This banner about trying to get me to backup files on my desktop to OneDrive -- how do I make it stop?

Dear Jeanie,

Thank you so much for giving me such a complete answer.

1. The icon does not show in my system tray and there is no way to put it there on Windows 10 system.
2. I already had those checked off.
3. I use OneDrive browser method for work so I can't uninstall.

Sincerely,

Allison Castner

Hi Allison Castner, 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with the “back up this document” banner that keeps popping up in Word or other Office applications. I completely understand how disruptive and frustrating it can be. 

You’re absolutely right about that there’s currently no setting in the “Options” menu to turn this banner off permanently. Your feedback is completely reasonable, and I found that many users have expressed similar thoughts, I'm so sorry about this.

While Microsoft hasn’t yet provided a built-in way to disable this banner entirely, there are a few workarounds that have helped others reduce or eliminate it. I’ve outlined them below in case they’re helpful for you too:

Option 1: Turn off folder backup in OneDrive 

This banner often appears when OneDrive is set to back up your Desktop, Documents, or Pictures folders. You can disable that backup like this: 

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner of your screen).
2. Select Settings.
3. Go to the Backup tab.
4. Click Manage Backup.
5. For each folder listed (like Desktop, Documents, Pictures), click Stop backup.

Option 2: Turn off OneDrive save suggestions in Word 

You can also adjust Word’s settings so it doesn’t suggest saving to OneDrive by default: 

1. Open Word (or Excel, PowerPoint).
2. Go to File > Options > Save.
3. Uncheck the following boxes:  
   • AutoSave OneDrive and SharePoint Online files by default
   • Show additional places for saving, even if sign-in may be required

This helps reduce prompts related to OneDrive when opening or saving documents. 
Option 3: Turn off the Message Bar (experimental)

Some users have reported that disabling the Message Bar in Trust Center settings helped reduce or remove the banner

1. Open Word > File > Options
2. Go to Trust Center > Trust Center Settings
3. Select Message Bar
4. Choose Never show information about blocked content
5. You can find more details in this Microsoft article:https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-on-or-off-security-alerts-and-policy-tips-in-the-message-bar-for-office-1210b08f-bf9a-4b91-875c-f3f5246a5360

Option 4: Uninstall OneDrive (if you don’t use it) 

If you don’t use OneDrive at all and prefer not to have it running in the background, you can uninstall it from your system. This will remove OneDrive-related prompts entirely. 

We' re truly apologize for this inconvenience and we’ve shared feedback like yours with our product team, and we truly hope future updates will offer more control over these types of notifications. Your concerns about privacy and control over your own files are completely valid, and we appreciate you taking the time to voice them.

But since you have any concerns or changes that you want to make, you can always post your valuable suggestion on Microsoft Feedback portalIdeas · Community. This is where Microsoft gathers user feedback to improve their products in the future. I’d be very happy if you could take a moment to contribute to the forum and help enhance features for all users. 

In the meantime, I hope one of these steps helps make your experience a little smoother. If you have any questions or run into issues while trying them, feel free to reply here. I’d be happy to walk you through it. 

Thank you so much for your patience! 

Sincerely, 
Jeanie-H - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist.

Disabling "All connected experiences" affects far more than just advertising banners. It isn't something I would recommend without a lot of caveats.

Hi Allison Castner,

Thank you again for your time and for trying the steps we’ve discussed so far.

At this point, since the issue has been ongoing for some time and there is no official setting to turn off the banner, I would recommend the following next steps:

Option 1: Submit Feedback to Microsoft

This banner behavior is controlled by Office and OneDrive integration, and the best way to influence future improvements is to submit feedback directly to the product team:

• Press Windows + F to open the Feedback Hub
• Select Report a problem
• Describe the issue and include a screenshot if possible

Your feedback helps Microsoft prioritize changes in future updates.

Option 2: Contact Microsoft Support

If the banner is severely impacting your work and none of the workarounds have helped, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support directly for more advanced troubleshooting: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus

They may be able to assist with deeper system-level settings or provide escalation options.

I truly appreciate your patience and understand your concerns about privacy and control over your files. If you have any other questions or need help with a different issue, I’m always here to assist.

Sincerely, 
Jeanie-H - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist.

In any Office Application select File and then (near the bottom left of window) Account.

In the Account settings you'll find a section titled "Account Privacy" - click on Manage Settings.

Within the Privacy Settings disable/unselect "All connected experiences".

Click "OK".

This should remove any interaction between OneDrive and Office, but you can still read and write to you OneDrive sync folder.