You Need Your Mac Storage Back
Your Mac’s storage is full. The dreaded “Your disk is almost full” warning keeps popping up, slowing everything down. You open About This Mac > Storage and see a massive chunk labeled “Google Drive” or “Google Drive File Stream.”
Maybe you’ve switched to Dropbox, iCloud, or another service. Perhaps you’re consolidating workflows and no longer need the desktop sync. Or, the Google Drive for desktop app might be misbehaving, causing high CPU usage or constant syncing errors that a simple reinstall could fix.
Whatever the reason, you’ve searched for how to remove Google Drive from Mac. It seems like it should be simple—just drag the app to the Trash, right? Not quite. The process is more involved because the app scatters support files, login caches, and background agents across your system.
This guide provides the complete, step-by-step methods to fully uninstall Google Drive from your Mac, reclaim your storage, and ensure no leftover processes are running in the background.
Understanding What You’re Removing
Before you start, it’s important to know which Google Drive application you have. Google has rebranded and updated its desktop sync client over the years.
If you installed it recently, you likely have “Google Drive for desktop” (sometimes still shown as “Backup and Sync from Google” in some system locations). This is the current application that can sync My Drive content and also back up specific folders from your Mac to Google Drive.
The older, now-deprecated “Backup and Sync” application functioned similarly. The uninstall steps for both are largely the same, but knowing the name helps you identify the correct files to remove.
The application consists of three main components you need to address:
– The main application itself, usually in your Applications folder.
– A background agent or daemon that runs at login to manage syncing.
– A network file system kernel extension that lets Drive appear as a mounted volume in Finder.
– Various preference files, caches, and support data in your user Library and system Library folders.
A simple drag-to-trash removal leaves most of these components behind, taking up space and potentially causing conflicts if you reinstall later.
Step 1: Quit the Application and Its Background Processes
First, you must completely stop Google Drive from running. Click the Google Drive icon (it looks like a triangle or cloud) in your menu bar, near the clock. From the menu, select Quit.
This might not be enough. Open the Activity Monitor application (you can find it via Spotlight search or in Applications > Utilities).
In Activity Monitor, search for “Google” in the search bar. Look for processes like “Google Drive,” “GoogleDriveFS,” or “Backup and Sync.” Select any that appear and click the stop (X) button in the toolbar, then choose “Force Quit.”
Also, check for any processes related to the virtual file system, such as “fusermount” or “mount_google.” Quit those as well. This ensures all components are stopped before deletion.
Step 2: Eject the Google Drive Virtual Volume
If Google Drive was running, it likely mounted a virtual drive in your Finder. You need to eject it. Open a new Finder window. Look in the “Locations” section of the sidebar for an item named “Google Drive.”
Click the eject button (a small upward-pointing triangle) next to it. If you don’t see an eject button, you can right-click (or Control-click) on “Google Drive” in the sidebar and select “Eject.”
If the Google Drive volume does not appear in the sidebar at all, it may already be unmounted, which is fine. Proceed to the next step.
The Standard Uninstall Method: Using the App’s Uninstaller
Google provides an uninstaller script. This is the recommended first approach as it’s designed to remove the core components correctly.
Open your Applications folder in Finder. Find the “Google Drive” app (or “Backup and Sync from Google”). Do not drag it to Trash yet. Instead, right-click on the application icon and select “Show Package Contents.”
Navigate into the folder that opens. Look for a folder named “Contents,” open it, and then find a folder named “Helpers.” Inside Helpers, you should see an application or executable named “uninstall.sh” or “uninstall.py.”
Double-click this uninstaller script. A Terminal window will likely open and execute the commands. You may be prompted for your administrator password. Enter it to allow the script to run.
The script will remove the application, its associated launch agents, and the kernel extension. Once it completes, you can close the Terminal window. This method handles about 80% of the job.
What If There’s No Uninstaller Script?
Some installations, particularly older ones, might not have a clear uninstaller in the package contents. If you cannot find it, or if running the script doesn’t feel like it worked, move on to the manual removal method below. It’s more thorough.
The Manual Removal Method for a Clean Sweep
For a complete, guaranteed removal, follow these steps to manually delete all associated files. This is also the method to use if the standard uninstaller fails or you want to ensure every trace is gone.
First, drag the main “Google Drive” application from your Applications folder to the Trash. Empty the Trash if you wish, but you can wait until the end of this process.
