How syncing works

Each time you copy, edit or delete a Yandex.Disk file, these changes are replicated on the Yandex.Disk server and displayed on the Yandex.Disk page. And vice versa, if you upload files on the website, they'll be displayed in your Yandex.Disk desktop program.

Therefore, you see the same files on your Disk across all your connected devices. If you delete files from your desktop, they will be deleted from the cloud, too. To delete a file from your computer, but keep it on the server, set up custom syncing.

Note. You can't sync files on your phone. You can download and upload files only manually. But you can enable unlimited photo and video auto-uploads.
  1. What happens if the same file is modified on different devices at the same time?
  2. Select folders to sync
  3. Sync speed
  4. How are modified files synced?
  5. How many devices can I use Yandex.Disk on?
  6. Can I use removable media as a folder for syncing?
  7. I turned off syncing, but files still end up on my Yandex.Disk

What happens if the same file is modified on different devices at the same time?

For example, let's say you create a picture called image.jpg on your computer while it isn't connected to the internet, then you upload a picture with the same name to Yandex.Disk from your smartphone.

Yandex.Disk starts syncing as soon as you connect your computer to the internet. Having detected two files with the same name, Disk automatically renames one as follows: image.jpg and image(2).jpg.

Select folders to sync

Yandex.Disk 3.0 lets you synchronize just the files you choose on your Disk to save disk space on the computer. For example, if you work with the Documents folder a lot, you can turn on synchronization for it to store the folder on your computer. The rest of the folders are stored only in the cloud, but are also available in the program.

Sync status is displayed on the file or folder icon.

  • — Syncing in progress
  • — The file or folder is stored on the computer
  • — The folder contents is partly stored on the computer
  • — The file or folder is stored only in the cloud
  • — The syncing status is unknown
  • — Syncing error

Store a file or folder on the computer

To enable syncing for files or folders, select them from the list and click the Save to computer button above the file list or from the context menu. When the file is synced with the computer, the icon changes from to . After this, you can view the file in the Yandex.Disk folder: click Show in Finder in the file context menu.

Store a file or folder in the cloud only

To free up space on your computer, turn off syncing for a file or folder. It is removed from the computer, but is still available on the Yandex.Disk page.

To do this, choose it in the list and click the Keep online only button above the file list or in the context menu. When a file or folder is removed from the computer, the icon changes from to .

Sync speed

To check the sync speed, click the Yandex.Disk icon. The download and upload speed will appear in the pop-up window.

How are modified files synced?

Yandex.Disk determines which part of the file has been modified and only uploads that part, not the entire file.

How many devices can I use Yandex.Disk on?

Theoretically, you can install the Yandex.Disk app and program on any number of devices, but we don't recommend doing this. If you work with the same files on different devices at the same time, there may be conflicts — files may be duplicated or lost.

Can I use removable media as a folder for syncing?

We do not recommend using removable media as a folder for syncing, as Yandex.Drive might not work correctly. The program needs permanent storage space on the computer for syncing, and removable media does not provide that.

I turned off syncing, but files still end up on my Yandex.Disk

Someone else's files may end up on your Yandex.Disk if you log in on someone else's mobile device. In this case, if auto-uploads are enabled, files from this device will upload to your Yandex.Disk.

You can stop uploading other people's files to your Yandex.Disk in one of the following ways:

Log out on all devices

To prevent other people's files from uploading to your Yandex.Disk, log out of Yandex.Disk on all devices:

  1. Open the Yandex.Passport page.
  2. Under Sign in and device history, click Log out on all devices.
Revoke program and app access

You can also revoke access that Yandex.Disk programs and apps have to your files stored on the server:

  1. Open the Access management page.
  2. Look through the list and find all the lines that feature Yandex.Disk.
  3. Click each line, and then click Delete.