How to Remove a Delegate From a OneDrive Account in OneDrive for Business

If you have granted access to a colleague or assistant to manage files in your OneDrive for Business account, you may later need to revoke that permission. Delegates can upload, edit, and delete files on your behalf, so removing them is essential when a project ends or a team member changes roles. This article explains the exact steps to remove a delegate from your OneDrive account using the browser-based settings. You will also learn how to verify the removal and what happens to files the delegate already accessed.

What Is a OneDrive Delegate and Why Remove One

A delegate in OneDrive for Business is a person who has been granted full access to your OneDrive account. Unlike sharing a specific folder, a delegate can see, edit, and delete all files and folders in your OneDrive. This permission is often given to administrative assistants, project managers, or team leads who need to manage files on behalf of another person.

The delegate permission is set at the account level, not at the folder level. This means the delegate can access your OneDrive from their own OneDrive interface under the “Shared with me” section or by using a direct link. They can also perform actions such as uploading new files, renaming existing ones, and moving content between folders.

You may need to remove a delegate when:

• The delegate leaves your organization or changes roles.
• The project or task requiring their access has ended.
• You want to tighten security and reduce the number of people with full access.
• You suspect unauthorized activity on your account.

Removing a delegate does not affect files they have already created or modified. Those files remain in your OneDrive with their original timestamps and version history. The delegate simply loses the ability to access your account going forward.

Prerequisites Before Removing a Delegate

Before you start, confirm the following:

• You are signed in to OneDrive for Business using your work or school account. Personal Microsoft accounts do not support the delegate feature.
• You have the owner role on the OneDrive account. Only the owner can manage delegates.
• You know the full email address of the delegate you want to remove. The email must match the one used when the delegate was added.
• Your browser is up to date. OneDrive web settings work best in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.

Steps to Remove a Delegate From Your OneDrive Account

Follow these steps to remove a delegate using the OneDrive web interface. There is no option to remove delegates from the OneDrive sync client or the mobile app. You must use a browser.

1. Sign in to OneDrive in a browser
   Open your web browser and go to https://www.office.com/signin. Sign in with your work or school account. Click the app launcher icon in the upper-left corner and select OneDrive.
2. Open OneDrive settings
   In the top-right corner of the OneDrive page, click the gear icon. A drop-down menu appears. Select OneDrive settings from the list.
3. Navigate to the Manage delegates section
   In the left navigation pane, click More settings. Under the “Access and permissions” section, click Manage delegates. This opens a page listing all current delegates for your OneDrive account.
4. Identify the delegate to remove
   Review the list of delegates. Each entry shows the delegate’s name, email address, and the date they were added. Find the person you want to remove.
5. Remove the delegate
   Click the Remove link next to the delegate’s name. A confirmation dialog appears asking if you are sure you want to remove this delegate. Click Remove to confirm.
6. Verify the removal
   After the page refreshes, the delegate should no longer appear in the list. To double-check, sign out of OneDrive and sign back in. Navigate again to OneDrive settings > More settings > Manage delegates. The list should be empty or show only remaining delegates.

The delegate loses access immediately after you confirm the removal. They will no longer see your OneDrive in their “Shared with me” list. If they try to open a direct link to your OneDrive, they will see an access denied message.

What Happens to Files After Delegate Removal

When you remove a delegate, the following changes occur:

• The delegate can no longer view, edit, or delete any files in your OneDrive.
• Files the delegate created remain in your OneDrive. They are not moved or deleted.
• Version history of files that the delegate edited remains intact.
• Shared links that the delegate created while they had access continue to work unless you manually revoke them.
• Any OneDrive sync client connections the delegate had to your account are terminated. They will receive a sync error on their computer.

Common Mistakes and Things to Avoid

Confusing delegates with shared folder permissions

A delegate has full account access. A person with shared folder access can only see the specific folder you shared. To remove shared folder access, go to the folder in OneDrive, click the share icon, and remove the person from the share list. Do not use the delegate removal process for folder-level shares.

Removing yourself as delegate

If you are a delegate for another person’s OneDrive, you cannot remove yourself. The account owner must remove you. Contact the owner and ask them to follow the steps above.

Not verifying the delegate list after removal

Sometimes a delegate may appear to be removed but still shows in the list due to browser caching. Always refresh the page or sign out and sign back in to confirm the change took effect.

Delegate Removal vs Other Access Revocation Methods

Item	Remove Delegate	Remove Shared Folder Access
Scope of access removed	Entire OneDrive account	Only the specific folder
Where to perform removal	OneDrive settings > More settings > Manage delegates	Right-click the folder > Share > Remove person
Effect on existing files	Files remain in your OneDrive	Files remain in the shared folder
Immediate access loss	Yes	Yes
Can delegate re-add themselves	No	No

Use the delegate removal process only when you want to revoke full account access. For folder-level access, use the share settings on the specific folder instead.

You can now remove a delegate from your OneDrive for Business account using the browser settings. After removal, verify the delegate list is updated and review any shared links the delegate may have created. For additional security, consider enabling OneDrive activity alerts in the Microsoft 365 admin center to monitor future delegate additions.