Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage service is often lauded as one of the best out there, not only because of how easily it integrates with Windows, but because it’s also fairly affordable. However, an upcoming change to how OneDrive handles photos could cost you a bit more storage space in the cloud.
According to reporters at DrWindows, Microsoft has started sending emails detailing some new changes coming to OneDrive with a future update. This update is also slated to bring some AI features to the cloud storage service, but it also looks like it will change how the system handles photos, too.
The email, which DrWindows provides a screenshot of the warning, which says that soon OneDrive will start counting photos saved in Albums and separately as their own items, instead of not counting Albums against your cloud storage service. This means that any duplicate photos you have in your Albums and outside of them will be counted multiple times, costing you more storage space.
Obviously, the fix for this is pretty easy, as you’ll just need to go through and remove any duplicate photos if you want to save on your storage space after OneDrive changes how it handles photos. However, depending on how many photos you have, that could be easier said than done.
The downside here, of course, is that any overage to your cloud storage on OneDrive will affect connected systems like Outlook, so you’ll want to take a moment and ensure you aren’t going to end up going over. If you do, though, Microsoft says it will award users with a one-time free storage upgrade, which will last a full year. You can check your OneDrive account to see how much storage you’ll be rewarded.
As Microsoft works to improve OneDrive and other components of its online services, it’s likely we’ll see more changes coming, too, especially as Microsoft leans more into AI systems. For now, at least, you should set aside some time to organize your images more efficiently, so you don’t lose a lot of storage space when this OneDrive update rolls out.
