OneDrive is an application for storing files online, that is, ‘in the cloud’. Many of you probably know that. Its main competitor is Google Drive (GDrive), but in this text, we will show you several reasons why you should choose OneDrive over GDrive. Furthermore, you can store practically anything you want in OneDrive – documents, pictures, audio, video, etc.
You can access OneDrive practically from any device that has an Internet connection (tablet, laptop, mobile phone…). This powerful application was once known as SkyDrive, but in an instant, SkyDrive became OneDrive.
How Can You Access OneDrive?
Having a Microsoft 365 account will give you instant and unlimited access to OneDrive. If you have a Microsoft account, you already have access to OneDrive. All you need to do is sign in with your login information on the Microsoft website to use OneDrive. If you do not have an account, visit the Microsoft website, click “Create account” and follow the steps. It will take you very little time to do this.
Actually, Microsoft has significantly improved OneDrive features during its ‘battle’ with GDrive. The company is known for truly recognizing the needs of its clients just like they recognized the fact that gaming is presently the most popular and rapidly expanding type of entertainment, with three billion people regularly playing games and an entire generation raised on the pleasures of interactive entertainment. Namely, Activision Blizzard, a pioneer in game development and a publisher of interactive entertainment content, will be acquired by Microsoft, according to a recent announcement from January. This purchase will speed up the expansion of Microsoft’s video game business across portable devices, PC, consoles, and cloud platforms and will serve as a foundation for the metaverse. This will also benefit gamblers given that Activision Blizzard, on its hand, has paid almost $100 million for an 11.6% share in PLAYSTUDIOS, a social casino company, whose games can be found listed by various criteria at TopCasinoExper.Com.
You can use OneDrive as a desktop application (which we recommend), or through the website. It is much simpler to have a desktop application that will show you all the content you have on OneDrive, and you will be able to access it quickly. Opening the OneDrive website every time can be tiring.
The good thing is the auto-sync option, that is, as soon as you ‘put’ something into OneDrive on your desktop or mobile phone, it will be automatically synchronized with all other devices. More precisely, the file you uploaded to OneDrive will be uploaded to a remote server or – ‘to the cloud’. The same thing applies the other way around. If you go to the OneDrive website and add a document, it will be visible almost immediately through the desktop or mobile application.
If you have Windows 10 or 11, you do not need to download the application. It is already built into the operating system itself. But if you use your cell phone a lot, it’s not a bad idea to download it to your Android or iPhone device.
Benefits of Using OneDrive
OneDrive Has Diverse Support
OneDrive is compatible with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It also has extensive support for different types of multimedia, including photos, videos, audio recordings, and documents saved in different formats.
Plus, you can access your photos, videos, and other files stored in OneDrive on any laptop, phone, or tablet from anywhere in the world. You can even use OneDrive on your Xbox console.
OneDrive Is Easy to Use
OneDrive is easy to navigate and you will see it the first time you open it. Just create folders where you will put the files and that is it. Very easy to navigate back and forth. It is almost like you are working locally on your computer on your drive. Furthermore, the “Quick access” option allows you to pin frequently used files or folders, so you will, logically, be able to access them faster.
OneDrive supports both personal and business integration. You can easily switch from a business account to a personal one – and vice versa. Of course, provided that the company you work for also uses OneDrive. Believe it or not, there are a lot of them lately. Companies used to use GDrive exclusively, but times are slowly changing.
The interface also allows easy navigation of team/work files. Workers with access to a work Microsoft account do not have to waste time searching through individual folders, they just browse the “Teams” folder to access work files.
OneDrive Uses Advanced Synchronization
This feature makes it convenient for you to modify the file even when you are offline. Once you are back online or have just gotten connected to the Internet, the new file or changes you made to an existing file will automatically be saved to your OneDrive and will be available on any device that has access to your account. We have already said that in the introductory part.
This feature is great because it automatically uploads files while the sync process runs in the background. Unlike competitors, it does not require manual uploading of files to the cloud, eliminating the need for web browsers.
You may want to disable syncing for various reasons, such as when you have a limited connection. Or maybe you just want to keep a version of a file stored on OneDrive without enabling version history. To do this, you should learn how to control OneDrive sync on your computer, but don’t worry – it is not difficult. Just a few mouse clicks.
Document Change History
This possibility is one of the main advantages of OneDrive over the competition. The application gives you the ability to periodically back up certain files and documents that are available offline on your computer.
If you enable file history, periodically updating your files on OneDrive means that if the original files are damaged or lost, you can easily restore them. Moreover, you get access to different versions of the files and you can decide for yourself which version you want to restore.
Exceptional Security
Since Office365 is the first choice for many companies around the world, OneDrive takes privacy and security very seriously. Furthermore, Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that your files are protected at all times, from storage to sharing with others.
Through the OneDrive Admin Center, Microsoft has provided you with a variety of ways to configure your preferred sharing options when sharing files or folders within your organization. For example, you can decide on a default range to which you can share links in three ways.
- Shareable: Access is granted to anyone who owns a link to the file/folder.
- Internal: Shares the file only with people within the organization.
- Direct: Grants access only to specific people specified by the user.
For external sharing, you can choose to share your file in four ways:
- Anyone: Anyone with the link can access the file without signing in to OneDrive.
- New and Existing External Users: Linked external users will need to sign in to OneDrive before accessing the file/folder.
- Existing External Users: The file can only be accessed by external users who are recognized by your organization’s directory and have a link to the file/folder.
- Only People in Your Organization: No external sharing will be allowed under this configuration.
In addition to the above, you can further secure the sharing process by clicking the “Advanced Settings for External Sharing” button to open a drop-down menu and configure your sharing settings.
Another way OneDrive securely stores your files is the “OneDrive Personal Vault” feature. With a standard privacy protocol, it allows you to protect your most confidential files. So we advise you to learn how to use this particular feature and get the best out of it.
Is OneDrive Free?
The short answer is “yes”. Once you create a Microsoft account, you get 5 GB of free OneDrive storage. You can use your storage space on any device of your choice as there is no limit to the number of devices it works with.
However, if you want more storage, you will have to pay. For example, 100 GB of space on OneDrive costs USD 19.99 per year. And it is not much if you look at the fact that it is around USD 1.99 per month. Less than the price of a coffee in a cafe.
