Google Drive is the cloud storage service offered by the famous search engine, which offers a free version up to 15 GB and paid plans for higher needs, a system synchronized with all other Google applications through your personal account.
However, there are also other options for the cloud, such as Amazon Drive, OneDrive, iCloud and Dropbox, so it is possible that after a trial period you may want to uninstall Google Drive from your PC or mobile device, to switch to another service. Here are the complete procedures to do this with any compatible terminal.
How to uninstall Google Drive with Windows
Remove Google Drive from your PC is really simple, in fact it takes just a few minutes to complete the operation by following a few steps. First of all, you need to stop synchronizing files and the automatic backup system by logging out of your Google account. In this case you can do it by going to the Google Drive web platform, or entering the program installed on your PC via Windows settings, clicking on Programs and Features> Uninstall and edit a program> Backup and Sync from Google.
Then you have to right-click on the software icon, or select the program symbol from the Windows notification area, then click again on the three dots in the upper right corner and activate the Pause option. At this point you need to disconnect your account, so you need to go to the notification area, choose the Backup and Sync to PC program, continue by selecting the three dots in the upper right corner and clicking on Preferences> Settings> Disconnect account> Disconnect.
This operation will stop the synchronization of the automatic service, which connects the files you work with inside your PC with Google's cloud storage system, automatically archiving the contents. So you can go ahead and disconnect Google Drive from your account, just go back to the notification area, open the Backup and Sync program symbol, click on the three dots and select Preferences> Settings> Unlink account> Unlink.
Finally, you just have to uninstall Google Drive on Windows:
You just have to go back to Backup and Sync in the notification area of the operating system, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Exit Backup and Sync. After that you need to open the Windows Control Panel via the Start button, open the native Programs and Features application, choose the Uninstall a program option and select Google cloud storage software from the menu, clicking on Backup and Sync from Google and then the Uninstall item and confirming the operation.
The same procedure can be used for Windows 7, 8 and 10. The latter has slight differences, in fact to uninstall Google Drive from the PC with Windows 10 you need to open the operating system's control panel, click on Settings> Apps and Features> Backup and Sync from Google> Uninstall. As a last step you just have to delete the folders created by the application within the operating system: just open the workspace, look for the automatic storage folder connected to Google Drive and delete unnecessary files, or save them within another cloud storage service.
How to uninstall Google Drive with Mac OS
To remove Google Drive from Mac OS pc you need to follow the same procedure as on a Windows OS computer, firstly by performing file synchronization interruption, and then uninstall Google Drive permanently. To get started then you need to open the Mac OS settings and click on the Applications item, select Backup and Synchronization from the menu and click on the software icon, continue with the three dots and finally choose the Pause option.
Then you have to repeat the operation twice: the first time you have to open the Backup and Synchronization application, selecting the Preferences> Settings> Unlink account> Unlink, while the second time you just have to click on the three dots in the top right corner, opting for Exit Backup and Synchronization. Finally you can uninstall Google Drive on Mac OS: just open the Finder of the pc, selecting the smiley face symbol in the main settings, enter the Applications folder and use the mouse pointer to place the Backup and Sync program in the Trash, emptying it and proceeding to remove the files.
How to uninstall Google Drive with Android (smartphone/tablet)
Google Drive works on any Android mobile device, just download the application for free from Google Play Store and install it inside the terminal. After launching it, you need to authorize the app, automatically linking it to your Google account, to save your phone's files in the cloud, or access the cloud to view content saved from your PC or another device. The Backup and Sync program only works on the PC, so uninstalling Google Drive on Android is really simple.
However, you have to manually proceed to deactivate the synchronization systems, which link the storage in Drive to other apps like Google Photos. To do that, you just need to go into the settings of your smartphone or tablet, select the Applications> App Management item and choose Google Drive, opening the settings of the cloud storage app. After that you need to disable synchronization with Google Photos, moving the selector to OFF, tap the Backup and Restore item, lock the Personal Data Backup feature as well and save the configuration.
Finally you just need to go back inside the Android settings, tapping the Cloud and Accounts> Google Accounts> options, activating the OFF mode to the Sync Drive feature as well. Once you're done with the preliminary operation you can go ahead and safely uninstall Google Drive from Android, by going back to the device settings and opening the application manager, then selecting Google Drive and tapping on Disable.
To perform this operation however you need to have root permissions, permissions that allow you to uninstall so-called locked applications, i.e. that require administrator permissions for their deletion. If Google Drive is locked you can proceed in three ways, use an external application like System App Remover, which allows you to remove apps from Android quickly and easily, get root permissions or unlock the system if allowed.
In this case you can give it a try, just go into Settings> Security> Device Administrator, select Google Drive and choose the Disable option. If that doesn't work, you need to root it on Android, unlocking the bootloader software, installing a custom recovery and ROM, and finally Google Play Store, to manage every app without limitations thanks to permissions as an administrator.
How to uninstall Google Drive with iOS (iPhone/iPad)
As you know, Google Drive is also compatible with Apple devices, especially iPhone and iPad, just download the app on iTunes App Store to store photos, documents and other content in the cloud. However, if you prefer to use Apple's storage system, iCloud Drive, you just need to go ahead and uninstall Google Drive on iOS, blocking file synchronization and performing the app deletion from your Apple phone or tablet.
To accomplish the task just go into your device's settings, select the Google Drive app icon from the menu, keep the GUI pressed for a few seconds, after which when the light starts blinking you need to tap the "X" and delete the app, through the Delete option. If your Apple device doesn't allow this operation, or if the menu presents a different path, just use the alternative procedure that allows you to remove Google Drive on iOS in a few moments.
You just need to enter the iPhone or iPad settings, tapping the gear icon on the main screen of the terminal, select the General item and continue with Free space iPhone (or free space iPad) Google Drive> Delete app> Delete. If you just want to stop using the app, but still keep the data in the device memory, just select the Uninstall app> Uninstall option instead of Delete app, to avoid losing important content and documents before the final deletion of Google Drive.
How to disconnect from Google Drive
Google Drive is an integrated application of the Google ecosystem, especially if you use Windows-based PCs and Android mobile devices. In this case, when you access Google Drive you remain always connected to the program, taking advantage of the possibility to store files and content at any time, simply by activating the option through the simplified path. To remove the synchronization you need to manually disconnect from your Google account, an operation that allows you to exit the app without uninstalling it.
To do this on Android just open the settings of your phone or tablet, select Google Accounts and choose the account you want to deactivate by finally tapping on the three dots in the top right corner, continuing with Remove Account. From iOS mobile devices, iPad and iPhone, you just need to open the Google Drive app, tap on the menu icon in the top left corner, select the down arrow beside the Google account name, tap on the gear symbol and follow via the options Manage> account name> Remove.
The same procedure can also be done from the PC, in fact all you have to do is enter Google Drive, via the application downloaded and installed on the computer or from the desktop platform, click on the profile image in the upper right corner and select the entry Exit. Once you're logged out of your Google account, Google Drive storage will also be deactivated, an alternative solution that allows you not to use the service without permanently uninstalling the application.