According to Microsoft, between November 1 and 8, a survey pop-up was added to OneDrive in Windows 11 when users tried to close the sync client. This survey was only shown to a small number of users and was later removed based on user feedback.

The pop-up warned that files in the OneDrive folder wouldn’t sync or back up if the app was closed. This warning is justified given the main purpose of OneDrive is to back up files and sync across devices. However, what caused the backlash was the requirement to select a reason for quitting OneDrive from a dropdown menu.

Users were blocked from exiting the sync client unless they chose a reason. Microsoft later confirmed that the pop-up was removed due to user feedback.

The pop-up offered the options to cancel and allow OneDrive to run in the background, or to quit OneDrive and provide a reason for doing so. The pop-up was not a one-time occurrence and would reappear when attempting to close the client.

While Microsoft has been integrating OneDrive more into Windows 11, the reasoning behind the survey pop-up remains unclear. However, Microsoft appears to offer more choices to users compared to its competitors. For example, Apple and Google do not allow users to remove stock apps, while Microsoft has recently added a feature to Windows 11 that enables users to uninstall more inbox apps.