Recent builds of Windows 11 have been automatically syncing files in your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders to the OneDrive account. While this is a good feature and can potentially save your data in the event of a drive failure, not all users want to back up or sync files to OneDrive as they use other cloud storage services.
If your Windows 11 PC has been automatically backing up files to your OneDrive account and you do not want to automatically back up all files from the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, and Music to OneDrive, you need to change the default OneDrive sync settings. Alternatively, you can configure it to back up files from the Desktop and Documents folders, which are usually where important files are saved.
This guide shows you how to stop Windows 11 from automatically backing up files to OneDrive.
Method 1 of 2
Stop OneDrive from backing up files from Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders on Windows 11 PC
Step 1: Open the Settings app by right-clicking the Windows logo/Start button on the taskbar and then clicking the Settings option.
Step 2: In the left pane of Settings, click Accounts.
Step 3: Now, on the right side, scroll down the page and then click Windows Backup.
Step 4: Click the Manage sync settings button next to the OneDrive folder syncing to open the sync settings dialog.
Step 5: Here, as you can see in the picture below, the dialog shows the sync status of the Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders.
To stop Windows 11 from syncing files from a folder to your OneDrive account, move the toggle button next to it to the Off position. For instance, to stop Windows 11 from syncing the Desktop folder to OneDrive, turn off the button next to it.
I have stopped Windows 11 from syncing all folders on my PC, except the Documents folder.
Click the Save changes button.
Method 2 of 2
Stop Windows 11 from automatically backing up Desktop & Documents files to OneDrive
Step 1: Look for the OneDrive icon on the Windows 11 taskbar system tray. If you cannot find it, click the small up arrow icon to find the OneDrive icon.
Step 2: Right-click on the OneDrive icon to open the flyout and then click the settings/gear icon, and then click Settings to open OneDrive settings.
Step 3: Here, on the left side, click Sync and backup. On the right side, click the Manage backup button next to Backup important PC folders to OneDrive.
Step 4: In the resulting dialog box, turn off the folders from where you do not want the files to be automatically backed up. When you turn off backing up a folder, you will get a confirmation box. Please click the Stop backup button.
Finally, click the Close button. That’s it!
To completely disable OneDrive, refer to the directions in our how to disable OneDrive in Windows 11 guide.
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