More than a year ago, Microsoft promised Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers unlimited OneDrive cloud storage as part of their subscription bundle. But on Monday, the company has announced it is discontinuing that service, rolling it back to 1 TB per user.
Microsoft explained that the move is part of the pursuit of enhanced productivity and collaboration. "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," Microsoft said in a blog post. "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 bad news also included reductions to storage plans for free users. Microsoft initially offered 25 GB when it was introduced. It previously slashed it to 5GB, then dialled it up to 15 GB. Now free users will once again have a measly 5GB. The Tier 1 OneDrive plan sandwiched between Free users and Office 365 subscribers will now have 50 GB for $2/month, down from the current 100GB storage.
The move is attracting criticism. If a company promises unlimited storage, there are customers who would take it as it is and expect truly unlimited service, noted Ars Technica. The backlash is also reported elsewhere. There is the critical position, for instance, that Microsoft miscalculated in its ambitious unlimited storage plan in a report by The Verge.
