Windows 11 has annoying pop-up ads for OneDrive

Microsoft regularly finds ways to annoy Windows 11 users. Many people still don’t like the constant pop-up update messages. Now they have added notifications about the possibility of storing cloud backups in the OneDrive service.

Image source: Microsoft

For example, Windows 11 users are increasingly being notified that there are no backups, for which the OS has a special tool to create them. Users are periodically shown a pop-up message that says it is better to make backup copies so that the data is saved “in case something happens to the PC.” This sounds very threatening, but in fact Microsoft is simply pointing out the ability to store backups in its OneDrive service, which is essentially an advertisement.

The free version of OneDrive allows you to store backup copies with a total volume of up to 5 GB in the cloud. This is quite small, especially if you include all user files stored on the computer in the backups. For $2 a month, Microsoft provides 100 GB of cloud backup space, which seems more reasonable. If the user stores a lot of important information, then the $7 per month tariff, which provides access to 1 TB of cloud space, looks more attractive. Each of these tariffs will be more profitable if paid a year in advance.

The new pop-up messages advising you to back up and store them on OneDrive are essentially Microsoft’s attempt to encourage users to interact with OneDrive. Unfortunately, there is no way to disable or block these messages. The user can click on the message and close it temporarily, but it will reappear later. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has annoyed users with ads, and it probably won’t be the last.

Backup is a useful feature and many users actually create backups using the Windows Backup tool. However, using OneDrive to store backups is optional, and the user can choose how to manage these files. There are also many free utilities that allow you to create backups locally without offering to move them to cloud storage.