Microsoft has a winner in its OneDrive cloud storage app as it has proven to be a popular option for users who are looking for alternatives to Dropbox or Google Drive. A few months ago they launched a new feature called Personal Vault which lets you save your important files in a more secure place within OneDrive. This feature is now finally available to all users worldwide, along with several other new things like expandable storage, automatic back up, and dark mode (but for iOS only for now).
If you’ve not heard of it yet, Personal Vault is one part of OneDrive that is protected with a strong, second step authentication method, either with a fingerprint, face verification, PIN or a code sent through SMS or email. You can even scan documents or take photos and send them automatically to the vault so it won’t be found in less secure places on your phone like your camera roll. It will also automatically close and lock after a period of inactivity so you don’t have to think whether or not you locked it.
If you’re using a Windows 10 computer, your Personal Vault files are automatically synced to a Bitlocker-encrypted area of your computer’s hard drive so it can be secure even when on your device. Files that are in there, even shared items that were moved to the fault, cannot be shared to anyone. All of these security measures will ensure your important files will not be accessed even if your device is lost or stolen.
OneDrive subscribers will also now be able to automatically back up files from their PC so they will be able to access it on any of their mobile devices. Users will also be able to view and restore previous versions of their files up to 30 days from the last edit. And one of the most requested features is now available for Office 365 subscribers. You can now expand your storage in 200GB increments starting at $1.99 per month.
Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home subscribers can store unlimited files in their Personal Vault but those using the free or standalone 100GB plan, you are only allowed to store up to 3 files there, which makes it practically useless for you. So if you need more space, you’ll probably have to subscribe to their paid plans.