The fastest way to delete Google Drive

To remove Google Drive from your Mac, you need to do three things in order: sign out of the app, uninstall the process itself, and delete the local folder it created. The process takes about five minutes and doesn't affect your files stored online—they stay in your Google account.

Start by opening Google Drive on your Mac. Click your profile picture in the top right corner, then select Sign out. This disconnects your Google account from the app. Next, quit Google Drive entirely by pressing Command+Q or clicking Google Drive in the menu bar and selecting Quit.

Now you'll uninstall the process. Open Finder, go to Applications, find Google Drive, right-click it, and select Move to Trash. Empty your Trash afterward. The app is now gone, but the folder where your synced files lived is still on your computer.

Key Takeaways

  • Sign out of your Google account within the app before uninstalling, so your Mac doesn't try to sync files after you've deleted the process.
  • Deleting Google Drive from your Mac does not delete your files from Google's servers—they remain in your Google account online.
  • After uninstalling the app, you must manually delete the Google Drive folder from your computer if you want to free up that disk space.
  • If you only want to stop syncing certain folders, you can do that within Google Drive settings without uninstalling the entire app.

Finding and removing the Google Drive folder

When you installed Google Drive, it created a folder on your Mac—usually in your home directory—where it stored copies of your synced files. Uninstalling the app doesn't automatically delete this folder, so you need to remove it yourself if you want to reclaim that storage space.

Open Finder and click on your home folder (the house icon in the sidebar). Look for a folder named Google Drive. Right-click it and select Move to Trash. If you can't find it, it may be hidden. Press Command+Shift+Period (the period key) to show hidden files, then look again. Once you've moved it to Trash, empty your Trash to permanently delete it.

Before you delete this folder, make sure you've already backed up any files you want to keep. Once it's in the Trash and you've emptied it, those local copies are gone from your Mac. Your files remain in your Google account online, but the copies on your computer are deleted.

What happens to your files after you delete Google Drive

Your files stored in Google Drive online are completely unaffected. They stay in your Google account and you can access them anytime by going to drive.google.com in a web browser. Deleting the app and the local folder only removes the copies that were synced to your Mac.

If you had files in the Google Drive folder that you never uploaded or that were only stored locally, those will be deleted when you remove the folder. Check the folder before you delete it to make sure nothing important is left behind. You can also move files out of the Google Drive folder to another location on your Mac before uninstalling if you want to keep local copies.

Stopping sync without uninstalling the app

If you don't want to delete Google Drive entirely but you do want to stop it from syncing files to your Mac, you can pause or disable syncing in the app's settings instead. Open Google Drive, click your profile picture, and select Settings. Look for the Sync option and toggle it off. This keeps the app installed but stops it from downloading files to your computer.

You can also choose which folders to sync. In Settings, find the Sync options and uncheck the folders you don't want on your Mac. This is useful if you want to keep Google Drive running but only sync certain projects or documents, saving disk space without removing the app entirely.

Freeing up disk space after removal

The Google Drive folder can take up significant space on your Mac depending on how many files you had synced. After you delete the app and the folder, check your available storage by clicking the Apple menu, selecting About This Mac, and going to the Storage tab. You should see an increase in available space.

If you're still running low on storage after deleting Google Drive, look for other large folders or applications you no longer use. You can also check your Downloads folder, which often accumulates files over time. Removing old backups, duplicate photos, or unused applications can free up several gigabytes.

Reinstalling Google Drive later

If you decide you want Google Drive back on your Mac, you can read it again from Google's website at google.com/drive/read. Sign in with your Google account, and the app will sync your files again. Any files you deleted from your Mac are still in your Google account, so they'll read back to your computer once you reinstall.

When you reinstall, Google Drive will create a new folder on your Mac. It won't restore the exact folder structure you had before unless you manually recreate it, but all your files will be there in your Google account and will sync down as the app runs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting Google Drive delete my files from Google's servers?

No. Deleting the app and the local folder only removes the copies on your Mac. Your files remain in your Google account and you can access them at drive.google.com from any device. The only files deleted are the ones stored locally on your computer.

What if I can't find the Google Drive folder on my Mac?

The folder is usually in your home directory, but it may be hidden. Press Command+Shift+Period to show hidden files in Finder. If you still can't find it, open Google Drive settings and check where the sync folder is located—it might be in a different spot than the default.

Can I pause Google Drive syncing without uninstalling the app?

Yes. Open Google Drive, click your profile picture, select Settings, and toggle off the Sync option. This stops the app from downloading files to your Mac but keeps the process installed. You can turn syncing back on anytime from the same menu.

How much disk space will I free up by deleting Google Drive?

It depends on how many files you had synced. The app itself is small, but the Google Drive folder can be several gigabytes if you synced a lot of documents, photos, or videos. Check the folder size before deleting it by right-clicking it and selecting Get Info.

Do I need to delete the Google Drive folder if I'm just uninstalling the app?

Not if you want to keep the files on your Mac. The folder will stay where it is. If you want to free up disk space or completely remove Google Drive from your computer, you should delete the folder. You can always move files out of it to another location first if you want to keep them.