4 Simple Steps to Stop Files Automatically Saving to OneDrive

​If you have recently acquired a Microsoft 365 subscription, you may (or may not) have noticed that the default save location in applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint is now Microsoft’s online ‘cloud’ storage system, OneDrive.
 
This can cause confusion for Mac users, as you may end up with files saved in multiple different locations, such as on your computer’s hard drive, within Apple’s iCloud, and on Microsoft’s OneDrive.
 
Whilst the first 5GB of OneDrive storage space is free, once that is used up you will need to start paying between £1.99 and £7.99 per month* for additional storage capacity to continue saving new files to OneDrive.
 
If you already use Apple’s iCloud (which also provides 5GB free storage, with upgrades to iCloud+ costing between £0.79 and £6.99 per month*, depending on your requirements), you may end up paying for two lots of cloud storage unnecessarily.
 
If you don’t want to use Microsoft’s OneDrive at all, the simplest solution is to unlink it from your Mac.
 
You may wish to download any files currently stored in OneDrive to your Mac before disconnecting it. However, using this method you won’t lose any of the files currently stored in OneDrive, you will just prevent Microsoft 365 from saving any new files to OneDrive in future.

Disconnecting OneDrive from your Mac

​To disconnect OneDrive from your Mac, follow the instructions below:

​1. Click the OneDrive cloud icon up in your Menu bar, then click on the little ‘Settings’ wheel in the top right-hand corner.

2. Then click on preferences.

3. When the next window opens, click on the ‘Account’ tab, and then click on ‘Unlink this Mac’.

4. Then ‘Unlink Account’.

​*Prices correct at time of writing.