OneDrive, defining what you uploaded to the cloud

I just found out that I have almost 100g of used storage in the cloud, but the vast majority of it is video, pictures, screenshots, that were deleted, either on my desktop or phone gallery.

The real problem is that the videos take up so much space. How can I manage this?

almost 100g of used storage in the cloud

Depends what plan you have with Onedrive.
Various free options for cloud storage from 5Gb thru 100Gb to 1Tb.

To see these options use Google: search for e.g.
How much space do I get free with onedrive

Note that Onedrive provides versioned backup online i.e. potentially multiple copies.

This gives some basic ways of managing Onedrive data - from the searchable Tutorials section, where there are several Onedrive tutorials:
View, Restore, and Delete Previous Versions of Files on OneDrive

As to what happens when you delete files:

Are deleted files removed from OneDrive?

If you're signed into OneDrive with a Microsoft account, items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted 30 days after they're put there. If you're signed in with a work or school account, items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted after 93 days, unless the administrator has changed the setting.

Many more related items if you use Google to search for e.g.
why aren't files I delete deleted from Onedrive

dalchina said:

Depends what plan you have with Onedrive

I know the capacity, but I need to find the way to stop the automatic uploading of the videos. In general, I prefer OneDrive over Google Drive, but in Google drive, when I delete the item locally, it is removed from the cloud.

In the least, I'd like that same behavior in OneDrive.

And thank you for your reply.

Sync Any Folder to OneDrive in Windows 10

lets you choose folders. So choose where you put your videos and choose folders accordingly.

I know the capacity,

Great. Your reply doesn't explain why you are concerned, space-wise. See mine on file deletion timing.

dalchina said:

So choose where you put your videos and choose folders accordingly.

dalchina said:

Your reply doesn't explain why you are concerned, space-wise. See mine on file deletion timing

File deletion timing is not my worry. It's bring able to delete videos in convenient way, i.e. how Google Drive allows it to be done. Here's my dilemma. It seems that my occupied cloud space has ballooned now to a far greater degree than in the past. The way it is going, if I don't find a way to manage it, i.e., eliminate video upload, I'll be constantly having to monitor it, which is not how I care to spend my time.

These are my current settings. As we can see, I have disabled what one might expect to achieve the results I'm looking for, including "save photos and videos from devices", which is exactly where all the videos are from, which is my phone.
.


However, our conversation got me curious. When you select "Manage Backup", it get a little confusing for me. First, the term "Pictures", for me, represents images, not videos. Not to mention, of the three folders, listed there, My Document & Desktop are local, but, my "Pictures" folder has apparently been commandeered by OneDrive.



So it seems that it is all or nothing? Disabling the "Pictures" folder is the only way to stop videos uploading, but images will be collateral damage? Unless there's a simple of deleting media, as is is with Google Drive, thru the Gallery app.

Then do not let it sync any media and place those on a different drive that is not allowed to sync. Allowing your computer to sync with a third party cloud does authorize that service to scan for certain things that can be incriminating.

, I'll be constantly having to monitor it

Apparently there's an email warning at 80% full...

Please understand that Onedrive has certain default folders it syncs. Of those, you can deselect folders.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...5-a14ff2415e85

The tutorial I last quoted allows you to add other folders elsewhere outside that default set. Between those two you can select which folders are synched- and that can now, with that tutorial- be any folder of your choosing.

As I said and bro67- if you don't want something synched - put it in a non-synched folder.

Selecting file types to be synched
Whilst OneDrive itself doesn't seem to support this, this link presents a method of doing so:
How Do I Exclude Files from OneDrive Sync: 3 Ways
-albeit it makes use of another (free) service to do so!

Perhaps you need to research how Onedrive works - try reading the tutorials here, and then doing appropriate searches.
E.g. I just searched for
which folders are backed up by Onedrive

(I uninstalled Onedrive a long time ago and have never used it).

If you wish, you can choose not to use the Onedrive app/program at all, but use a 3rd party tool which makes use of your Onedrive cloud storage space.
automatic backup to onedrive without synciing