OneDrive: Always keep on this device or Free up space?
Right-click any file in your OneDrive folder and Windows offers two choices: "Always keep on this device" and "Free up space". They decide whether the file is really on your PC or only in the cloud. Here is what each one does, what the icons mean, and which one to pick.
The short answer
- Always keep on this device: the file is downloaded and stays on the PC (solid green circle). It uses disk space and opens offline.
- Free up space: the copy on the PC goes, the file stays in the cloud (blue cloud). It frees the PC disk, not your OneDrive storage.
- Neither one is a backup. In both cases the file syncs: delete it on one side and it is deleted everywhere.
The three OneDrive icons
With Files On-Demand, every file in the OneDrive folder shows its state in the Status column of File Explorer:
- Blue cloud: online-only. The file is a placeholder that uses no disk space. The content is in the cloud and downloads when you open it. Without the internet it does not open.
- Green check in a white circle: locally available. The file is on the PC, usually because you opened it. Windows may turn it back into online-only later to save space.
- Solid green circle with a white check: always available. You chose "Always keep on this device". The file stays on the PC and opens offline.
Two more icons are worth knowing: two blue arrows in a circle mean the file is syncing, a red circle with a white cross means OneDrive could not sync it.
What "Always keep on this device" does
OneDrive downloads the file and keeps it on the PC for good. On a folder, it applies to every file inside, and to the new files that arrive later. The file still lives in the cloud and still syncs: you are only deciding that the PC keeps its own copy.
Mind the space on drive C:. Every file you mark is stored on the PC. Marking the whole OneDrive folder of a 1 TB account on a 256 GB laptop fills the drive. Do it one folder at a time, and check the free space first.
What "Free up space" does
OneDrive removes the copy on the PC and leaves a placeholder with the blue cloud. The name, the size and the folder stay the same, so the file looks like it is still there. It opens again only when you are online, and at that moment it downloads and becomes locally available.
"Free up space" does not free your OneDrive storage. The file is still in the cloud and still counts toward the 5 GB of the free plan. If your OneDrive is full, see OneDrive storage full.
Which one should you choose?
- Small laptop disk, large OneDrive: "Free up space" on the big folders you rarely open, such as old photos and videos.
- Files you need on a train, a plane or with a weak connection: "Always keep on this device".
- Before you copy OneDrive to a disk, turn it off or unlink the PC: the files must be on the PC. An online-only file is only a placeholder, and it can leave your folders when OneDrive stops. See turn off OneDrive without losing your files.
- Everything else: leave it as it is. Files you open become locally available on their own.
Storage Sense can make files online-only by itself
Windows Storage Sense can turn locally available OneDrive files back into online-only files after a time you choose, if you have not opened them. Microsoft says it plainly: with Storage Sense on, these files become online-only after the period you selected. Files marked "Always keep on this device" are not touched. The setting is in Settings, System, Storage, Storage Sense, under the cloud content of OneDrive.
That is why a folder you remember on the PC can be online-only a month later.
Why the two options are missing or greyed out
- An old OneDrive with Files On-Demand turned off. Then every file is downloaded and there is nothing to choose. In recent versions of OneDrive that switch is gone: Files On-Demand is always on. Update OneDrive and the two options come back.
- OneDrive is not running. No cloud icon next to the clock? Start OneDrive from the Start menu, then right-click again.
- The file is not in OneDrive. The options only appear inside the OneDrive folder, and inside Desktop, Documents and Pictures when OneDrive backs them up.
Deleting is a different thing
"Free up space" keeps the file in OneDrive. Deleting removes it: Microsoft notes that when you delete an online-only file from your device, you delete it from OneDrive on all devices and online. Personal accounts can get it back from the OneDrive recycle bin for 30 days.
How Salvako helps
The free Check reads, without changing anything, how many files in your OneDrive are online-only and how much space they need. The verified copy then brings every file to a disk of your own, online-only ones included. It downloads them a few at a time, checks each copy by SHA-256 fingerprint and gives the space back, so drive C: never fills up and you do not have to mark anything as "Always keep on this device". OneDrive stays as it is.
Questions
What does "Always keep on this device" mean in OneDrive?
The file is downloaded to your PC and stays there, with a solid green circle. It opens without the internet and Windows never turns it back into an online-only file. It is still in OneDrive and still syncs.
What does "Free up space" do in OneDrive?
It removes the copy on your PC and leaves the file in the cloud only, with a blue cloud icon. You get disk space back on the PC. The file opens again when you are online, and downloads at that moment.
Does "Free up space" delete my files?
No. The file stays in OneDrive and in the folder on your PC, as a placeholder. Deleting is different: an online-only file you delete is deleted from OneDrive on every device.
Does "Free up space" free my OneDrive storage?
No. It frees disk space on the PC only. The file stays in OneDrive and keeps counting toward your 5 GB or 1 TB.
What is the difference between the green check and the solid green circle?
A green check in a white circle means locally available: the file is on the PC because you opened it, and Windows may free the space again. A solid green circle with a white check means you chose "Always keep on this device".
Why is "Always keep on this device" missing?
Usually OneDrive is not running, the file is not inside the OneDrive folder, or an old version of OneDrive has Files On-Demand turned off. Start OneDrive from the Start menu, update it if needed, and right-click the file again.
Is a file with a green check backed up?
It is synced, not backed up. If you delete it or it gets damaged on the PC, the change reaches the cloud too. A backup is a separate copy on a disk of your own.
See which files are really on your PC.
Salvako's free Check shows in two minutes how many files are online-only and how much space a copy needs. It changes nothing.
Run the free CheckRead also
- OneDrive storage full Why Outlook stops receiving email and how to fix it without losing files.
- What is OneDrive? What it does to your files, why it came with your PC and whether you need it.
- Turn off OneDrive safely The steps to turn it off or remove it without losing a file, and when you do not need to.
- OneDrive recycle bin Where deleted OneDrive files go and how long you have to get them back.