Microsoft says OneDrive users won't be asked for feedback when quitting the app on Windows and that this type of feedback helps teams improve the product
Rate This Software: — 3 (187 votes) — Major Geeks Special Offer: Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority : Microsoft wants answers on why you dare close OneDrive (Update: Changes reverted) Martin Brinkmann / BetaNews : Best Windows apps this week Jim Love / ITBusiness.ca : Hashtag Trending Nov.10-Apple's co-founder rushed to hospital; Surge in AI engineering job openings; Could a solar storm shut down the internet? Rob Thubron / TechSpot : OneDrive users must justify why they are closing the app before exiting (Updated) Mastodon: @thegurkha@mstdn.social : Without telling you why I use #Linux here's why I use Linux... https://www.neowin.net/... Justin Pot / @jhpot@mastodon.social : Windows, increasingly, is just something Microsoft leverages to drive subscription revenue. https://www.neowin.net/... Bluesky: Emil Protalinski / @epro.social : OneDrive is great—if you take the time to set it up. If you don't, the app is a nuisance. Microsoft needs to fix the Windows-OneDrive setup flow instead of forcing its users to take a survey that belongs in a focus group. [embedded post] Russell Mathew / @russellmathew.com : Me: locks my computer — My computer: where TF do you think you're going?!? [embedded post] Mary Branscombe / @marypcbuk.bsky.social : I love OneDrive and this is so fucking dumb [embedded post] X: Marc-André Moreau / @awakecoding : Forcing users to explain themselves as they try to quit OneDrive is a sure way to encourage them to stop using it entirely 🤦 Scary Mary Branscombe / @marypcbuk : I think everyone knows what a huge OneDrive fan I am and I can't express what a dreadful own goal this is for Microsoft; way to drive potential users away in fury. The monthly OneDrive 'why don't you buy an Office subscription' notification is bad enough Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Microsoft won't let you close OneDrive on Windows until you explain yourself. You'll now need to answer a poll every time you try and close OneDrive 🤦 full details here 👉 https://www.theverge.com/... [image] @doctorow : The latest? You can't delete your #OneDrive account until you provide an acceptable explanation for your disloyalty: https://www.theverge.com/... 75/ Corey Quinn / @quinnypig : Counterpoint, I do deeply appreciate the @awscloud IAM console flow interruption containing the polite form of “excuse me, but exactly what the hell do you think you're doing? Some answers are terrifying” here. [image] Forums: Hacker News : Microsoft won't let you close OneDrive in Windows without you explaining it r/technews : Microsoft gives in and lets you close OneDrive on Windows without explaining yourself r/technology : Microsoft gives in and lets you close OneDrive on Windows without explaining yourself r/pcmasterrace : Microsoft won't let you close OneDrive on Windows until you explain yourself
Context & Ripple Effects
The change reverses Microsoft's brief experiment with an exit-reason prompt for the Windows sync client. It matters because a small interaction at app close can shape whether users see a bundled service as helpful or obstructive.
Later Windows privacy debates, including the move to make Recall opt-in with added protections, show why low-friction controls and clear consent became a broader trust issue for Microsoft.
First-order effects
- OneDrive users can quit the Windows app without selecting a reason, removing an immediate point of friction.
- Microsoft loses that explicit exit-feedback channel, despite saying the responses help product teams improve OneDrive.
Second-order effects
- OneDrive teams will need to weigh any lost qualitative feedback against the user experience cost of collecting it at the moment a user exits.
- The reversal makes similarly intrusive feedback prompts elsewhere in Windows more conspicuous: product teams have a clearer incentive to seek feedback through less interruptive flows.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft repeatedly retreats from compulsory or poorly timed prompts, Windows product design may shift toward more explicit opt-in and less coercive telemetry or feedback collection.
- The episode is a small example of a larger trust constraint: features that improve product measurement can still be counterproductive when users interpret the collection mechanism as disrespecting their control.
The trend: Microsoft's Windows ecosystem is moving toward a harder balance between gathering product signals and preserving visible user choice.