How to Stop Gmail Backup to Google Drive(3 Ways)

You can learn three simple ways about how to stop Gmail backup. And in order to get rid of the storage limit of Google Drive, you can backup your Gmail emails to hard drive.

Miya

By Miya Updated on September 14, 2024

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How do I stop backing up Gmail to Google Drive? 

"I want to stop Google Drive from backing Gmail, it is taking up all the drive space. There is no need to back up Gmail, but want to continue backing up files, folders, pictures, etc. Does anybody know how to do this? "

One common issue some users face is that forgetting that attachments sent or received via Gmail can take up storage Google Drive space. However, unless you have a large number of Gmail emails and attachments, deleting some old emails may not free up much space. This is because emails are generally small in size.

To prevent Gmail messages and attachments from taking up all of your Google Drive storage space, you can go on with the following chapter to learn how to stop Gmail backup to Google Drive.

How To Stop Gmail Backup

Why stop backing up Gmail to Google Drive?

There could be a few reasons why someone might want to stop backing up Gmail to Google Drive:  

  • One reason may be to save space on their Google Drive, especially if they have a lot of emails with attachments or large files.
  • If they are already backing up Gmail emails to hard drive or elsewhere, they may not need to also back them up on Google Drive.
  • Someone may want to stop backing up Gmail to Google Drive to simplify their backup process and reduce clutter.

How to stop Gmail backup to Google Drive

If you need to stop auto backup to Google Drive for any reason, you might be wondering how to turn off Gmail bakcup. Don't worry, this article has three simple and straightforward methods to help you stop Google Drive backup. These methods are easy to follow and should be helpful to you.

Way 1. Delete Gmail backup on Google Drive

If you only need to stop Google syncing or backing up a specific file, stopping the entire Google Drive backup might be inconvenient for you. In this case, you can choose to delete the Google Drive backup for that particular file. So, ths method will guide you how to delete backup from Gmail step by step.

Step 1. Navigate to drive.google.com.

Step 2. Click on the number located under Storage in the bottom left corner.

Googledrive Select Storage

Step 3. Click on Backups located in the top right corner.

Select Backups

Step 4. To delete a Gmail backup, simply right-click on it and select Remove to stop Google backup.

Googledrive Select Remove

Way 2. Pause Google Drive on desktop 

If you want to temporarily stop backing up to Google Drive, you can pause the Google Drive desktop program.

Step 1. Click on the Google Drive icon on the desktop taskbar, select Settings.

Step 2. Then click on Pause syncing.

Pause Syncing

Note: To resume syncing and restore backups, simply click on Resume syncing in the same way.

Way 3. Log out of Google Drive account

If you want to completely stop Google syncing, you can sign out of your account.

Step 1. Go to the Google Drive page and click on Google Account in the upper right corner.

Step 2. Then, click on Sign out.

Click Sign Out

Better Way to backup Gmail emails without storage limitations

If you're worried that the 15GB storage limit on your Google Drive isn't enough to store your Gmail emails and attachments, then we recommend backing up your Gmail emails to a hard drive automatically without limit.

The best option for saving Gmail emails to a hard disk is to use the professional Gmail email backup software - AOMEI Backupper Professional. Its Outlook Backup feature allows you to backup Outlook desktop, including Microsoft 365, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and Exchange emails.

❦ This software lets you backup all Gmail data to various storage devices, such as local disks, external hard drives, USB flash drives, and NAS devices.
❦ You can also set up a daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers, or USB plug in mode to backup Gmail using the Schedule Backup feature.

It should be noted that when adding email accounts from third-party providers like Gmail, iCloud, or Yahoo, you may need to modify some settings on their respective websites. For instance, when adding Gmail to Outlook desktop (with IMAP enabled), you can follow the steps below:

Step 1. Go to  https://mail.google.com and click on Settings.

Step 2. From there, choose Forwarding and POP/IMAP and under IMAP Access, make sure Enable IMAP is selected.

Gmail IMAP

Once you have added Gmail to your Outlook desktop, you can use AOMEI Backupper to save your Gmail emails to your hard drive. To get started, download and install this software on your computer. It comes with a thirty-day trial. If you are server user, try AOMEI Backupper Server.

Download Free TrialWin11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

Step 1. First, add the email account you want to backup in Outlook and close the program. Then, open AOMEI Backupper Professional and select Backup followed by Outlook Backup.

Outlook Backup

Step 2. Click on Add Outlook data and choose the Gmail account you want to backup with its entire mailbox. Once you have selected the account, click OK.

Add Gmail

Step 3. Choose a local drive or external hard drive where you want to save all of your Gmail emails in Outlook.

Select Backup Destination

Step 4. Select a backup schedule of either daily, weekly, or monthly, event triggers, or USB plug in mode and make sure to check the option Wake the computer to run scheduled task.

Wake Up PC

Step 5. Make sure that you have selected the entire Gmail mailbox, and then click Start Backup to backup all of your Gmail emails and other items.

Summary

In this article, we explore how to stop Gmail backup with 3 ways including deleting Gmail backup, suspending Google Drive desktop program and logging out of Google Drive account. Whichever method you choose, we hope it can help you.

Last but not least, we recommend a professional Gmail backup software, AOMEI Backupper Professional, which can help you backup Gmail emails to hard drive to get rid of Google Drive backup limitation. With this software, you can backup and restore Gmail emails effortlessly. Why don't you try it now?

Miya
Miya · Editor
Miya has an excellent insight and receives professional and systematic technical training since joining AOMEI. She has a comprehensive understanding of computer issues, aiming at helping users troubleshoot all kinds of problems. A lot of computer users around the world have found her articles very helpful!