Xbox Policy Update: Players Must Transfer Photos and Videos Before Deletion

At the beginning of this year, the Xbox team plans to make a slight policy change regarding the retention of photos and videos captured by players and device owners. Players will now have the option to keep their photos and videos from their devices by uploading them to OneDrive or choosing to retain them for 90 days before the console automatically deletes them.

This policy change will take effect in early January 2024. Players can either continue to save their photos for only 90 days, after which they will be automatically deleted from the Xbox device, or they can transfer their files to the OneDrive cloud application to keep them permanently there.

Microsoft has been issuing warnings to players since the announcement of this change, acknowledging that some players may need to retain files for specific purposes. Microsoft revealed that any cloud storage application that can be downloaded to Xbox devices, other than OneDrive, may assist players. In other words, the mentioned application is not the only solution provided by Microsoft.

Approximately 5 gigabytes of photos and videos can be uploaded to the OneDrive application. Therefore, players are advised to start transferring their files; otherwise, as mentioned earlier, they will be permanently deleted if they remain on their devices for more than 90 days. Here’s what the company stated about this matter in its blog:

Xbox devices will start deleting files, photos, and videos captured by players starting from October 1, 2023. We recommend transitioning to file transfer and storage via OneDrive, as the application will begin the process in early January 2024.