If you jumped on Microsoft’s cloud storage early enough back when it was known as SkyDrive, you could have bagged yourself 25GB of free space. There then followed a drop in free space — for new users at least — to 7GB, and a name change to OneDrive. Anyone who managed to earn the 25GB didn’t lose any space thanks to the fact that their accounts were grandfathered.
Microsoft recently bumped the amount of free space given to newer users to 15GB, but again anyone with 25GB was able to retain what they started with. Windows Observer writer and Microsoft MVP Richard Hay noticed that something had changed in his account. Rather than including 25GB of free space, he had dropped to 15GB. So what happened to the missing 10GB?
In fact, it went nowhere; slightly confusingly, it had just been relabelled. Richard account listed 15GB of free space, just as the accounts of more recent OneDrive users will. But in the “Your additional storage” section, the ‘missing’ 10GB appears under a “loyalty bonus” heading. A moment of panic probably hit many people checking their account and noticing the same thing.
In a statement issued to BetaNews, Microsoft explained what was happening:
“Early OneDrive adopters who received 25GB of free storage will continue to enjoy their free 25GB of storage. However, it will be split into two tiers within the account: 15GB of free storage and 10GB of ‘loyalty bonus’ storage”.
So the grandfathering continues — it’s just not necessarily immediately obvious.
Have you noticed this happening in your OneDrive account?
