In June 2019, Microsoft added a new Personal Vault feature to OneDrive that lets you lock your files in the cloud. Initially, the new service was only available in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Microsoft announced the global availability of the service in October 2019.
The new service offers a protected area in OneDrive that you can only access with some authentication method or a second step of authentication, such as your fingerprint, a PIN, or a code sent to you via email or SMS.
Your locked files in Personal Vault have an extra layer of security, keeping them safe in case someone gains access to your account or device. Personal Vault appears as a special folder in your account.
On Windows 10 devices, Microsoft uses BitLocker to encrypt files stored in Personal Vault. The contents of Personal Vault are encrypted while they are being uploaded to Microsoft servers.
Personal Vault is a free, unlimited feature for Office 365 subscribers. OneDrive users without a subscription will be able to store up to three files in the protected folder.
However, if you don't have an Office 365 Home or Personal subscription, you can put more than 3 files in a ZIP file and upload them to Personal Vault to bypass the limitation.
OneDrive Personal Vault is enabled by default. If you don't plan to use it and want to get rid of it, you can disable it by following these steps:
Note: Disabling Personal Vault will delete all files you have stored in the Personal Vault folder and they cannot be recovered.
To disable OneDrive Personal Vault,
Open the OneDrive website and sign in to the service with your account.
Click the settings gear icon to open the settings.
Click the “Options” link under “Settings”
In Options, click the Personal Vault tab on the left and click Verify your identity on the right.
Verify your account with one of the available OneDrive methods.
Finally, click Disable.
You can reactivate whenever you want, following the same path we mentioned above and clicking on Enable Personal Vault.
