Outrage as Microsoft cuts OneDrive storage for 365 Family, Premium users

Microsoft has sparked outrage by drastically cutting OneDrive storage capacity for its Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscribers from 6TB to just 2TB, less than two years after a major subscription price hike in 2025.

Under the previous structure, Family and Premium plans allowed up to six family members to share a total of 6TB, effectively allocating 1TB per person. With the total capacity now slashed to 2TB, members sharing the plan's equal space will see their individual storage allocation drop to roughly 333.33 GB.

Microsoft justified the move by claiming the change provides greater flexibility. Previously, unused storage could not be reallocated to another member capped at 1TB. Under the new pooled system, individual limits are removed, allowing any member to use as much space as needed, provided the total collective usage does not exceed 2TB. Files across accounts will remain private.

The policy shift creates clear winners and losers. Single users holding a Family plan previously restricted to 1TB can now access up to 2TB. However, multi-user households using more than 2TB collectively will suffer significantly. If just two members consume 1TB each, the full allocation is exhausted, leaving the remaining four members with zero available storage.

The tech giant began applying the reduced storage caps to new subscribers on Oct 8, 2026. Existing subscribers will transition upon their respective renewal dates starting May 2, 2027. Microsoft said it will not delete files immediately if account usage exceeds the new quota, giving users time to clean up storage, buy additional capacity or migrate to alternative providers. (continues below)

(Photo: Microsoft)

Alongside the storage reductions, Microsoft expanded its AI features by giving all Family and Premium plan members access to Copilot, a benefit previously restricted solely to the primary account holder. Analysts view this trade-off as an attempt to substitute cloud storage space with added AI capability.

The move has met strong resistance from customers who purchased Microsoft 365 primarily for cloud storage rather than AI utilities. Users on Reddit have launched campaigns urging dissatisfied subscribers to disable auto-renewal and cite the OneDrive storage cuts as the reason, aiming to signal potential churn to Microsoft executive leadership.

Microsoft previously raised the US annual subscription price for Microsoft 365 Family from US$99.99 to $129.99 in January 2025, attributing the increase to the integration of Copilot and other AI capabilities.

In Thailand, the Family package is priced at 3,699 baht per year, while the Premium tier costs 7,499 baht per year. Less than two years after the price adjustment, Microsoft has stripped away two-thirds of the included OneDrive storage, leaving non-AI users paying significantly more for far less storage space.

The company confirmed the policy change applies strictly to Family and Premium subscriptions. The individual Microsoft 365 Personal package remains unaffected, retaining its standard 1TB OneDrive storage limit.

Source: TechPowerUp, Support Microsoft