white icon is associated with your personal Microsoft account, while the blue icon is for school or work accounts. If you can’t find it in the bar, click the up arrow icon and the options will appear in the overflow pane.
Click the icon to launch OneDrive, click the gear icon in the top right corner and open the Settings menu. If that doesn’t work, double-click the icon to open the OneDrive folder. Then select the cloud icon in the top right corner and click on the gear icon.
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
Open Sync and Backup from the left menu and select Manage backup in the Back up important PC folders to OneDrive section.
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
To stop OneDrive from syncing, turn off the sync option for Documents, Pictures, and Desktop.
How to prevent OneDrive from syncing specific files and folders
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
Sometimes you want to temporarily prevent OneDrive from syncing certain folders to restrict access to other devices. If you don’t want to sync a file or folder, it’s best to copy and paste the files to another system section that doesn’t sync with OneDrive.
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
To temporarily stop syncing specific folders, open the OneDrive settings, go to the Account tab in the left-hand menu and click Select Folder. Uncheck the folders you don’t want to sync. There is also an option to stop syncing files that are not in folders. However, this will sync all files and not just certain options.
Keep in mind that if you stop syncing specific folders but are still available online, all content in that folder will be deleted from your computer. If you want to keep accessing these files, don’t forget to copy and save them to a different folder that’s not in your OneDrive folder.
How to prevent Office apps from syncing to OneDrive
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
You can sync your Office apps with OneDrive and share documents for easy collaboration with others. People can edit their files and all changes are automatically synced to your computer. You can quickly turn it off if you don’t want to use this feature.
Go to OneDrive settings, open the Backup and sync tab, scroll down and click Advanced settings. Disable file collaboration to prevent Office apps from syncing with OneDrive.
How to stop photos and videos from syncing on OneDrive
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
To stop syncing photos and videos from your computer to OneDrive, go to OneDrive settings > Backup & sync and uncheck Save photos and videos from device and Save screenshots I take to OneDrive. If you already have a separate folder for photos and videos on OneDrive, you can use the steps above to stop syncing those folders.
How to pause and resume syncing on OneDrive
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
Click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar, click the gear icon, and select Stop syncing. You can set a specific duration to pause OneDrive sync, with two hours, eight hours, and 24 hours available as options. Go back to the same menu and select Resume syncing or click anywhere in the OneDrive app to resume syncing.
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
There are also certain instances that you can set to pause syncing automatically. Go to OneDrive settings > Backup & sync > Settings and enable Pause sync when this device is asleep and Pause sync when this device is on a metered network to avoid data charges.
Read more: How to backup your Android phone
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