Microsoft 365 Family: Find Who Uses Most OneDrive

This guide shows you how to see which member of your Microsoft 365 Family subscription is using the most OneDrive storage. You’ll need to be the account owner (the person who set up the subscription) and sign in at the Microsoft account website. The process takes about two minutes and shows exact usage per person.

What You’ll Need

• Access to the Microsoft account that owns the Microsoft 365 Family subscription
• A web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari)
• Your Microsoft account password (or a saved login)

Step-by-Step

1. Go to the Microsoft account page. Open your browser and go to account.microsoft.com. This is the central hub for all Microsoft subscriptions and settings.
2. Sign in as the owner. Use the email address and password associated with the Microsoft 365 Family subscription. If you have two-step verification enabled, complete that prompt as well.
3. Open the Services & subscriptions page. Once signed in, look for a menu or a grid of icons. Click on Services & subscriptions. This page lists all Microsoft products tied to your account, including your Office/Microsoft 365 plan.
4. Find your Microsoft 365 Family subscription. Look for the tile labeled Microsoft 365 Family. It will usually show the renewal date and the number of people sharing it (e.g., “6 of 6”). Click on the tile or the Manage button next to it.
5. Click “Sharing” or “Manage sharing”. After clicking Manage, you’ll see a new page with subscription details. Look for a tab or link called Sharing or Manage sharing. This is where you control who has access to your subscription.
6. Scroll to the member list. The Sharing page shows a table or list of every person you’ve invited. Each row displays their name, email address, and a status (like “Active” or “Hasn’t accepted”).
7. Check the storage column. In the same table, look for a column labeled Storage or OneDrive usage. It will show a value like “342 GB of 1 TB” or “12 GB of 1 TB” for each person. The person with the highest number is using the most storage.
8. Note the exact amount. If the column is not visible, you may need to click on an individual member’s row or a “Details” icon to expand their info. The usage figure is always shown in gigabytes (GB) and compared against the 1 TB (1,024 GB) limit.
9. Optional: Manage their storage. If someone is close to the 1 TB limit, you can click the “…” menu next to their name and choose to remove them or send a reminder. You cannot increase their storage beyond 1 TB per person.

Common Mistakes

• Checking the wrong account. If you are a family member but not the owner, you won’t see the storage breakdown. Only the owner can view everyone’s usage.
• Looking at the OneDrive website instead. Going to onedrive.com and checking your own quota only shows your personal usage, not the family’s. You must use the account management page.
• Confusing storage with email. The storage column on the sharing page is for OneDrive files only. It does not include Outlook email storage or other Microsoft services.
• Expecting a real-time number. The usage figure may lag by a few minutes. If someone just deleted a large file, the number might not update immediately.
• Clicking “Manage” on the wrong tile. If you have multiple subscriptions (like a separate OneDrive standalone plan), make sure you click the one labeled Microsoft 365 Family.

Tips

• Use the search bar on the sharing page. If you have many members, type a name in the search box to quickly find a specific person.
• Check the “Storage” column header. It is sometimes sortable. Click the header to sort members from highest to lowest usage.
• Set expectations early. Send a message to members who are using more than 80% of their quota. OneDrive will also send them warnings automatically at 90% and 100%.
• Free up space without deleting files. Members can use the OneDrive “Free up space” feature on their PC to make files online-only, which keeps them in the cloud but not on the local drive. This does not reduce cloud usage, but it helps with local disk space.
• Review the “Recycle Bin” usage. The storage number includes files in the OneDrive recycle bin. If a member deleted a huge file, it still counts until the bin is emptied.

Troubleshooting

• The Sharing tab is missing. This usually means you are not the subscription owner. Ask the owner to log in, or check if you are signed in with the correct email. If you are the owner and still don’t see it, try a different browser or clear your cache.
• The storage column shows “—” or is blank. This can happen if a member hasn’t accepted the invitation yet, or if their OneDrive account is not fully set up. Ask them to go to onedrive.com and sign in once. The number will appear after they do.
• The page says “Something went wrong.” This is often a temporary server issue. Wait 10 minutes and refresh. If it persists, sign out and sign back in.
• You see a total number but not per-person. The total is shown at the top of the page, but the per-person breakdown is in the table below. Scroll down until you see the list of names.
• A member says their usage is higher than shown. The number shown is the OneDrive quota usage. If they also use SharePoint or Teams, that data is separate and not included here.
• You cannot remove a member. You can only remove someone who has accepted the invitation. If they haven’t accepted, you can cancel the invitation instead. Look for a “Cancel invitation” option in their row menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I increase a family member’s OneDrive storage beyond 1 TB?
A: No. Each person in Microsoft 365 Family gets a fixed 1 TB (1,024 GB) of OneDrive storage. The owner cannot allocate more to one person. If someone needs more, they would need a separate paid OneDrive plan.

Q: Does the storage usage include files in the recycle bin?
A: Yes. Files in the OneDrive recycle bin count toward the storage quota until they are permanently deleted. Emptying the recycle bin can free up space immediately.

Q: What happens if a member reaches 1 TB?
A: They cannot upload new files until they free up space. Microsoft will send them email warnings at 90% and 100% usage. The owner can also see this on the sharing page and remind the member.

Q: Can I see storage usage from the OneDrive app on my phone?
A: No. The mobile OneDrive app only shows your own usage. The family-wide breakdown is only available on the account.microsoft.com website in a browser.

Q: Does Outlook email count toward the 1 TB?
A: No. The 1 TB is exclusively for OneDrive files. Outlook mailbox storage is separate and has its own limits (typically 50 GB).

Q: How often is the storage number updated?
A: It updates nearly in real time, but there can be a delay of a few minutes after a large upload or delete. If you just changed something, refresh the page after 5 minutes to see the new value.

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