Are you interested in opting for OneDrive’s premium service but don’t know whether it would be a good choice? If yes, you have stumbled upon the right webpage as here I am going to share a detailed OneDrive review with you.
In this OneDrive review, we will go through everything, such as OneDrive pricing, functionalities, security, features, and more.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started –
OneDrive Review
OneDrive is one of the most popular cloud storage solutions. It boasts plenty of amazing features that make it an excellent choice for students, professionals, and businesses, especially those using the Microsoft Office suite.
One of the main reasons OneDrive is quite popular is that it integrates very well with other Microsoft products, including Windows OS. It also offers applications for macOS, iOS, and Android as well as a web application but is vastly popular amongst Windows users.
However, in recent years, Microsoft has made a lot of changes to OneDrive. Now it boasts the best functionalities, such as collaboration features, photo AI tagging, powerful search, and integration of Microsoft apps, along with a great design.
Let’s thoroughly talk about the features that OneDrive offers you –
OneDrive Features
The very first and most important thing that you may be interested in is obviously the features of the service.
So, Microsoft OneDrive is not different from other cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or more. You also have to select the folders you want to backup, and their copies will automatically be synced in the cloud server of Google Drive, which can be accessed via the web, desktop, or mobile applications.
You just need to select the folder or file into OneDrive, and it will be synced across all your devices where you have OneDrive installed. OneDrive also makes it easy to share files and folders with others. You can easily share your files with people by generating shareable links.
Since it is a Microsoft product, it works best with Microsoft applications and Windows OS. If you use Microsoft applications such as Word, Office, or Sheets, you can configure them with OneDrive for autosaving so that you won’t lose any of your data. It also offers advanced collaboration features that let you and other team members work simultaneously on a similar file or document.
You can easily play audio and videos when using the OneDrive web app or smartphone client. It further boasts an AI-enhanced search function that helps you find images that you have stored in your OneDrive. This AI-enhanced search function lets you easily spot images, such as landmarks, objects, and more.
One feature that I really liked about OneDrive is its Personal Vault. This feature is great for almost everyone, whether you are an individual, professional, or someone who wants to keep some files secure, as it adds a layer of security via additional authentication, which can be a biometric, OTP, or simple PIN.
Pricing – how much does OneDrive cost?
OneDrive offers a wide range of subscription plans, making OneDrive available for a wide range of users. If you want to test its services and features, you can opt for the free plan that gives you 5 GB of cloud storage. Obviously, 5 GB is much less than Google Drive’s 15 GB but is not a bad deal overall.
OneDrive’s base plan offers 100 GB of cloud storage at just $1.99 monthly. This plan doesn’t offer any additional perks and is mainly designed for people who want more cloud storage at an affordable price.
There is another personal plan of Microsoft OneDrive, which costs $6.99 a month and gives you access to 1 TB of cloud storage. Along with this cloud storage, this plan also gives you access to Skype and other Microsoft 365 products such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
OneDrive also offers a family plan where you get 6 TB of total cloud storage, which can be shared amongst six users. This plan costs you $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month, and this is the best value plan if you have people with whom you can share your accounts. With this plan, you also get access to all Microsoft 365 products, including Skype.
There are also some business plans, but we are not going to discuss them in this article as this OneDrive review mainly focuses on OneDrive personal service.
User Interface – How easy is OneDrive to use?
Windows users will find Microsoft OneDrive’s UI quite familiar as it comes integrated with all Windows OS. You can find OneDrive in the navigation pane of This PC, right alongside Desktop, Documents, and other folders. This makes it quite quick and easy to access OneDrive on your Windows computer.
Alternatively, you can access OneDrive’s web application from any computer or mobile phone. The web UI is not as sophisticated as its competitors, such as Google Drive or Dropbox, but it gets the job done, so it’s not a big deal.
The macOS client of OneDrive is something that really impressed me. It covers everything that you may need without making it too complicated. The desktop client also gives you extra control, such as throttling bandwidth, saving files to a computer, storing files on the cloud only, and more. These features can help you speed up your computer while freeing up some space.
The mobile application of OneDrive is arguably the best one. The UI appears elegant and intuitive and allows users to jump across folders with just swipes and taps. The built-in document viewer makes it extremely easy and efficient to open photos and videos on your smartphone.
Overall, from the UI front, I would say OneDrive receives four stars out of five, which is not that bad. There are some areas where it can improve its services, but I have nothing against it.
Security & Privacy – is OneDrive safe to upload your confidential documents?
To ensure the safety of your files and folders, OneDrive uses AES 256-bit encryption for both storing your files as well as in transit. However, OneDrive is not a zero-knowledge cloud storage service, meaning it can have user encryption keys, and authorities, including OneDrive employees, can potentially access your files if necessary. This is really an annoying thing, and the same issue is with Google Drive.
But if we keep it aside, OneDrive boasts an automatic notification feature that automatically notifies you in the event of a data breach. Once you receive the notification, you can use any mode device where you can access your OneDrive account to restore your files, change your password, or add an additional layer of security.
In addition to that, you can also enable two-factor authentication to protect your data from unauthorized access. It is an easy-to-set-up feature that really takes your data security to the next level.
Microsoft is also working on implementing passwordless account access, which can improve security. This function will allow you to log in without your password by entering a unique code that will be changed every time you log in. However, it is still in the development phase, but it can change the data security future for good.
Now, if we talk about data privacy, I am quite skeptical about OneDrive since it doesn’t have a zero-knowledge policy. On top of that, even though Microsoft talks a lot about data privacy, it is a US-based firm, and therefore, it has to adhere to some legal guidelines which are not privacy-focused.
If the US government wants some data, Microsoft has no choice but to give them, which is quite scary. Overall, if you are looking for a host for basic file storing, Microsoft OneDrive can be a good choice. But if privacy is your topmost concern, you should not be hosting your data on a service like OneDrive.
Wrapping it up – is OneDrive really going to be a good platform to store your files?
There you have it – our detailed OneDrive review that can help you decide whether OneDrive is going to be a good cloud hosting service for you or not.
As far as cloud storage is concerned, OneDrive is an amazing platform. It is reasonably priced, offers optimum performance, and is quite easy to use and set up. It is great for storing your files and collaborating using Microsoft 365, and the file-sharing functionality is quite awesome.
Now, when it comes to privacy, there are a few things that you need to consider. If you are looking for a cloud storage solution to host your regular files, Microsoft OneDrive is awesome. The security features of OneDrive make it one of the best cloud storage solutions to host files on the cloud. But if you are highly concerned about privacy, it is not a good choice.
With that said, here I am wrapping up this article. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them in the comment section below. Our team will try to respond ASAP.
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