What is Microsoft Personal Vault and how do you use it?

January 10, 2020

What is it?

OneDrive is already known to be a secure place for your files, it has the security of being on the Microsoft servers and has multi factor authentication for your account. Think of OnceDrive as being the security system you’ve installed at your business to protect it, and Personal Vault is a safe you keep in the back with all of your top priority files. It’s the perfect place for sensitive financial documents, copies of you passport or other sensitive personal documents too.

On top of needing to authenticate when you log into your Microsoft account when you first sign in, you have to do it again if you want to access the vault. Making it very difficult for anyone to access these documents without your consent, and the best part is that it’s available on all your devices!

How does it work?

The authentication process for Personal Vault is actually very easy depending on the device you are on. You can provide a code set to your device, a pin, fingerprint, or even facial recognition in order to access it. As long as you are actively working in the vault it will stay open and active, but after twenty minutes of inactivity it locks back down to keep your documents secure until it’s unlocked again.

Because everything in the vault is encrypted they won’t be cached by your browser. They also can’t be shared with anyone, unlike other documents within OneDrive. Which means you can’t accidentally share sensitive documents that should be private to you.

On the phone app you can scan documents directly into the vault using your cellphone or tablet without having a copy on your device first.

How do you use it?

The vault can be synced directly on to your computer, used on the app, or on the web version of OneDrive. On the PC it will be located with the rest of your folders but will look like a safe, the first time you try and use it you will be prompted to set up. If you have Multi-factor Authentication set up on your account, which you should. You will receive a prompt to enter in a code, after that you will complete set up steps in order to get it ready to receive files.

From there you can drag files and documents into the vault from OneDrive on the app of from your PC.

Personal Vault is the perfect way for you to secure your sensitive files whether you are at home or traveling abroad for business. You can rest assured that your files are safe from anyone who would want to access them. It’s also the perfect place to store sensitive customer files you want to make sure are extra secure. This is just one of the many benefits Office 365 has to offer your business.