OneDrive Personal Vault: How to use it to stash ultra-sensitive files

Skittish about storing sensitive documents on your PC? Microsoft’s built-in OneDrive security feature might help.

- JARED NEWMAN

In recent weeks, I’ve amassed a substantial number of sensitive digital documents for entirely mundane reasons. Between preparing for tax season and home refinancing, I’m sitting on a pile of PDFs, all full of detailed personal information. This created a small dilemma: I didn’t want to delete the files or leave them out in the open on my hard drive, but I wasn’t keen on printing them out on reams of paper either. That’s when I remembered Personal Vault (fave.co/3t1Ot72), a feature of Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage service that adds an extra layer of protection for important documents.

Viewing or modifying files in the OneDrive Personal Vault requires an additional code—sent via email or text message by default—and on Windows 10 or higher, Microsoft stores those files in a BitLocker-encrypted portion of your hard drive. (OneDrive also encrypts all files stored online, whether they’re in the Vault or not.) In theory, that means someone who breaches your OneDrive account or accesses your computer without permission would have a tougher time getting to those important documents. Still, the level of protection that Personal Vault provides in practice depends largely on how you set it up.

LAYERS OF PROTECTION