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You may have installed the Google Drive desktop application on your Windows or macOS computer and realize that you dont use it and no longer need it. You can uninstall it in a few steps on both platforms.

If you change your mind down the road, not to worry. You can simply download and reinstall it from the Google Drive Desktop website as you did initially.

Uninstalling Google Drive on Windows is a three-step process. First, youll disconnect your Google account, then youll quit the application, and finally youll uninstall it.

Note that were using Windows 10 in these screenshots, but the steps are essentially the same in Windows 11.

Before you can uninstall Google Drive, you need to disconnect your Google account from it.

To unlink your account, select the Google Drive icon in the System Tray. Click the gear icon on the top right and pick Preferences.

Select the gear icon on the next screen and choose Disconnect Account at the top.

Confirm by clicking Disconnect in the pop-up window.

If you receive a subsequent pop-up asking you to sign in to Google Drive, simply close the window.

After you disconnect and before you can uninstall Google Drive on Windows, you must Quit the application.

Select the Google Drive icon in the System Tray once more. Click the gear icon on the top right and pick Quit.

The quickest way to uninstall Google Drive on Windows is to open the Start menu, right-click Google Drive, and pick Uninstall.

When the Programs and Features window opens, right-click Google Drive and pick Uninstall again.

Click Yes when Windows asks if you want to allow the app to make changes (uninstall the application.) Then in the prompt from Google Drive, select Uninstall.

The process may take a few moments. When it completes, youll see a confirmation that Google Drive was uninstalled, click Close to acknowledge and close the window.

RELATED: How to Uninstall an Application on Windows 11

Unlike Windows, you can simply quit the Google Drive application in the menu bar and then move it to the trash as described below. However, if you prefer to disconnect your Google account first, it takes only a minute.

RELATED: How to Set Up and Use Google Drive on Your Mac

To disconnect your Google account, select the Google Drive icon in the menu bar.Click the gear icon on the top right and pick Preferences.

Select the gear icon on the next screen and choose Disconnect Account at the top.

Confirm by clicking Disconnect in the pop-up window.

If you receive a subsequent prompt asking you to sign in to Google Drive, simply close the window.

After you disconnect from Google Drive, you can uninstall the application like other apps on Mac. Using Finder, select Go > Applications in the menu bar.

Then, move Google Drive to the trash in one of these ways:

If you like, you can empty the trash or right-click the Google Drive application in the Trash folder to remove it completely.

You can still use Google Drive on the web or your mobile device as before, downloading the files you need instead of syncing them. You may also consider using an alternative free cloud storage solution.

RELATED: The 5 Best Free Cloud Storage Services

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How to Uninstall Google Drive on Windows and Mac - How-To Geek