Windows 11 now turns on OneDrive folder backup without your permission

Microsoft often fiddles with Windows in ways that benefit the company but not necessarily its users. And one of the latest changes affects OneDrive in Windows 11.

OneDrive can back up and synchronize certain folders and files such as your documents, music, and pictures. In the past, the Windows 11 setup would ask you if you wanted these folders backed up, giving you an actual choice. Well, no more.

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In a change to the Windows 11 setup spotted by Neowin, you’re no longer asked about this folder backup. Instead, the backup is automatically enabled by default without your permission. There’s no notification or warning in Windows 11. The only way you’d find out is by going to OneDrive settings to see if the folders are being backed up.

To confirm Neowin’s findings, I ran a clean Windows 11 setup on several PCs. At no time did the setup ask me if I wanted the folder backup enabled as it had done in the past. Afterward, checking the backup setting in OneDrive showed me that the backups were turned on for Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Videos.

Sure, backing up important folders and files is usually a good thing. If you ever lose a critical or irreplaceable document or photo, you’d be happy to have a backup from which to restore that file. And, as a OneDrive user, I appreciate being able not only to back up key folders and files but to sync them across all my PCs and other devices.

But there are a couple of issues here.

First, Microsoft is once again removing choice from its users. Also, the company eliminated the choice for folder backup without any notice or announcement, catching people by surprise.

Several people on Reddit have been complaining about the change, expressing confusion over these new green checkmarks next to files and shortcuts on their desktops. (The checkmarks indicate that the files are being backed up via OneDrive.)

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Second, the folder backup may create problems with your OneDrive storage. By default, Windows users get 5GB of OneDrive space for free. But someone could easily have more than 5GB worth of photos, videos, and other files.

Need more storage? Well, you’ll have to shell out money for a paid Microsoft 365 plan (even if you don’t want or need Microsoft 365). The whole process seems like another way for Microsoft to lock people into its products and subscriptions.

Fortunately, you can turn off the folder backup if you don’t have enough space or simply don’t need the backup but still want to keep OneDrive. To do this, right-click on the OneDrive icon in the Windows 11 System Tray and select Settings. Go to the section for “Sync and backup” and click the Manage backup button for “Back up important PC folders to OneDrive.” Then turn off the switch for any folder that you don’t want backed up. You can turn them all off or just turn off certain ones.