The OneDrive app on Windows sure has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. And this newest bit of development is not something that will amuse the user base.
There are signs that Microsoft is going to remove the Fetch Files feature from the application at the end of this month. Support for this convenient little feature is set to end across all versions of Windows, starting July 31, 2020.
In fact, the software titan has quietly updated its support document to reflect this change:
“After July 31, 2020, you will no longer be able to fetch files from your PC. However, you can sync files and folders to OneDrive and then access those files from your web browser or your phone. To automatically sync the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders on your PC, you can turn on OneDrive PC folder backup.”
For the uninitiated, this feature allows OneDrive users the ability to access any file and folder on Windows PCs that are running the desktop client simply by going to the OneDrive website. Network locations are also supported.
Microsoft has not provided the reason for retiring support for the Fetch Files feature.
But chances are that it probably is not used by a lot of Windows users. Then again, the functionality is not enabled by default on OneDrive for Windows, and you have to dig around a little to discover and then use it.
There is also the likelihood that Microsoft may prefer user to sync all their files and folders to the cloud storage service, which requires paying for more storage.
Take your pick.
