Securely Disable One Drive In Windows 10

Formerly known as SkyDrive, Microsoft Integrated an online cloud storage and file hosting service named OneDrive Into Windows 10. It basically allows you to store your Important files and documents onto your OneDrive account, hence you can access them no matter where you're located. Whatever the reason may be, If you want to completely disable OneDrive, In this tutorial, I will show you how to do It with Incredible ease.

There's no doubt that OneDrive Is an excellent service provided by Microsoft, whereby you have access to your files from any location and any device. However, If you don't utilize It, nor do you want users who are sharing your computer from doing the same, then this tutorial Is for you.

I will demonstrate how to securely disable the functionality of OneDrive, by using the good old Group Policy Editor. Do note that the GPE Is only available In Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise and Education editions. The process Is extremely simple, so without further delay, let's get this tutorial started.

Step One:

Here's a typical way of accessing OneDrive on your computer. I've navigated to the Start menu, and simply clicked on the OneDrive Icon as shown below.

Step Two:

I've yet to create an account, hence have been prompted to do so. If your account Is up and running, you'd have Instant access. Irrespective of the two, the Implementation I'm going to Introduce, will disable OneDrive In It's entirety.

Step Three:

To disable OneDrive, the first thing you need to do, Is access the Group Policy Editor. Open the Run menu, enter gpedit.msc and hit OK as shown below.

Step Four:

The Group Policy Editor will now open, so navigate to the following directory.

Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive

Make sure the OneDrive folder Is selected and on the right pane, double-click Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage.

Last Step:

To the left of the window, click the Enabled radio button and then hit OK to finalize the process. OneDrive Is now securely disabled, meaning when you try to access It (for example) as per Step One above, It will not execute. Obviously, I cannot provide a screenshot for a nonfunctional Item.

Final Thoughts:

Although there are other means of accessing OneDrive, by circumventing the traditional methods of the Windows 10 operating system, the average user Is accustomed to using the default gateways and that's what makes this Implementation so effective. If you want to reverse the change and have OneDrive functioning as per normal, simply refer to the above Step and select the Not Configured radio button. Don't forget to hit OK.