How to Remove OneDrive from Mac

What is OneDrive on Mac?

OneDrive is a cloud storage service from Microsoft. As well as storing your files online with it, you can install the OneDrive app and automatically synchronize files. It works with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. OneDrive is also integrated with Microsoft Office, so you can check and edit work wherever you are.

Can you delete OneDrive from your Mac?

If you drag the OneDrive app to your Mac’s Trash, it’ll still leave some files behind. You may be able to find and manually delete this leftover data from your computer, but it could take a long time, especially if you’re not sure where to look.

A note from our experts: 

 

MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller offers a much easier and faster way to completely remove OneDrive from Mac computers. Not only will it uninstall the app itself, but it’ll find and erase associated files that are tucked away in system folders.

 

Follow our instructions to delete OneDrive from your Mac or MacBook:

1. Download and install MacKeeper. Run the app, and select Smart Uninstaller from the side menu. Click Start Scan.
2. When the scan is done, select Applications, then OneDrive. Click Remove Selected.
3. If OneDrive is running, MacKeeper will offer to close it for you. Click Accept and Uninstall.
4. Smart Uninstaller will now remove OneDrive from your Mac.

That’s all it takes. In just a few clicks, OneDrive will be gone.

Why remove OneDrive from Mac?

You might want to remove OneDrive to save storage space on your Mac. Or it might be causing issues due to some incompatibility. It’s also possible that you just don’t need OneDrive anymore, perhaps because you’re using something else instead.

If you’re struggling for storage space, check out our guide on how to free up space on Mac.

How to uninstall OneDrive on Mac

Now we’ve established why you might want to remove OneDrive, how do you actually do it? As you’ve seen, MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstall feature offers an easy way to delete all traces of OneDrive from your Apple machine, without having to go hunting for the files it leaves behind. However, if you want to remove the app manually, you need to go through several different steps. Let’s look at those now.

1. Close and disable OneDrive before removal

Before you uninstall OneDrive, you may want to stop it running and disable it. That will stop the app from downloading any more files from the cloud or uploading files from your Mac. This what you need to stop OneDrive from running and synchronizing:

1. To disable OneDrive, click the OneDrive icon in your menu bar, and select Preferences.
2. In the Account tab, click Unlink this Mac.
3. Click Unlink Account.
4. To quit OneDrive, click the OneDrive icon in your menu bar and select Quit OneDrive.

2. Delete OneDrive from Login Items

OneDrive is designed to automatically synchronize with the cloud and your other devices, running in the background as soon as you start macOS. You can stop that happening from your Mac’s System Settings:

1. Click the Apple icon in your menu bar and select System Settings.
2. In the side menu, select General, then Login Items & Extensions.
3. Scroll down to Allow in the Background, and use the switches to disable anything related to OneDrive.

3. Uninstall OneDrive app from Mac

To uninstall OneDrive on Mac, you first need to stop the app from running. After you’ve done that, it’s just a case of deleting the app from your Applications folder. Simply do as follows:

1. Open your Applications folder, then right-click the OneDrive app and select Move to Trash (Bin in some regions).
2. Right-click the Trash icon in your Dock and select Empty Trash.
3. Click the Empty Trash button.

4. Delete leftover OneDrive files and caches

When you erase apps from your Applications folder, they can leave behind files in other locations on your Mac’s hard drive or SSD. OneDrive is one such app, so it’s important to know what to do if you need to clean app leftovers on macOS.

Here’s how we can manually remove OneDrive’s leftover files:

1. Press Shift + Cmd + G. Enter ~/Library/Application Support/ and press Return.
2. Look through this folder and delete anything that has OneDrive in the name.
3. Do the same with:
   • ~/Library/Containers/
   • ~/Library/Caches/
   • ~/Library/Preferences/
   • ~/Library/Logs/
   • ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-Personal~/Library/Cookies/
   • ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

An extra hint from us: 

 

If you wish to do the same with Microsoft Office now, catch our relevant piece to learn how to uninstall Microsoft 365 on Mac.

5. Empty trash (optional, if necessary)

After sending the OneDrive app and associated data to your Trash, remember you need to empty the Trash afterward to delete those files. If you don't, they're still stored on your Mac, taking up space.  

Make the most of the cloud

If your iCloud storage is full, you might decide to install OneDrive for a second helping of free online storage on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and so on. However, we recommend checking out some of Apple’s iCloud subscriptions instead, so you can get rid of OneDrive for Mac. As we’ve shown, manually deleting OneDrive isn’t straightforward, and you can easily spend a lot of time looking for the files it leaves behind.

Instead of doing it manually, you can save yourself time with MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller. Not only will this tool uninstall the OneDrive app from your Mac, but it’ll erase files and caches that OneDrive leaves behind. MacKeeper will even close the OneDrive for you if it needs to. Smart Uninstaller will also remove other apps, as well as widgets, plugins, and more, so it’s a great way to clean up your Mac and save some storage space. Give it a try today.