Internet users are outraged by reports that OneDrive's AI facial recognition can only be opted out three times a year
Microsoft's cloud storage service, OneDrive, is set to add a feature that uses AI to recognize and classify faces in photos, and users will only have three chances per year to opt out, according to a report on the online message board Slashdot.
Microsoft's OneDrive Begins Testing Face-Recognizing AI for Photos (for Some Preview Users) - Slashdot
One Slashdot user reported on October 11, 2025, 'I uploaded some photos from my phone to Microsoft's file hosting app, OneDrive, and I was surprised to see a message under 'Privacy and Permissions' that said, 'OneDrive uses AI to recognize faces in your photos...'' 'And you can only turn this setting off three times a year.'
Below is a screenshot posted by a user. Under the 'Features' section, there's a 'People section' that reads, 'OneDrive uses AI to recognize faces in your photos to help you find photos of friends and family.' There's also a note that says, 'You can turn this feature off three times a year.'
When a user moved the slider to the left (Deny), the slider would snap back to the right and a message would appear saying, 'There was a problem updating this setting.' The user stated, 'Apparently, it wasn't 'three times a year.''
When I clicked on 'MICROSOFT PRIVACY STATEMENT' displayed at the bottom of the screen, a page called 'Group photos by people' was displayed. This feature uses AI to identify faces in photos, group them by person, and display photos of each person together.
Group photos by people - Microsoft Support
The 'Group Photos by Person' page states, 'This feature is planned for release soon, but has not yet been released. Please look forward to future updates.' Looking at the Wayback Machine , a website archiving service, we can see that the notation 'coming soon' has existed since at least November 2023.
Slashdot's team reached out to a Microsoft spokesperson about this issue, but the spokesperson declined to answer the following question: 'Why does OneDrive tell users that they can only turn this setting off three times a year? Are those three times you can turn it off anytime, or are they three specific dates like Christmas or New Year's Day?'
Regarding the issue of the slider reverting to the right after being moved to the left, Microsoft said, 'We're not aware of any issues with the toggle, but our staff will be investigating the cause.' Microsoft also said that the feature is already available as a preview to some users, but that it couldn't provide any further information at this time.
In response to a question from the Slashdot team asking, 'Some privacy advocates prefer an opt-in feature, but OneDrive appears to be planning a limited opt-out feature. Why opt-out instead of opt-in?' a spokesperson simply replied, 'OneDrive inherits privacy features and settings from Microsoft 365 and SharePoint , where applicable.'
Sorin Klossowski, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for free speech in the digital world, said, 'All privacy-related features should be opt-in, and companies should provide clear documentation so users understand the risks and benefits of their choices.' He also argued that users should be able to opt out whenever possible, and that there should be no limit of three times a year.
The issue has also become a hot topic on Hacker News, where users are strongly opposed to OneDrive's AI facial recognition feature, as it only allows users to disable it three times a year. One user commented, 'This is shocking. Microsoft clearly thinks users have no choice but to accept this tedious and ridiculous requirement.' Another user wrote, 'I know who is in my photos. Why does Microsoft want to know this information?'
Microsoft only lets you opt out of AI photo scanning 3x a year | Hacker News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45551504
Others criticized Microsoft's response, saying, 'Do Microsoft's spokespeople who are responding here not feel the inhumanity of their approach deep down?' Others speculated that Microsoft's restrictions were intended to avoid frequent on/off of the AI scanning feature, which incurs potential costs each time. Others said , 'Meta previously introduced a feature to reset user settings every month, but a Dutch court ruled that this violated user freedom.'
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How to uninstall OneDrive and never restore it again - GIGAZINE
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in Web Service, Security, Posted by log1h_ik