Microsoft is putting an end to unlimited storage on OneDrive after allowing people to enjoy it for about a year. The problem is apparently because some people took the “unlimited” part of the deal literally and began backing up just about every file they own to the cloud storage service. All told, this exceeded 75TB per customer; and Microsoft isn’t happy about it.
Not every OneDrive user is guilty of abusing the supposedly unlimited storage available to Office 365 suscribers; but all it takes is a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch. Microsoft’s OneDrive blog explains that the storage was never intended to focus on “extreme backup scenarios”. Although, what else did it expect when it told people that they would have unlimited storage? In any case, Office 365 subscribers will now be limited to 1TB of OneDrive storage.
Free OneDrive users are also affected by this new announcement, with the free option being reduced from 15GB to 5GB. The free 15GB of extra storage for photos is also being taken away. However, free users will only see the changes in 2016; giving them time to look for alternative places to keep all those pictures. We hear that Google Photos offers unlimited space; and it is unlikely that Google will be reducing it any time soon.
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Microsoft has removed the 100GB and 200GB OneDrive paid plans as well, leaving only a US$1.99 per month for 50GB option available for news users.
The transition period will take place over the next 12 months, giving people time to empty their OneDrive storage and find somewhere else to keep it. Those who are on a standalone 100GB or 200GB storage plan are unaffected by the changes.
It’s bad news for those who have existing Office 365 subscriptions, or at least those who never expected Microsoft to take away their unlimited storage.
[Source: OneDrive blog]
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