Over two months ago now, Microsoft confirmed it will be downsizing its cloud storage options, reducing the free plan from 15GB to 5GB and dropping the unlimited tier altogether. Putting it lightly, subscribers were unhappy with the company’s behavior. Not long after releasing the critical success that was Windows 10, loyalists were burnt once again by Microsoft in a shallow attempt to maximize profits.
Little over a month later, Microsoft went back on its plans, to a degree, allowing free subscribers to opt out of the 10GB decline and offering a full refund for paid users. For those of you getting by with 15GB, however, you now have only 10 days left until your chance to avoid this concession begins to expire.
That’s according to the official OneDrive bonus website, which clarifies in fine print at the bottom that the offer “must be redeemed by January 31, 2016” and that a Microsoft account is, as expected, required to keep your free storage.
Back when the OneDrive cutbacks were originally revealed, Microsoft CVP Chris Capossela explained that they were necessary, but that communication was “handled badly” and “rushed” because of a major publication planning to tarnish the company’s reputation with “something that was very damaging, and was not true.”
As unfortunate as that may be, I noted in an opinion piece of my own that Microsoft’s inability to keep up with unlimited storage was unacceptable in a time when smaller companies like CrashPlan and BackBlaze were able to offer the same thing at an affordable rate of $5 a month.
Microsoft originally claimed that its OneDrive cutbacks the result of a handful of users exceeding 75TB worth of backups on their accounts. The company proceeded to defend its decision by declaring a “pursuit of productivity and collaboration.”
Act now, or forever lose your space.
