Microsoft has announced the broad launch of Copilot for OneDrive, previously available only to enterprise users. Now the feature is available to everyone, but only in the cloud, not on local devices. However, many have seen this move as a privacy risk.
Image source: Microsoft
OneDrive, built into Windows, often attracts criticism from users due to the automatic upload of data to the cloud, which consumes immensely processor resources and Internet traffic. At the same time, Copilot, despite Microsoft’s statements, remains more of an interesting application than a revolutionary tool, especially since most of the truly useful functions are only available with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.
However, the company has stated that Copilot for OneDrive will be automatically enabled for all eligible users within a few months. However, according to the FAQ, users will not have the option to opt out of the feature. Microsoft reassures that Copilot will only work with files selected by the user: “Copilot uses your documents that you have access to and provides analytics only for them. Additionally, Copilot can only be enabled for files that you have tagged in OneDrive.”
Despite the criticism, Microsoft positions Copilot as an important and in many cases necessary tool. Among its useful functions are comparing several files, summarizing long documents. However, there are some limitations. For example, you can compare only five documents at a time, which must be in Office (.DOC, .PPT), web pages or M365 (.LOOP) format, but not in raster image or encrypted file format.
Using Copilot will be paid. Each request to the tool will deduct one AI credit. Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers will receive 60 such credits per month. Therefore, even with a subscription, users will face additional restrictions.
Microsoft also stresses that Copilot will not access files without users’ permission. However, this is unlikely to reassure those concerned about the privacy of their data.