Microsoft scraps unlimited storage on OneDrive service after 'extreme back-up' by users

5 months ago

Microsoft is capping its unlimited OneDrive cloud storage service to one terabyte, saying a “small number” of users abused the plan.

The company said it would no longer offer unlimited storage to Office 365 Home, Personal or University subscribers, instead limiting these to one terabyte of storage.

It is also removing 100 GB and 200 GB paid plans for new users from early next year and will replace them with a 50 GB plan for a reduced fee, while the free storage option is being cut from 15GB to 5GB.

In a blog post, the company said: “Since we started to roll out unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 consumer subscribers, a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings.

“In some instances, this exceeded 75 TB per user or 14,000 times the average.

“Instead of focusing on extreme back-up scenarios, we want to remain focused on delivering high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users.”

Office 365 consumer subscribers who have stored more than one terabyte will be able to keep the increased storage for at least 12 months.

Those using more than 5 GB of free storage will continue to have access to all files for at least 12 months after the changes come into effect next year.

The company added: “OneDrive has always been designed to be more than basic file storage and backup.

“These changes are needed to ensure that we can continue to deliver a collaborative, connected, and intelligent service.”

The move follows Microsoft’s competitors moving to offer more storage for less. And of course, OneDrive users aren’t happy with the decision.