---
id: data-transfers.what-happens-when-i-cancel
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/what-happens-when-i-cancel
category: "Data Transfers"
subcategory: "Progress, pausing and history"
question: "What happens to my files when I cancel a transfer?"
alt_questions:
  - "cancel transfer storage studio"
  - "does cancel undo a transfer"
  - "cancelled sync half done"
  - "what's left after cancelling a copy"
  - "cancel a large download keeps progress?"
short_answer: "Cancelling stops the transfer without undoing it: finished files stay at the destination and untouched files stay at the source. A cancelled Move never leaves a file in neither place, and large downloads keep their fetched pieces."
tags: ["cancel", "safety", "control"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/pause-and-resume-a-transfer", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/is-move-safe", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/clear-completed-transfers"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What happens to my files when I cancel a transfer?

Cancelling stops the transfer where it is. It doesn't undo anything: files that had already finished stay at the destination, and nothing that hadn't been sent is touched at the source. For a **Move**, originals are only removed after their copy is checked, so a cancelled Move leaves every file in one place or the other.

For a large single-file download, the pieces already fetched are kept after cancelling, so starting the same download again doesn't throw that work away.

A cancelled transfer stays in the list (marked Canceled) until you **Remove** it or use **Clear completed**.

Related: [Pause and resume](https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/pause-and-resume-a-transfer) · [Is Move safe?](https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/is-move-safe)