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Microsoft OneDrive Blog
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Unlocking OneDrive’s Potential: Pro Tips for IT Administrators

Paul_Diamond's avatar
Paul_Diamond
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Nov 27, 2023
Whether you need to get up and running quickly with OneDrive, or you’re an experienced OneDrive admin, we’ve gathered a list of quick tips to help you streamline management, ensure your users and dat...
Updated Nov 27, 2023
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The_Smart_One's avatar
The_Smart_One
Iron Contributor
Nov 27, 2023
Paul_Diamond wrote:

2. Enable folder backup to add file protection and anywhere access

OneDrive’s folder backup feature (sometimes called known folder move) syncs your users' Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to the cloud, so they can access them from anywhere and protect them from loss. Learn more about OneDrive folder backup for Windows or MacOS.

I strongly advise against this one. For three reasons:

  1. Folders like Documents, Pictures, and Videos don't contain our actual documents, pictures, or videos that we care about. We store them elsewhere. They are dumpsters for various apps to store items of questionable value ranging from settings and saved games to temp files.
  2. A backup app is one that makes point-in-time snapshots. OneDrive's backup function does the reverse: If our files get deleted by accident, OneDrive simply syncs this mistake, making us miserable everywhere.
  3. There is no way to restore that backup. Microsoft support article's so-called steps to restore starts with: "Buy a new Windows 11 PC"!

Is there a way to tell OneDrive never to mention backup ever again? I'm open to migrating to other, more respectful online storage services.