Microsoft OneDrive is a popular cloud storage platform that offers a significant chunk of cloud storage for free. As a user, you may use it until you consume a limited quota. It also has some extra perks. Some key benefits of using OneDrive over traditional hard disks are large file sharing, accessibility, and real-time synchronization. If you’re running out of OneDrive storage, here are some tips to clean up your OneDrive files.

Empty Recycle Bin

Your OneDrive Recycle Bin may be full, as there may be too many files in it. Emptying your Recycle Bin might help to free up some storage.

1. Open your OneDrive.
2. Sign in to your account.
3. Click Empty Recycle Bin.
4. Confirm.

Note: Any files in your OneDrive’s Recycle Bin are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Get Large Files List

There may be too many large files in your OneDrive account. The easiest way to detect such files is using OneDrive’s large file viewing feature. Once OneDrive shows a list, you may review them and delete the ones you don’t need. Or you may also download them to your PC and then delete them from your OneDrive account if you need those files later.

1. Sign in to OneDrive.
2. Click “My Files” on the left.
3. On the bottom left part, you will see your storage usage information. For example, “4.5 GB used out of 5 GB.” Click it.
4. Now click “What’s taking up space?”
5. It will open a new page.
6. You’ll get thumbnails of all larger files in your account.
7. Use the checkbox on the top right of every file you want to download and delete.
8. After selecting your files, click Download on the toolbar.
9. Wait until your files are downloaded. It may take time, as your files are first compressed into a single archive and then downloaded. If you’re using a low-speed Internet, the download speed may get affected.
10. Once finished, it’s safe to delete the downloaded files from OneDrive.

Delete Duplicate Files

Duplicate files can hang around in many folders on your OneDrive, even if you haven’t accessed them for years. As the number of duplicate copies increases, your storage space shrinks further, and choosing the correct version becomes a tedious job.

It may be possible that you might have not noticed those duplicates until your OneDrive ran out of storage. You can get rid of these duplicates using tools like Cloud Duplicate Finder.

Methods of Identifying Duplicates

There are multiple ways to discover duplicates. First, find dupes with the same names. You can do it easily if they are all inside a single folder.

One drawback of using this method is the lower probability of accuracy. Sometimes, there are files with the same name yet different texts. It is not possible to determine whether they’re duplicates by simply looking at their file names. Deleting such files without verifying can cause unexpected data loss.

The second option is the file content method, the most accurate but slower way of finding duplicates. Here, you compare the actual text inside your documents to determine whether they are dupes. This method has an edge over the former option. It identifies duplicates regardless of whether the files have the same name.

Using Cloud Duplicate Finder

Cloud Duplicate Finder is a web-based application. It detects OneDrive duplicates that have the same content. You may access CDF through your browser to identify and remove dupes. The process is straightforward. 

• Find duplicates documents, music, videos, archives, or any other files of your choice.
• Since no files are downloaded during the entire process, it saves your Internet band-width.
• CDF uses official APIs from your respective cloud service provider to securely access data. You may revoke these permissions at any time for the peace of your mind.
• Multiple file selection criteria to choose from.
• Delete duplicate files permanently or move them to a new folder
• In-house file previews
• Supports Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Box.
• File size filters to skip files above/ below specific sizes