This article explains how to lock or unlock your OneDrive Personal Vault in Windows 11.
The OneDrive app lets you sync files and folders on your computer with Microsoft Cloud. It allows you to access them anywhere on your mobile devices and other computers using the service.
Your OneDrive service comes with a feature called Personal Vault. It is a protected area in OneDrive that you can only access with a robust authentication method or a second step of identity verification, such as your fingerprint, face, PIN, or a code sent to you via email or SMS.
Your locked files in Personal Vault have an extra layer of security, keeping them more secure if someone gains access to your account or device.
By default, your OneDrive Vault will automatically lock after a period of inactivity in Windows. Howerver, you can lock or unlock your Vault anytime.
The steps below show you how.
Lock or unlock OneDrive Personal Vault
As mentioned above, OneDrive Vault provides an extra layer of security by enforcing a secure PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition.
By default, your Vault will automatically lock after a period of inactivity. However, you can manually lock or unlock your Vault anytime; the steps show you how.
You may occasionally get a notification after a period of inactivity at the notification center. You can lock your OneDrive Personal Vault on the notification window by clicking the Lock Personal Vault button.
Another way to lock or unlock your OneDrive Personal Vault is via File Explorer. First, open File Explorer and browse your OneDrive folder.
Then right-click the Personal Vault and select OneDrive -> Lock Personal Vault on the context menu highlighted below.
If your OneDrive Personal Vault is locked, right-click on the Personal Vault and select OneDrive -> Unlock Personal Vault on the context menu highlighted below.
Yet another way to lock or unlock your OneDrive Personal Vault is to do it from the OneDrive’s fly-out menu from the notification center.
To do that, click the OneDrive icon on the Taskbar (Taskbar overflow) to open the menu. Then click the Lock Personal Vault button to lock your Vault.
If your Personal Vault is locked, click on Settings (gear) on the fly-out menu and select Unlock Personal Vault.
That should do it!
Conclusion:
This post showed you how to lock or unlock your OneDrive Personal Vault in Windows 11. If you find any errors above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.
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