Microsoft is shrinking the cloud storage included with its Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans. Each person on the plan currently gets their own 1TB of OneDrive space. Under the new model, everyone shares one 2TB pool.
What is changing
A fully used Family or Premium plan supports up to six people, so the old setup gave a household up to 6TB in total. The new shared pool is 2TB, a cut of about 66.7% in total included storage. Microsoft 365 Pro moves to a shared 5TB pool. Each member’s files stay private, even though the space is pooled.
Microsoft presents the change as added flexibility. A user running low on space can draw on a family member who is using very little of their share. The company has not said the change is a straightforward reduction, and its own FAQ answers that question by pointing to this flexibility.
When it takes effect
The new model applies from October 8, 2026 to all new and upgraded subscriptions. Anyone who upgrades from Family to Premium now receives 2TB shared straight away.
Existing Family and Premium subscribers are not affected yet. Their change generally takes effect at the first renewal on or after May 2, 2027. Until then, they keep their individual 1TB allowances.
Who will feel it most?
The impact depends on how much data a household actually stores. A household using under 2TB in total may notice nothing. Families whose combined files exceed 2TB will have to delete data, move it elsewhere, or pay for more space. Microsoft says subscribers can add storage up to a combined 10TB.
Some protection for existing customers
Microsoft says existing subscribers who have already bought extra storage will keep it, and it will be added on top of the new allowance. This also covers bonus storage that family members previously received for free, and customers do not pay extra for it. Some reports also describe temporary bonus storage for certain existing customers, but the details are not clear from the sources I could access.
Backlash and open questions
Subscriber reaction has been negative. An online forum post is urging users to switch off automatic renewal and cite the storage cut as their reason. The cut also arrives alongside a separate change that lets people other than the main subscriber use Copilot features.
Microsoft has given no reason for the reduction beyond flexibility. One report notes that demand for data centre storage is rising because of AI workloads, but says Microsoft has not linked the change to that demand. Treat any such link as speculation.
What subscribers can do now?
Check how much OneDrive space your household uses across all accounts. If the total is close to or above 2TB, you have until your renewal date after May 2, 2027 to decide whether to trim files, pay for extra storage or move to another provider.
