Does Remove Download delete my files?

No. The file stays in your cloud account and still appears in Finder; only the copy on your Mac is removed, and it downloads again when you open it.

Can I move my Google Drive folder to an external drive?

Not with current versions on macOS: File Provider drives live in ~/Library/CloudStorage on the startup disk. Keep files online-only to save space instead.

Why is my cloud drive using so much space?

Files you opened stayed downloaded, or a folder is set to be available offline. Remove downloads for folders you don’t need locally.

Mac file guides

Where are Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive files on a Mac?

By Vishva Variya · Updated November 7, 2026 · 4 min read

Short answer

Current versions of Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box keep their files in ~/Library/CloudStorage, and each appears in Finder’s sidebar under Locations. Files can be online-only (a cloud icon) or downloaded. To free space without deleting anything, Control-click a file or folder and choose Remove Download (or Free Up Space in OneDrive).

Where are cloud drive files stored on a Mac?

1Open Finder and look in the sidebar under Locations for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box.
2To see the real folder, press ⇧⌘G and go to ~/Library/CloudStorage.
3Each account has its own folder there, like GoogleDrive-you@gmail.com or OneDrive-Personal.

iCloud Drive is separate: it appears as iCloud Drive in Finder’s sidebar. Older versions of Dropbox kept a ~/Dropbox folder; current versions on macOS use CloudStorage.

What do online-only and downloaded mean?

An online-only file shows its name and size in Finder but takes almost no space; it downloads when you open it. A downloaded file is stored on your Mac and takes its full size. Finder shows a cloud icon next to files that are online-only. Files you open stay downloaded until you remove the download or the app frees space.

How do I free up space used by cloud drives?

1In Finder, select the files or folders that are downloaded.
2Control-click and choose Remove Download (Google Drive, Dropbox and Box) or Free Up Space (OneDrive).
3The files stay in your cloud account and in Finder, and download again when opened.

Deleting a file in a cloud drive folder deletes it from the cloud too, on every device. Remove Download is the safe way to get space back. For other ways, see how to free up space on a Mac.

Why can’t Spotlight find my Google Drive files?

Spotlight only indexes files the cloud app tells macOS about, and online-only files may be searchable by name but not by their contents. Make sure the app is running and signed in, and that the drive isn’t excluded in System Settings › Spotlight. See Mac search not working for more fixes.

All your cloud drives in one place with Peekaboo

Peekaboo’s Cloud Drives finds Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and iCloud Drive from their folders on your Mac and lists them in the sidebar and in search, with what each holds on the Mac and what’s only in the cloud. Download Now and Remove Download work on any file or folder. There’s nothing to sign in to, nothing downloads unless you ask, and cloud files are kept out of library totals and Clean Up.

1Open Cloud Drives.⌥⇧⌘I
2Pick a drive to see its files as cards, with what’s downloaded.
3Choose Remove Download to free space, or Download Now to keep a file offline.

Questions

Does Remove Download delete my files?: No. The file stays in your cloud account and still appears in Finder; only the copy on your Mac is removed, and it downloads again when you open it.
Can I move my Google Drive folder to an external drive?: Not with current versions on macOS: File Provider drives live in ~/Library/CloudStorage on the startup disk. Keep files online-only to save space instead.
Why is my cloud drive using so much space?: Files you opened stayed downloaded, or a folder is set to be available offline. Remove downloads for folders you don’t need locally.