OneDrive gives you storage — but it’s Microsoft storage, tied to a Microsoft account, optimised for Microsoft 365. A Private Data Pod works on open standards, with no Microsoft account required and no lock-in to the Windows/Office ecosystem.
Side by side
| Feature | 🔐 Private Data Pod | ☁️ Microsoft OneDrive |
|---|---|---|
| You own the data | ✓ | ✗ |
| No Microsoft account required | ✓ | ✗ |
| No ad targeting or data profiling | ✓ | Consumer accounts vary |
| Built on an open W3C standard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Switch providers without losing app integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Granular per-file access control | ✓ | Sharing links & permissions |
| Works with third-party apps via open protocol | ✓ | Microsoft Graph API only |
| Account not tied to other paid services | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free tier | ✓ 1 GB free | ✓ 5 GB free |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
The details
OneDrive is bundled with your Microsoft account — the same account you use for Xbox, Outlook, Teams, and potentially Windows itself. If Microsoft suspends or locks your account for any reason, you lose access to all of those services simultaneously, including everything stored in OneDrive.
Your pod is a standalone data store, independent of any other service. There's no bundled email, no gaming platform, no operating system login. If you ever need to migrate, you export your pod in open formats and move to any compatible host — no dependencies to untangle.
Microsoft scans OneDrive contents for policy violations and uses metadata to improve its services. Files opened in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint via the web generate telemetry tied to your account. For business/enterprise plans, your files may be subject to Microsoft's data processing terms and in-scope for Copilot AI training unless you opt out.
We host your pod but we don't scan, analyse, or learn from its contents. Our business is subscriptions, not data intelligence. Your files are yours — there's no AI co-pilot reading your documents and no telemetry pipeline fed by your usage patterns.
Third-party apps integrate with OneDrive via the Microsoft Graph API. That API is Microsoft's proprietary interface. If you switch providers, every integration you've built breaks. Apps are designed to assume your data lives in Microsoft's infrastructure, permanently.
Solid apps connect to your pod URL using the open Solid Protocol, a W3C standard. Any developer can build an app against this open spec. Moving your pod to a different host doesn't break your apps — they connect to your URL, which stays yours regardless of who hosts it.
OneDrive's paid storage is only available as part of Microsoft 365 Personal ($69.99/yr) or Family plans. You can't buy additional OneDrive storage without subscribing to Microsoft 365. If you don't need Word, Excel, or Outlook, you're still paying for them to access OneDrive.
We offer 1 GB free and a $9.99/month Pro tier with 10 GB. That's it — no productivity suite bundled in, no annual commitment, no features you don't need. For personal data storage, the right-sized plan at the right price, without the upsell.