Microsoft 365 changes family storage to a shared 2 TB OneDrive pool

One storage pool for the subscription

Microsoft 365 Family and Premium now provide a shared 2 TB OneDrive pool across subscription members. Microsoft’s sharing FAQs apply the new setup to subscriptions bought from October 8, 2026, including expired subscriptions purchased again.

Microsoft’s previous plan comparison listed 1 TB per person for up to six people, or 6 TB combined. Those individual allowances were not a transferable pool. The change reduces the maximum combined capacity to 2 TB, while allowing one member to use more than 1 TB if shared space remains.

The 2 TB figure is the combined capacity, not a separate allocation for each member. If two people used 1 TB each, they would fill the pool. Adding further members would not multiply its capacity.

Existing subscribers change at a later renewal

Current subscribers move to the new arrangement at a renewal from May 2, 2027. That date starts the transition period. It is not a single switch-over date for every existing account.

Check your renewal date and add up the storage each member currently uses. The useful comparison is your household’s actual usage against the new pooled capacity. Sharing can accommodate uneven storage needs, but one person’s uploads also reduce the space remaining for everyone else.

Shared capacity does not expose private files

Microsoft says each member’s files, folders and mailbox remain private. A shared storage counter does not automatically grant access to another person’s photos or documents. Sharing a particular file remains a separate action.

For copies outside OneDrive, the 3-2-1 backup method helps avoid relying on a single account for every backup. When preparing an external drive for different computers, the choice between exFAT, APFS and NTFS affects which systems can read and write it.