Remove Files from Your User Library Folder
The user Library folder is hidden by default in modern macOS. To open it, open a Finder window, hold down the Option key on your keyboard, and click the “Go” menu in the top bar. You will see “Library” appear in the list. Select it.
Navigate to and delete the following folders if they exist. Be careful to only delete Google Drive-related items.
– ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS (This is a large folder containing all your cached file data. Deleting this frees up significant space).
– ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Drive
– ~/Library/Caches/Google/DriveFS
– ~/Library/Caches/com.google.GoogleDrive
– ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.GoogleDrive.plist
– ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.drivefs.settings.plist
– ~/Library/Google
To delete, simply drag each folder or file to the Trash.
Remove System-Level Launch Agents and Daemons
These are files that tell your Mac to start Google Drive processes at boot or login. They are stored in the system Library folders, which require administrator access.
Open a new Finder window and press Command+Shift+G. Type “/Library” and press Go. This is the root Library folder, not your user one.
Navigate to and delete these items if found:
– /Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
– /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.google.keystone.daemon.plist
– /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.google.keystone
– /Library/Google
You will be prompted for your administrator password to delete items from these locations. This is normal.
Remove the Kernel Extension (KEXT)
The kernel extension allows Drive to mount as a filesystem. It must be removed for a full uninstall. Open Finder and press Command+Shift+G again. Type “/Library/Extensions” and press Go.
Look for a file named “GoogleDriveFileSystem.kext” or something similar. Drag it to the Trash. Again, you’ll need to authenticate as an administrator.
After moving it to Trash, it’s highly recommended to restart your Mac. This ensures the kernel extension is fully unloaded from memory.
Verifying the Uninstall Was Successful
After following the steps above and restarting your Mac, perform these checks to confirm Google Drive is completely gone.
Open Activity Monitor again and search for “Google.” No processes related to Drive should appear. Check your Applications folder—the Google Drive app should be absent.
Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS), go to General > Login Items. Look for any Google Drive-related entries and remove them if present.
Finally, open a Finder window. The “Google Drive” volume should no longer appear in the sidebar under Locations. Your storage, as shown in About This Mac, should now reflect the freed-up space previously used by Drive’s cache and application files.
Alternative: Using a Dedicated Uninstaller App
If the manual process seems daunting, you can use a trusted third-party uninstaller application. Tools like AppCleaner, CleanMyMac X, or TrashMe are designed for this.
They work by you dragging the main application onto their window. The tool then scans your system for all related files and presents them for deletion with a single click.
This is a faster, safer method for less technical users, as it reduces the risk of accidentally deleting the wrong system file. Always download such tools from the official developer websites to avoid malware.
What About Your Files in the Cloud?
A crucial point of confusion: Uninstalling the Google Drive desktop app from your Mac does not delete your files from your actual Google Drive account in the cloud.
Those files remain safe and accessible at drive.google.com. This process only removes the local sync client and its cached data from your Mac’s hard drive. Your online storage and files are untouched.
If you had set up folder backup (like backing up your Desktop or Documents folders), that backup configuration is stored with your Google account. Uninstalling the app stops new backups but does not delete already backed-up files from the cloud.
Troubleshooting Common Removal Problems
Sometimes, you might encounter issues where Google Drive seems to persist.
If you get an error that a file “is in use” and can’t be deleted, you likely didn’t quit all processes. Go back to Step 1, use Activity Monitor to force quit every related process, and try again. A restart may be necessary to unlock certain files.
If the Google Drive volume reappears in Finder after a restart, a launch agent or daemon was missed. Revisit the manual removal section, especially the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, to ensure all .plist files are deleted.
If you plan to reinstall a fresh version of Google Drive later, a complete manual uninstall is best. It prevents conflicts between old preference files and the new installation, which can cause sync errors or login problems.
Your Mac Is Clean and Ready
You’ve successfully removed Google Drive from your Mac. The storage space is recovered, the background processes are halted, and your system is clean. The process, while having several steps, is straightforward when you know where to look.
Your next steps depend on your goal. If you were troubleshooting, you can now download the latest version of Google Drive for desktop from the official website for a fresh install. If you’re moving to a different service, you can confidently set up your new cloud sync solution without worrying about conflicts.
Remember, your cloud files are always just a browser login away at drive.google.com. By taking the time to perform a complete uninstall, you’ve maintained a clean, efficient Mac and have full control over your desktop storage and applications.
