Every licensed Microsoft 365 user is given private cloud storage here for work files, which sync across their devices. Data for a department or the whole organisation belongs in SharePoint, not here.
Also called OneDrive for work or school.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains OneDrive in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Microsoft 365
Formerly Office 365, Microsoft's software-as-a-service productivity suite. A Microsoft Entra tenant provides its identity, and its data is not governed by Azure RBAC.
- Chat message roles
Labels on chat messages: instructions go under system, the person's input under user, the model's previous answers under assistant, and results returned by a called tool under tool (or function).
- private cloud
Infrastructure run for one organisation alone but operated like a cloud, with self-service, automation and multi-tenancy. Broadcom positions VCF as its platform for building one.
- General-purpose v1
The older storage account kind (
Storage), which lacks access tiers, Archive and premium file shares and retires on 13 October 2026. Converting to ZRS requires first upgrading to GPv2, a one-way change.
Related terms
- Agent's user account
Optional Microsoft Entra user object tied one-to-one to an agent identity, for services such as a mailbox, Teams or OneDrive that expect a user. No password or passkey exists for it, and privileged admin roles cannot be assigned to it.
- Anyone link
A SharePoint or OneDrive link that opens the item for anybody holding it, with no sign-in, which means its use isn't auditable. Files in a Teams shared channel site can't be shared this way.
- Auto-labelling policy
A Purview policy that labels content without user involvement: documents stored in SharePoint and OneDrive and messages passing through Exchange. It is tested in simulation mode before being turned on, and unlike labelling in the Office apps it cannot just suggest a label.
- Block download policy
Restricts a single site or OneDrive to view-in-browser access, configured with PowerShell as part of SharePoint Advanced Management. People can't download, print, sync, open files in desktop apps or move them elsewhere.
- Cloud attachments
Shared links to SharePoint or OneDrive documents posted in Teams, Outlook or Viva Engage, or used by Copilot. eDiscovery can pick them up, and retention labels applied automatically can save a copy of each newly shared document.
- Compliance boundaries
An eDiscovery arrangement using role groups together with search permissions filters, so each agency's eDiscovery managers only see their own agency's cases and can only search its sites, mailboxes and OneDrive accounts.
- Copilot Retrieval API
Developers call this API to get relevant text chunks out of SharePoint, OneDrive and Copilot connectors, grounding their own AI solutions. Data stays put and permissions are respected. Copilot-licensed users pay nothing, and unlicensed users can try a pay-as-you-go preview.
- Data Security Posture Agent
Lets admins ask questions in plain language across Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive and Copilot interactions for quick checks before an investigation. It is a Security Copilot agent in preview inside the current DSPM and uses security compute units.