Sync and cloud storage

What is OneDrive?

The OneDrive sync app keeps your OneDrive files in step with the cloud. Its traffic is your files. Microsoft lets you pause it, cap its upload and download rates, and says that it pauses on metered networks.

Process: OneDriveMade by MicrosoftApplies to: The OneDrive sync app on macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Checked on 1 November 2026 against Microsoft's documentation.Checked: 1 November 2026

Short answer

Microsoft's OneDrive sync app. It uploads and downloads your OneDrive files. Microsoft says that it pauses on metered networks on its own.

Block with care

Blocking it stops OneDrive sync on this Mac. Your local files stay, but changes don't reach the cloud. Pause it or cap its rate instead.

Path
/Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/MacOS/OneDrive
Signing identifier
com.microsoft.OneDrive

What it is

Microsoft's article on pausing OneDrive says that you can pause and resume sync from the menu bar icon on a Mac.

Microsoft says that OneDrive automatically pauses when it is connected to a metered network.

Microsoft's article on rates says that you can limit upload and download throughput to a fixed rate, from 50 KB/s to 100,000 KB/s.

Microsoft lists the endpoints that consumer OneDrive uses, such as onedrive.live.com and storage.live.com, on TCP ports 80 and 443.

Why it uses the network

  • File sync. Files that you add or change upload, and changes from other devices download.
  • Office and sign-in services. Microsoft's list includes sign-in hosts and Office hosts besides file storage.

How much is normal

Bursts after you change files are usual. The amount is about the size of the files.

Microsoft says that on a metered network, sync pauses on its own. If it keeps uploading on a hotspot, macOS may not know that the hotspot is metered.

With a rate limit set, transfers take longer but use the same total data.

When it uses a lot, and why

  • A big folder added. Copying a large folder into OneDrive uploads all of it.
  • A new computer. Signing in on a new Mac downloads the files that this Mac keeps locally.
  • Shared libraries. Work or school libraries that you sync can be large.

Is it safe to block?

Block with care

Blocking it stops OneDrive sync on this Mac. Your local files stay, but changes don't reach the cloud. Pause it or cap its rate instead.

What breaks if you block it

  • Files don't upload or download, so this Mac and your other devices drift apart.
  • Office files saved to OneDrive don't reach your other devices.
  • Sign-in to OneDrive may fail if its sign-in hosts are blocked too.

Blocking means a firewall rule that refuses its connections. Don’t quit or disable a macOS process to save data: macOS starts it again, and other features depend on it.

Reduce its use

  1. Control-click the OneDrive icon in the menu bar. Choose to pause for 2, 8 or 24 hours. Microsoft says that sync resumes on its own after that.

  2. To cap its rate, open OneDrive's settings and click Network. Set fixed upload and download rates.

  3. If your work or school manages OneDrive, the Network tab may be hidden. Ask your IT department.

  4. Microsoft suggests uploading large files on a fast network.

See how much it uses

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications › Utilities. Click Network.

  2. Type OneDrive in the search field. The Sent Bytes and Rcvd Bytes columns show what it moved since it started.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit.

    nettop -p 'OneDrive' -P

With Kilobat

  1. Kilobat counts OneDrive as a sync app. Call mode and Send later can hold it while you are on a call or a slow link.

  2. In Kilobat's Wi-Fi menu, set an Android hotspot's data cost to Metered. macOS doesn't flag those on its own.

  3. Ask the same question in Terminal.

    kilobat explain OneDrive

  4. Show its traffic over one day.

    kilobat bandwidth OneDrive day

The live view and the explanations are free. History in the app needs Kilobat Pro. Blocking needs Pro and the network filter: see the network filter, Protection and the hotspot data saver.

Hosts it contacts

Apple and the maker document these hosts for this feature. A process can also contact others; Kilobat’s Connections tab shows what it actually opens on your Mac.

onedrive.live.comHosts that Microsoft lists for consumer OneDrive, for file storage and the OneDrive service.Microsoft →

Questions

Does OneDrive pause on my phone's hotspot?

Microsoft says that it pauses on metered networks. An iPhone hotspot is usually detected as metered; an Android hotspot may not be.

Is there a monthly data cap in OneDrive?

Microsoft documents a pause and fixed rates, not a data cap. Kilobat's data budgets can cap a network instead.

Sources

Checked on 1 November 2026.