New Update Microsoft 365 changes: Family and Premium plan storage cuts and new Pro plan

[lokamoka820]

Microsoft announced a series of changes for its Microsoft 365 subscription service today. The changes affect family and premium subscribers only at this time and change storage quotas significantly.

For those unaware, a Microsoft 365 subscription includes access to Microsoft Office apps, online storage, Copilot AI access and some other features. The two main plans for many customers are Personal, which gives one person access on up to five devices, and Family, which gives up to 6 people access.

Up until now, Family included 1 TB of storage for each member. Starting October 8, 2026 for new customers, this is reduced to 2 TB shared storage. In other words, users of a Family plan no longer have private storage. When a member buys additional storage, it is added to the shared pool as well.

The same was true for the Premium plan, which supported up to 6 people as well. Instead of 1 TB for each user, Premium subscribers get 2 TB shared now.

Microsoft 365 Pro is a new plan that Microsoft introduced. Subscribers get 5 TB of shared storage and the highest limits when using Copilot AI. This new plan is anything but cheap though. It costs $99.99 per month and includes up to 6 users. However, AI features are limited to the subscription owner according to the description.

Microsoft 365 changes: Family and Premium plan storage cuts and new Pro plan - Chipp.in Tech News and Reviews

Microsoft announced a series of changes for its Microsoft 365 subscription service today. The changes affect family and premium subscribers only at this time and...

chipp.in

 

[TuxTalk]

Just in time i cancelled my subscription for the family plan and terminated my Outlook.com account.
I use Softmaker NX / Proton Mail and Tuta Mail.

I refuse to spend any more money on Microsoft products.

 

[Halp2001]

I understand the frustration of those who were using several terabytes of storage shared among family members. Personally, I prefer keeping important photos and files on external drives and using the cloud mainly for synchronization and recent backups.

Perhaps this change is a good opportunity to review your storage strategy and avoid relying exclusively on a single service. OneDrive can still be part of the equation, but combining it with local backups or other alternatives can provide greater flexibility and control in the long term.

In the end, keeping a local copy of important data is usually a good practice, regardless of which cloud provider you use.

 

[TuxTalk]

I understand the frustration of those who were using several terabytes of storage shared among family members. Personally, I prefer keeping important photos and files on external drives and using the cloud mainly for synchronization and recent backups.

Perhaps this change is a good opportunity to review your storage strategy and avoid relying exclusively on a single service. OneDrive can still be part of the equation, but combining it with local backups or other alternatives can provide greater flexibility and control in the long term.

In the end, keeping a local copy of important data is usually a good practice, regardless of which cloud provider you use.

For me nothing to do with the storage, we hardly use this option. Just Microsoft are moneywolves. Glad no more MS products in use here.

 

[cofer123]

I still rely on them for my offsite backup (not for long). I have two Family subscriptions and joined storage through rclone union for a total of 12TB.

This change has just nuked that.

The Family plans were the cheapest option at my country, but not anymore after this change. Since yesterday I'm testing Hetzner with a 10TB plan and so far it's much faster and easier to maintain (no need for union and multiple accounts anymore). A bit more pricey but not by a lot, so it's a reasonable alternative.

Microsoft can just get lost. What a terrible and nonsensical change. The wording they use is the worst part of it all. At least this came at the right time, since my subs renew in 20 days. Not anymore.