Windows 11 is now automatically enabling OneDrive folder backup without asking permission
Microsoft quietly changed how folder backup works in the OneDrive app on Windows 11. Now, the OS enables it by default during the initial setup without asking the user for permission.
As a reminder, you can always just uninstall OneDrive and call it a day.
Until Microsoft takes that option away as well....
Or just reinstalls it in the next update.
They never reinstalled OneDrive after an update... yet
(I hate how I have to uninstall useless shit after updates)
Yeah, it's also not "just" if it's one of what feels like hundreds of steps now to make the OS somewhat usable.
I did that and it was a mess, with warnings about being unable to backup that I couldn't get rid of. I had to reinstall to try to turn off syncing, then remove again. But it's so integrated that my desktop is still under a OneDrive subfolder and it's still referenced in various places.
Is there a guide to completely removing this from Windows 11 cleanly?
Isn't apple doing the same?
Designed to fill the 5gb immediately so you're going to buy more cloud space immediately
When I had an iPhone, there was an annoying red dot on the settings icon "warning, you didn't enable cloud backups for photos", and if you enabled it become an annoying red dot "warning you ran out of iCloud space"
It's not an Apple fanboy but imo it's a lot more transparent on their side. There's a switch for each and every service to use iCloud or not in the settings. Services don't just re-enable their usage of iCloud after some random update and most importantly, they don't just re-install apps you previously deleted. Or bloatware.
There's always the option to store things locally. You want to get fancy, you can set up a NAS for remote access.
Saying "isn't X also doing Y" implies the behaviour itself isn't the problem, when it is. Doesn't matter who's using dark patterns for rent-seeking; it matters that we've normalized it.
Isn't the entire point of the newer versions of Windows just to force the engagement with applications you normally wouldn't use?
Mmm linux sounding so good lately
Please do not resist, it's for your own safety.
Not surprised.
Pretty sure later updates for Windows 10 started doing this too, or at least it did on my PC.
Had to completely uninstall OneDrive to get it to stop - which Microsoft sure do make quite difficult to do.
Exactly the same path Recall will take. Install Linux Mint, folks...
The bottom has dropped out of the OEM software licence market. Microsoft have to find a different way of making money. Their loss-leading hardware sales have not borne fruit so they are getting desperate.
All they have left is services, which means that the only way the can actually make money is selling out their customers private information.
Every. Single. Post.
Like every time windows is mentioned the Linux users come out to try to convert people. You guys are so fucking annoying. Just make a post about Linux. We dont want your shit ass OS. We need one which actually runs the software we use. Guess the posts are good to block these annoying Linuxers
When there's a post about privacy issues, expect alternatives with more privacy be mentioned. It's just that there are so many moments that big corporations violate user's privacy nowadays, so that's why you see it that often.
Fine! You keep using windows, we will keep using our shit ass OS.
Hey, I totally get your frustration here, but in the future please keep in mind the primary ethos on Beehaw and try to be nice in your comments here. I sympathize with how irritating the constant barrage of "just install arch" as if that's a simple fix for every problem, and I think it would be valuable for users on this forum to think about this before they comment, but let's try to stay respectful and kind to other users. Thanks!
You will submit! Join the ranks of the less surveilled, my friend.
Or give your data to Microsoft for free, your choice.
I used Linux back in the 90s as my primary OS. They were simpler times. Since then I have used BeOS, various versions of Windows and (primarily) MacOS.
I am seriously thinking of going over to Linux as my primary OS because of all the TechBro “AI” bullshit that Microsoft, Adobe, Apple and Google are trying to ram down our throats.
Or better, a proper distro
Sure, let's propose Arch to absolute linux newbies. That'll go over splendidly.
Mint is an awesome distro. LMDE is my goto because it is simple and works. What makes you think otherwise?
Mint is a good distro. Wtf you saying?
Yep, lost 3 months of work yesterday because OneDrive erased it.
Doesn't Windows 10 already do that? I could never get the freaking thing to leave my files behind and disable itself.
Windows 10 LTSC for the win if you have software you can't yet abandon.
As a workaround with the default directory fuckery, I always just made new ones.
devil's advocate: this will save the vast majority of user (which are completely tech illiterate) from loosing their most important data
lets be real, none of them will use a private or foss backup solution any time soon.
I'd rather not they loose their important family photos for that oh so horrible crime of offending my privacy nerd sensibilities
Except it won't be their most important data. Either their very first files from their desktop (up to 5 GB), or random 5 GB files (no idea which). Once it's filled quickly, it will start nagging about buying more storage.
I'm not confident my tax documents aren't saved to my dektop.
I usually air gap onto an external disk, but I've been busy recently.
I think that it's quite bad if Microsoft puts peoples family photos on their servers without the user realizing it. That's not a niche privacy nerd sentiment, I think that a lot of people would find that creepy. Having the option easily available can be really good for a lot of non-techy people but it should be very clear what stays on your computer and what doesn't, and how to keep something private if you want to, which I'm not sure that it is if Microsoft quietly backs up Documents, Pictures etc.
Right, I recall news from years ago where a bunch of celebrities' very private photos backed up to iCloud were leaked. They may or may not have known they uploaded those to iCloud, I dunno. But imagine what's up there if you don't realize you're doing a backup. Not just photos, but like scanned documents with vulnerable information. And all that personal info in a centralized server is a big ol honeypot for a malicious actor.
It's not hard to see why this is a vulnerability, is what I'm getting at.
Actually, my father in law just lost 3 months of work yesterday because he synced his documents folder that had an old copy of his book on OneDrive. None of the cached files had his new stuff. Maybe if OneDrive was made well, it would prevent data loss.
Counterpoint: My sibling had their goddamn desktop ransomewared by this thing when they dared to uninstall it. It isn't privacy nerd sensabilities, Windows now behaves like malware under certain opaque conditions and at unpredictable intervals. This was four years ago on Win 10. How great do you think non savvy people are about clicking things they don't understand anyway and essentially springing a trap?
The problem is that they are not actively asking permission.
They are technically legally asking permission through the EULA, but nobody reads these.
Apple do this differently, they require the user to opt in for each of their services, and except for a pitiful amount of storage, the user has to pay for a useful amount of storage. This makes the user the customer, instead of the product. They could make it easier to roll-your-own “cloud” storage by NAS, but I assume that it isn’t worth their effort.
You can't make this shit up
Thank you steam deck for teaching me the basics of Linux
I already have one drive. It's installed in my PC. Why would I need another?
I was in court the other day and it turns out that while they send us the evidence videos encrypted (and never give us the right password), the government's lawyer had it all on onedrive 🫠
Brb uploading a 5GiB file from /dev/urandom to make sure there isn't a byte of space left in OneDrive for them to do this to me.
