How to Completely Disable ‘Quick Access’ in Google Drive

When you open Google Drive on your computer, the very first thing you see at the top of the screen is a large section labelled “Suggested”. This area (formerly known as Quick Access) uses artificial intelligence to predict which files you are most likely to need right now, based on your previous activity, upcoming calendar meetings, and what your colleagues are currently editing.

While Google intends for this to save you time, many users find it highly distracting. If you prefer to navigate your carefully organised folder structure manually, or if you frequently share your screen during video presentations and do not want your colleagues to see a preview of a sensitive document you were working on last night, you can completely disable this predictive feature.

Disabling the “Suggested” Files Section

Removing the Quick Access/Suggested area takes only a few clicks, and it immediately pushes your actual folders and files to the very top of your screen where they belong.

1. Open your web browser and log in to drive.google.com.
2. Look for the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen (next to your profile picture) and click it.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Settings.
4. A large settings overlay will appear on your screen. Ensure you are on the General tab on the left sidebar (it usually opens to this by default).
5. Scroll down the main panel until you find the section labelled Start page (or on older layouts, “Suggestions”).
6. You will see a checkbox labelled Show suggested files in My Drive (or “Make relevant files handy when you need them in Quick Access”).
7. Click the checkbox to uncheck it.

Disabling Suggested Shared Files

In addition to your own files, Google Drive also tries to predict which files shared by other people you might want to look at. You can disable this secondary prediction engine on the exact same screen.

1. Look directly beneath the checkbox you just unchecked in the Settings menu.
2. You will see a second checkbox labelled Show suggested files in Shared with me.
3. Click this checkbox to uncheck it as well.
4. Look at the top right corner of the Settings window and click the Done or back arrow button to save your changes and return to your Drive.

Google Drive will instantly refresh. The massive “Suggested” banner at the top of your screen will vanish permanently, leaving a much cleaner, traditional file explorer interface consisting only of the folders you have explicitly created.