Microsoft OneDrive Tightens Control Over Facial-Recognition Features
Microsoft has been quietly exploring facial-recognition capabilities within OneDrive to help users organize and search photos by the people in them. The feature is currently in early access for some users, and it comes with a notable twist: a limit on how often you can turn the technology on or off. The development highlights how privacy, storage services, and AI are intersecting in everyday cloud tools.
What the feature does and how it’s presented
According to reporting from Slashdot, the facial-recognition capability is enabled by default for those in the preview. If you’re included, you’ll see a privacy-setting update stating: “OneDrive uses AI to recognize faces in your photos.” Microsoft’s official pages still describe the feature as coming soon, underscoring that the rollout is staged and evolving.
The intent, Microsoft says, is to help you quickly locate images containing friends and family by grouping photos by the people in them. The company emphasizes that face groupings are not publicly exposed, even if you share a photo or album, and it claims that facial scans aren’t used to train or improve the AI model overall. In a phrase often repeated by vendors cautious about data usage, Microsoft notes that it does not leverage your facial data to enhance the broader AI system.
Privacy design and what users should know
Microsoft states that the facial-recognition data is collected, stored, and used for the purposes of facial-grouping within OneDrive. It also ties the feature to the broader privacy features of Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, explaining that the opt-out choice inherits the same privacy controls across those products. This framing matters for users who are already managing privacy settings across a suite of Microsoft services.
Crucially, Microsoft confirms a limitation that stands out in practice: you can toggle the feature on and off only three times per year. When Slashdot pressed for details, the company did not offer further comment. A related screenshot from early January shows a toggle with the same three-times limit, suggesting the constraint has been present for some time and is now drawing more attention as more users gain access.
Microsoft also says that turning off the feature will permanently remove all facial-grouping data within 30 days. That retention and deletion window is relevant for users who are concerned about data lingering in the cloud even after they disable the feature.
Practical implications: What this means for users
For people who value quick photo searching by person, this feature can be a time-saver. However, the three-toggles-per-year limit creates a risk: users who experiment with enabling and disabling the option multiple times may hit the cap, potentially preventing them from adjusting settings during important moments (for example, after sharing photos with family or rethinking privacy preferences).
In comparison, Google Photos has offered Face Grouping since 2015 with no stated limit on toggling the feature, and it covers both people and animals. Apple Photos includes person- and pet-recognition features as well. The broader takeaway is that consumers now routinely encounter AI-driven tagging in multiple ecosystems, but the rules governing how often you can adjust that tagging can vary widely across services.
How to check if you’re in the OneDrive preview
If you want to see whether you’re part of the preview, navigate to OneDrive’s Settings, then Privacy and permissions. Look for a section labeled Features, followed by a People section. If you see the option to toggle facial-recognition, you can decide whether to enable or disable it. If you turn it off, remember the 30-day window to purge existing facial-grouping data.
What’s next for OneDrive’s facial-recognition effort
As with many AI features in cloud services, the timeline and scope remain fluid. Microsoft’s stance indicates a cautious approach: introduce practical organization tools, while preserving user control and adhering to privacy commitments tied to the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem. The limited toggles could be a design decision aimed at balancing feature usefulness with operational costs and privacy safeguards.
Bottom line
OneDrive’s facial-recognition feature exemplifies the tension between convenience and privacy in modern cloud services. For now, users in the preview should be mindful of the three-toggle rule and the 30-day data removal window if they choose to disable the feature. As Microsoft continues testing, observers will be watching to see whether the company expands controls, adjusts limits, or expands the feature to a wider audience with clearer usage guidance.
