Your data is getting backed up automatically, if you sign-in to a new Windows 11 PC using a Microsoft account.
Windows setup is taking longer and longer to complete. Microsoft is adding new screens to the setup process on a regular basis. Besides ads, for testing Game PC, setup has other pitfalls that many users may want to avoid.
The upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 makes another change that is going to hit users full in the face once they realize what is happening. Problem is, it may take a while before they realize it.
Here is what has changed: when you sign in using a Microsoft account, your data is automatically synced using OneDrive. That is to be expected, but Microsoft is now also backing up certain folders from the new Windows installation that reside outside the OneDrive folder automatically.
In other words, files may get backed up that you do not want to end up in the cloud. By default, Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders are getting backed up. If you place the wrong file(s) there, you risk having your account disabled. Even worse, files that you do not want in the cloud may be uploaded to it automatically.
Note: we are still talking pre-release version. There is a chance that Microsoft is changing the behavior before public release.
OneDrive backs up files to the cloud automatically
Neowin was the first to report about it, but they provided no source. I downloaded the latest official Windows 11 version 24H2 to put this to the test.
Fired up a virtual machine using VMWare and started the installation. I kept everything set to the default values, which is probably what most Windows users do. I signed-in using a Microsoft account, as this is the one requirement to get OneDrive up and running.
Tip: you can check out my guide on bypassing the Microsoft account requirement in Windows 11.
It took a while for setup to finish, but the Windows 11 desktop loaded eventually. I noticed that OneDrive was starting to sync files from the cloud storage to the local system. This is also an automated process, which can push device storage to the limit.
When things settled down, I checked OneDrive > Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup to find out if OneDrive was configured to back up certain folders automatically.
The next screen confirmed this. OneDrive was backing up Desktop, Documents, and Pictures automatically. It never asked whether it could do that.
While it is somewhat okay to get data that is in the cloud synced to the local PC, backing up files automatically without getting consent is a whole new dimension.
What you can do about it
- Skip signing in to a Microsoft account during setup. If you have troubles, try using Rufus to prepare the Windows ISO image.
- If you sign in with a Microsoft account, consider creating a new account.
- Once setup completes, go the OneDrive settings and turn the backup option off.
- Another option is to create a local account after setup completes and use it from that moment on. You can delete the Microsoft account.
Closing Words
With Microsoft making it difficult to set up Windows without a Microsoft account, it appears that many Windows 11 users will have data copied to the cloud once Windows 11 version 24H2 hits.
What is your take on this? Do you use OneDrive or other file syncing services?
MS is doing so many things to get the data of those that use windows. This data is very very valuble. The automation of computer backups to the cloud, and any other data harvesting implementations should never be done without the express consent of the operator of the system. For anyone who does not think this data is valuble I ask them “Why do think MS is trying so hard to get this data, and any other information from those that use windows?”
I ask them “Why do think MS is trying so hard to get this data, and any other information from those that use windows?”
Very simple. Microsoft is pivoting to 100% subscription/ad revenue company. And what do you need to make ads on your platform very valuable and highly targetable? Data, data and data. They need as much data as Amazon/Meta/TikTok/Google.
Once again, the meager hope remains that a few scattered high-payed people in the EU government will have the balls to stop this. Otherwise, it’s a losing battle. Not everyone can simply switch to Linux.
Users are being both sold out and exploited more and more by those greedy companies. I think it’s disgusting and it makes me sick!
I don’t use OneDrive, but this is good to know for when I get my next computer. I’d want to delete anything from OneDrive if forced initially to use a Microsoft account, which is possible if they make it so difficult to use a local account from the start. I use pCloud and Mega.
I installed Steve Gibson’s InControl app to ensure the version of Windows 11 I use remains on 22h2. It has worked for me so far in spite of downloading and installing monthly updates manually. In the latter respect, I never see updates in Windows Update anymore apart from Windows Defender and some Intel stuff. I assume Microsoft can’t be bothered to send me all those Moment junk updates and stuff like that.
But I supopose one day M$ will start telling me that 22h2 won’t receive anymore security updates along the same lines as Windows 10, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I think I might have found a way of getting rid of Windows 11 altogether without the consequencies I once thought were impossible to avoid coming into play.
In the Netherlands it’s mandatory to use an app called Digid when dealing with any government related communication. But because Digid is proprietary software it won’t run on Linux. So the only choices are Windows, Apple or a Chrome notebook none of which appeal to me since they’re each as bad each other as far as vacuuming up all your private data.
Digid however is not a means of communicating with anybody, but merely a way of identifying yourself. If you ever come to live in this country you’ll see it everywhere.
But the thought occurred to me that if it can be used on a Chromebook, then theoretically it could also be used on an Android phone. That possibility of having to file my annual tax return on such a small screen doesn’t really appeal to me, but the thought of getting rid of Windows 11 and installing Linux kind of sways the argument for me.
So checking with the tax authority called the Belastingdienst in NL I dicovered that they have an app which can be used for filing your annual tax return. Since Digid also has an app to identify yourself with I don’t really need Windows 11 anymore and can consign it to history and install a Linux distro on the machine instead. Yes, I like that idea!
Shot down in flames already. It would appear that online banking can’t be used on any Linux distro. Only the usual culprits are allowed i.e. Microsoft and Apple.
My bank does have an app for Android use, but it’s limited in what you can do with it and sending money abroad outside the EU for example is a no-go. That requires using Internet banking with an up to date browser on Windows 10 or 11, or the latest version of MacOS.