OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud solution and it comes pre-installed on every Windows 10 computer. However, if you don’t use OneDrive (maybe because you already use Dropbox or Google Drive), the OneDrive integration in Windows 10 is something you might want to disable. The icon that shows up every time you open a File Explorer window can get annoying. I personally prefer a cleaner experience with less options that are more relevant; so that blue cloud icon had to be hidden.

First, you want to disable OneDrive to start up automatically when you sign in to Windows 10. To do so, right click on the icon in the bottom right corner, and in the settings menu, uncheck the first option under general:

Uncheck “Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows”

Next time you sign in into your Windows account on Windows 10, OneDrive will no longer automatically start up. However, the icon in File Explorer is still not removed. There is a second step and it’s somewhat harder.

Press the Windows key  + R. This will open a small windows with the title ‘Run’. Enter gpedit.msc in the box and click (or tap, if you use a touch-based input device) on OK. The Local Group Policy Editor will open.

Run gpedit.msc

Choose these options: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → OneDrive

Double click on Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage and tick Enabled.

Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage

Press OK to apply and save the settings. You can now close all these windows and open a new File Explorer window. The blue OneDrive icon should now be removed. In a sense, you now have completely removed OneDrive from Windows 10 by effectively hiding it and preventing the usage of it.