Can I uninstall Google Drive without signing out?

Google’s steps sign out and disconnect the account first. Your files remain in your Google account either way and open at drive.google.com.

Is it safe to delete ~/Library/CloudStorage after uninstalling?

Only once the account is disconnected. While Drive is connected, deleting a file there deletes it from Google Drive on every device.

I only want space back, not to remove Drive. What should I do?

Keep Drive installed and use Remove Download on folders you don’t need offline. The files stay in your account and download again when opened.

Uninstall guide

How to uninstall Google Drive for desktop on a Mac

By Vishva Variya · Updated November 7, 2026

Short answer

Open the Drive for desktop menu, go to Settings › Preferences › Advanced settings, click Disconnect account and OK. Then open the menu again, choose Settings › Quit, and move Google Drive from Applications to the Trash. Your files stay in your Google account and open at drive.google.com, but Google warns that disconnecting removes offline files from the Mac.

How to uninstall it

1Make sure anything you edited offline has finished uploading.
2Click the Drive for desktop icon in the menu bar and open Settings › Preferences.
3Open Advanced settings, select your account, click Disconnect account, then OK.
4Open the menu again and choose Settings › Quit.
5In Finder › Applications, move Google Drive to the Trash, then empty it.

Will uninstalling Google Drive delete my files?

Not from Google Drive. Google says that after you uninstall Drive for desktop you can still open your files in Drive on the web. What leaves the Mac is the local copy: disconnecting an account removes its offline files.

Google also notes that edits made offline are held locally until they upload, so wait for uploads to finish before you disconnect. If there’s a file you want to keep only on the Mac, copy it out of the Google Drive location first.

Where did Google Drive keep files on my Mac?

On macOS 12.1 and later, Drive for desktop uses Apple’s File Provider, and Google says files live in ~/Library/CloudStorage by default; Google Drive also appears under Locations in Finder’s sidebar. macOS manages the cache on these versions.

Older setups using legacy streaming mounted Drive at /Volumes/GoogleDrive, with a content cache Google lists at ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS. Look for that folder after uninstalling, and only remove it once uploads have finished and the account is disconnected.

What about the old Google Drive or Backup and Sync app?

For the original Google Drive app, Google’s steps are: Finder › Go › Applications, right-click Google Drive and choose Move to Trash. Google adds that you can also delete the Google Drive folder in your home folder, which held its synced copies.

Where leftovers live

~/Library/CloudStorage
~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS
/Volumes/GoogleDrive
~/Google Drive

Where Peekaboo fits

Disconnect your account in Drive for desktop first, so nothing waiting to upload is lost; that part is Google’s. After the app is in the Trash, Peekaboo’s App Uninstaller can look for leftovers of apps that are no longer installed and show them before anything moves, and what you remove goes to the Trash where you can put it back. Peekaboo never offers folders that hold passwords, keys or sign-in data as leftovers, and files that live only in the cloud are skipped, so nothing downloads. While Drive is still installed, its Cloud Drives view shows what’s downloaded and can Remove Download instead.

Questions

Can I uninstall Google Drive without signing out?: Google’s steps sign out and disconnect the account first. Your files remain in your Google account either way and open at drive.google.com.
Is it safe to delete ~/Library/CloudStorage after uninstalling?: Only once the account is disconnected. While Drive is connected, deleting a file there deletes it from Google Drive on every device.
I only want space back, not to remove Drive. What should I do?: Keep Drive installed and use Remove Download on folders you don’t need offline. The files stay in your account and download again when opened.