Windows 11’s ads are out of control. Microsoft is always finding new ways to disrupt and annoy users—and this time, it comes in the form of an unavoidable pop-up notification.
Even while most people are still upset by constant Windows 11 update notifications, Windows 11 has recently started displaying more and more information about cloud backups.
Specifically, Windows users are being notified that their systems aren’t backed up with the built-in Windows backup solution. A corresponding message appears with the advice that it’s best to make backups so that all data is stored “in case something happens to the PC.”
It almost reads like an indirect threat, but Microsoft is actually just pointing out the option to store file backups on its own OneDrive cloud service. And it’s also advertising more storage space.
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More cloud storage comes at a price
The free version of OneDrive gives you 5GB of storage space for your backups. However, this space isn’t much—it’s quickly used up if you back up all your files as Microsoft would apparently like.
For $2 per month, you can expand that to 100GB of storage space, which is far more reasonable for backups. And if you have a lot of data? You can get 1TB of space for $7 per month. (All plans have discounted pricing if you pay annually rather than monthly.)
It’s obvious that Microsoft is pushing users to OneDrive by the fact that this cloud backup notification about supposedly necessary backups can’t be disabled. The only way to make it go away is to use it.
Sure, you can click the notification and dismiss it for a time… but it will show up again soon enough. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has annoyed users with ads and reminders, and it won’t be the last.
Windows Backup isn’t bad, but…
Generally speaking, it’s not a bad idea to back up your most important data with Windows Backup. However, you don’t have to use Microsoft’s OneDrive for your Windows system.
There are also plenty of free backup software options that can back up your files offline without needing cloud storage. Check out our favorite picks for Windows backup software to learn more.
Editor’s note: This article originally published on July 22 but was updated to include links to recent broken Windows Updates and additional backup options.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
Author: Laura Pippig, Staff Writer, PC-WELT
Laura is an enthusiastic gamer as well as a movie and TV fan. After studying communication science, she went straight into a job at PCMagazin and Connect Living. Since then, she has been writing about everything to do with PCs and technology topics, and has been a permanent editor at our German sister site PC-WELT since May 2024.