Consumer Rights Wiki

OneDrive: Difference between revisions

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Added in-text citations and formatted references using citation tool. Clarified that OneDrive attempt to sync files "without user knowledge or consent."
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This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{PAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
This is a list of all consumer protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{PAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].


===Aggressive push for backups (''Aug. 2025'')===
===Automatic syncing===
Windows users found that, at some point, the software attempts to back up user files without their knowledge or consent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OneDrive's Forcable Takeover of Folders Is Intolerable |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/onedrive/comments/1e5riab/onedrives_forcable_takeover_of_folders_is/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Onedrive Syncs files without permission and can't be removed without deletion of the files in the local machine. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/onedrive/comments/zx79j6/onedrive_syncs_files_without_permission_and_cant/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=OneDrive sync'd EVERYTHING without permission? |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3887116/onedrive-syncd-everything-without-permission |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Onedrive is horrible, invasive and impossible |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5213385/onedrive-is-horrible-invasive-and-impossible}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RANT: OneDrive enabled without consent |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4043083/rant-onedrive-enabled-without-consent}}</ref> However, the way it does so is by redirecting several (unwittingly chosen) base folders to OneDrive, which once full, requests that the user "Upgrade" or "Free Up Space".<ref>{{Cite web |title=OneDrive attempted to sync my entire PC without my consent. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/f7795u/onedrive_attempted_to_sync_my_entire_pc_without/}}</ref> When the user tries to disable OneDrive by solutions found with a surface level search, it removes all said user files both locally and in cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Edge and OneDrive Syncing Without Warning or Consent |url=https://ctemplar.com/microsoft-edge-and-onedrive-syncing-without-warning-or-consent/}}</ref> The only ways for the user to recover those files require a physical backup, from desktop or OneDrive. User files are also being corrupted in the process.
Previously, Microsoft prompted users to back up their devices through reminders and asked for their permission to back folders up to OneDrive. Currently, OneDrive alters the Windows File Explorer to default to OneDrive's folders, and to replace the standard shortcuts to folders for Documents, Images, Downloads, etc. with shortcuts to OneDrive's folders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pippig |first=Laura |date=25 Jun 2024 |title=Windows 11 starts forcing OneDrive backups without asking permission |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2376883/attention-microsoft-activates-this-feature-in-windows-11-without-asking-you.html |url-status=live |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=PCWorld}}</ref> This causes user files to back up to OneDrive by default, even when the folders are disabled for syncing,<ref>{{Cite web |title=OneDrive's Forcable Takeover of Folders Is Intolerable |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/onedrive/comments/1e5riab/onedrives_forcable_takeover_of_folders_is/ |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> usually without their knowledge or consent.  
 
User suspicions claim the implementation of this action (backing up all computer files without user knowledge, notification, or consent) is being staggered, allegedly to stop unified backlash from consumers.
[[File:OneDrive Desktop Shortcut.png|thumb|<u>''Staggering of "feature" implementation (automatic backup):''</u> ''Includes the time & date the shortcut was created, which is when the user opened their computer. See references for evidence that this has been happening to users at different rates over the last year.'']]
[[File:File Corruption When Copying from OneDrive.png|thumb|''<u>File corruption as a result of OneDrive's forced backup:</u> Interrupted action notification from Windows, stating that "file ... has properties that can't be copied to the new location". This file is a recording of a song the user wrote & believed to be safe on their computer.'']]
 
[[File:OneDrive Permission Notification.png|thumb|''"Ensure'' ''that you have the right permissions to allow the item to sync." User did not request that this or any item be synced to OneDrive.'']]
[[File:OneDrive Notification to "Upgrade" or "Free up space".png|thumb|''Notification from OneDrive to "Upgrade" or "Free up space" - after moving all files it had space for onto OneDrive & off of local storage.'']]
[[File:File In Use by OneDrive.png|thumb|''"File in use [by OneDrive]" notification from Windows when attempting manual backup, not allowing the user to copy their file that OneDrive had moved off of their device.'']]


Once users have reached the maximum space OneDrive allows, they are prompted to pay for additional space, and in some cases are prevented from downloading attachments through Outlook and other Microsoft products.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 Mar 2025 |title=OneDrive sync'd EVERYTHING without permission? |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3887116/onedrive-syncd-everything-without-permission |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=Microsoft Q&A}}</ref> Without the standard shortcuts to local folders in place, users are often unaware that they have alternative options. When users attempt to disable OneDrive, the service removes the user's files from the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2024 |title=RANT: OneDrive enabled without consent |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4043083/rant-onedrive-enabled-without-consent |url-status=live |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=Microsoft Q&A}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 Feb 2023 |title=Onedrive is horrible, invasive and impossible |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5213385/onedrive-is-horrible-invasive-and-impossible |url-status=live |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=Microsoft Q&A}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first= |title=Onedrive Syncs files without permission and can't be removed without deletion of the files in the local machine. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/onedrive/comments/zx79j6/onedrive_syncs_files_without_permission_and_cant/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 Aug 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> If users have not made a local backup beforehand, their files are permanently lost.
==See also==
==See also==
*[[iCloud]]
*[[iCloud]]
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/OneDrive"