---
id: finder-location.why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder
category: "Finding things in Finder"
subcategory: "Reveal in Finder across the app"
question: "Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?"
alt_questions:
  - "Free up button opened Finder for Dropbox file"
  - "Why can't Storage Studio make my Google Drive files online-only?"
  - "Remove Download Finder Storage Studio"
  - "Storage Profile free up opens Finder"
  - "OneDrive file not freed, Finder opened instead"
short_answer: "macOS only lets a cloud service's own app free its downloads, so for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive Storage Studio opens the file in Finder: right-click it and choose Remove Download. The file stays safe in the cloud."
tags: ["remove download", "google drive", "dropbox", "onedrive"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/how-do-i-find-files-i-worked-on-recently-in-finder", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/how-do-i-reveal-an-item-from-whats-using-space"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?

Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:

1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.
2. Choose **Remove Download**.

The file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to **Stream files** so it stops keeping local copies.

See [iCloud and online-only files](https://storagestudio.us/faq/icloud/).