Microsoft was once one of the best free cloud storage providers. With OneDrive, you could get 15GB of free storage that could be doubled if you installed OneDrive on your phone as well. That is all set to come to an end in July after Microsoft announced changes late last year. In an effort to smooth the storage capacity downgrade, Microsoft has started warning users about the July 13th deadline to either buy more space or migrate enough data so you are below the new 5GB cap.
When Microsoft first starting cutting storage space, the failure to grandfather current users led to widespread and vocal protests over the changes. In the end, Microsoft relented from the public pressure and allowed current users to keep their 15/30GB of free storage provided they filled out a form requesting as such. After the whole debacle, Microsoft admitted they had rushed things and screwed up. With the early warning to users, it looks like the lesson has been learned.
With a 5GB tier, OneDrive will have the same capacity as Apple’s iCloud free tier and 3GB more than what Dropbox offers. Still, it is less than what Google, Amazon and box all offer and much lower than the 40GB glory days when OneDrive was still SkyDrive. At least we know Microsoft will take user privacy seriously. For those of you who haven’t signed up to keep your free storage, be sure to migrate your data away or buy more storage before the July 13th deadline.
