Microsoft has announced changes to its OneDrive cloud storage options – and they’re not for the better.
Just over a year after offering unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 Home, Personal, and University subscribers, Microsoft has backtracked.
Those aforementioned subscribers will now have access to a mere 1TB of storage.
Microsoft has explained the reason behind this in a blog post. Apparently, a small number of users were abusing the unlimited offer, backing up numerous PCs and storing entire movie collections and DVR recordings in the cloud.
In some instances, Microsoft says, the amount of OneDrive storage used by individual users was 75TB. That’s 14,000 times the average.
It’s not just former unlimited-tier customers that will be hit by Microsoft’s latest changes. The amount of storage offered with the free tier of OneDrive is also being dramatically lessened from 15 GB to 5 GB. That applies to both new and existing users, and will take effect in early 2016.
In addition, OneDrive’s 15 GB camera roll storage bonus will also be discontinued at this time.
OneDrive’s current 100GB and 200GB options are also going away for new users in early 2016, to be replaced by a 50GB option. Existing subscribers to these larger plans will be unaffected.
Users who are currently over the new limits for their particular tier will be notified of the changes, and will be allowed to continue using the extra amount for another 12 months.
Related: What’s the best cloud storage service to use?
“Instead of focusing on extreme backup scenarios, we want to remain focused on delivering high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users,” says Microsoft on the changes.
However Microsoft wants to phrase it, this equates to a downgrade for most OneDrive users.
Next, check out our Microsoft Surface Pro 3 review:
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
