Microsoft Ends Unlimited Free OneDrive Storage

Microsoft is ending its offer of unlimited free storage for its online OneDrive service.

The company has introduced a new limit of 1TB on OneDrive storage in an effort to prevent customers taking advantage of the unlimited space to store entire movie collections, hours of recorded video, and entire PC backups, as had been seen by “a small number of users”.

The company first announced the free OneDrive storage deal last February, but will now be reducing its free allowance from 15GB to 5GB, and removing its 100GB and 200GB plans to be replaced by a new 50GB plan which will cost $1.99 a month and launch in early 2016.

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“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,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

Office 365 subscribers with more than 1 TB of files currently stored on OneDrive will at least get a year to move their photos, videos, and documents.

For those users who subscribed to Office 365 in order to get access to the storage it previously offered, Microsoft will give 12 months’ access to the 1TB limit, and those who signed up for the 100GB and 200GB plans before today will get to keep their existing deals.

“OneDrive has always been designed to be more than basic file storage and backup,” Microsoft added. “These changes are needed to ensure that we can continue to deliver a collaborative, connected, and intelligent service. They will allow us to continue to innovate and make OneDrive the best option for people who want to be productive and do more.”

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