Tick tock—Unlicensed OneDrives are going to be deleted. Have you taken action?

What exactly is changing with Microsoft’s OneDrive policy?

Starting January 27, 2025, Microsoft is cracking down on unlicensed OneDrive accounts. Now, unlicensed OneDrive accounts with a retention policy will be archived after 93 days. This will cost you $0.05/GB/month in storage and $0.60/GB to access them.
(Source: Microsoft)

Without a retention policy, your data will hit the recycle bin after 93 days and later get permanently deleted.

What are the risks of not taking action?

• Permanent data loss – If you don’t have a retention policy, OneDrives will be automatically deleted after 93 days. No recovery. No second chances.
• Unexpected costs – If you do have a retention policy, you’ll be charged for all archived OneDrives, not just the ones you might need. And retrieving that data comes with a hefty reactivation fee as well.
• Compliance violations – If your industry has strict data retention rules, letting OneDrive data disappear could put you out of compliance—leading to fines, legal trouble, and security risks.
• Security vulnerabilities – If sensitive files aren’t properly secured before deletion, your organization could be at risk of data breaches or unauthorized access.

What are your options?

1. You can migrate the data to a licensed OneDrive or SharePoint, ensuring your data stays secure, compliant, accessible.
2. You can set a retention policy and pay to store it—whether or not it’s necessary.
3. You can do nothing and hope for the best.

If you want to migrate your data, we can show you how to make the process as quick and easy as possible.