How to block OneDrive use from within Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and Office 2016 applications

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office 2016, OneDrive

Summary

When you install Microsoft Office 2016, the OneDrive sync client (OneDrive.exe) is included in the installation package. This article describes how to use Group Policy settings and registry modification to block access to OneDrive from within the Office applications.

More Information

To block OneDrive access for Office 2016 users in your organization, follow these steps:

  1. Download the Office 2016 Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) and Office Customization Tool.

  2. Use the Office 2016 Administrative Templates to configure Group Policy settings under User configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office 2016 > Miscellaneous as follows:

    1. Set the Show OneDrive Sign In setting to Disabled.
    2. Enable the Block signing into Office setting, and set it to Org ID only.

To prevent users from adding their personal OneDrive account, use one of the following methods:

Use a Group Policy object

Use the Office 2016 Administrative Templates to configure Group Policy settings.

Under User configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office 2016 > Miscellaneous, configure Hide file locations when opening or saving files as Hide OneDrive Personal.

Note

This policy setting only applies to Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Modify the registry

Open the registry editor and browse to the following registry subkey:

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Internet

Modify the DWORD value OnlineStorage. The following table lists the predefined values of OnlineStorage and the function of each value:

Value of OnlineStorage Function of the value
0: This is the default value Enables all services.
1 Disables OneDrive Personal.
2 Disables SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.
3 Disables SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and OneDrive Personal.
4 Disables This PC.
8 Disables SharePoint On-Premises.
16 Disables Recent Places.
32 Disables SharePoint Online.
64 Disables OneDrive for Business.
128 Disables all third-party services.
4294967295 Disables all optional services.

To disable multiple services, add up the corresponding values for these services, and set OnlineStorage to the resulting value. For example, to disable OneDrive Personal (1), This PC (4), and all third-party services (128), add 1, 4, and 128, and set the value of OnlineStorage to 133.

If you disable or don't configure this policy setting, users can use any configured Microsoft cloud-based file location to open, save, and share files.

To block the use of OneDrive from within Windows, see How to block OneDrive.exe from being advertised after you install Office 2016.

To configure the update settings for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, see the following TechNet resource:

Configure update settings for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise