My Sites In SharePoint

My Sites in SharePoint—originally introduced in SharePoint 2007 and evolved significantly through SharePoint 2013, 2016, and SharePoint Online—provide each user with a personal workspace for document storage, profile management, and social collaboration within the enterprise. In modern SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365, the My Site concept has been replaced and enhanced by OneDrive for Business (personal file storage), the Delve profile experience, and Microsoft 365 user profiles, but understanding the architecture and governance of personal sites remains essential for organizations managing migrations and enterprise content strategies.

What Are My Sites in SharePoint?

My Sites are personal SharePoint site collections automatically provisioned for each user in the organization. They serve three primary functions within the enterprise SharePoint ecosystem:

• Personal document storage – Each My Site includes a personal document library where users store working documents, drafts, and personal files. In SharePoint Online, this has been replaced by OneDrive for Business, which provides 1 TB of cloud storage per user
• User profile and expertise – My Sites display user profile information including job title, department, skills, interests, manager, and direct reports. This information feeds the organization directory, search people results, and expertise-finding capabilities
• Social feed and activity – In SharePoint 2013, My Sites included a Newsfeed for microblogging, activity streams, and following colleagues, sites, and documents. This social functionality has been replaced by Yammer (Viva Engage) and Microsoft Teams in modern Microsoft 365
• Blog and personal pages – Classic My Sites allowed users to create personal blog posts and wiki pages. In modern SharePoint, this has evolved into SharePoint pages and news posts within team and communication sites

My Sites in SharePoint Online (OneDrive for Business)

In SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365, the personal document storage component of My Sites has evolved into OneDrive for Business:

• 1 TB default storage – Each licensed user receives 1 TB of OneDrive storage (expandable to 5 TB for tenants with 5+ users); this is the modern replacement for the My Site document library
• Sync client – OneDrive sync (OneDrive.exe) enables offline access and automatic synchronization of files between the cloud and local devices, replacing the need to save files to the My Site through a browser
• File sharing and collaboration – Share individual files or folders with internal colleagues or external partners with granular permission controls (view, edit, specific people, expiration dates)
• Version history – Automatic versioning preserves the last 500 versions of every file, enabling recovery from accidental edits, deletions, or ransomware attacks
• Known Folder Move (KFM) – IT administrators can redirect Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive, ensuring user files are automatically backed up to the cloud without user intervention
• Compliance and retention – OneDrive for Business is governed by the same retention policies, DLP rules, and eDiscovery capabilities as SharePoint Online, providing unified compliance management

User Profile Management and Configuration

User profiles are the backbone of the My Site experience and feed into search, people cards, and organizational hierarchy visualization:

• Azure AD synchronization – User profile properties (name, title, department, manager, office location, phone) sync from Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) to SharePoint user profiles
• Custom profile properties – Organizations can add custom properties such as certifications, project assignments, language skills, and compliance training completion status
• Profile completeness – Encourage users to complete profiles with profile photos, About Me sections, and skill tags to improve search discoverability and expertise-finding
• Audience targeting – User profile properties drive audience targeting for news, navigation, and content on SharePoint communication sites and hub sites
• Delve / Microsoft 365 profile – The modern profile experience surfaces documents the user has worked on, organizational chart, upcoming meetings, and colleague activity

Governance and Administration Best Practices

My Sites and OneDrive for Business require governance policies to prevent data sprawl, ensure compliance, and manage the user lifecycle:

• Storage quotas – Set appropriate OneDrive storage limits per user or per license type; monitor storage consumption to identify users approaching limits
• External sharing policies – Configure tenant-level and site-level external sharing policies to control whether users can share OneDrive content with people outside the organization
• Retention and deletion policies – Define what happens to a departed employee's OneDrive content; by default, the manager receives access for 30 days, then the site is deleted. Configure longer retention periods for compliance requirements
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) – Apply DLP policies to OneDrive to detect and protect sensitive information (SSN, credit card numbers, PHI) stored in personal file libraries
• Sensitivity labels – Enable users to apply sensitivity labels to files in OneDrive, adding encryption and access controls that persist when files are downloaded or shared
• Access reviews – Periodically review external sharing links and permissions on OneDrive content to ensure access is still appropriate

Migrating from Classic My Sites to Modern OneDrive

Organizations still using SharePoint 2013 or 2016 My Sites need to plan their migration to OneDrive for Business in SharePoint Online:

• Content assessment – Audit all My Site content to identify active personal sites, total data volume, and any sites with external sharing or custom permissions
• Migration tooling – Use SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) or third-party tools (ShareGate, Metalogix, BitTitan) to migrate My Site content to OneDrive for Business while preserving metadata and permissions
• Orphaned My Sites – Identify My Sites belonging to departed employees; decide whether to migrate, archive, or delete this content based on retention requirements
• Known Folder Move deployment – After migration, deploy KFM via Intune or Group Policy to redirect Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive, providing a seamless transition for users
• User training – Train users on OneDrive sync, sharing, and mobile access to ensure adoption; the experience is significantly different from classic My Sites

Why Choose EPC Group for SharePoint and OneDrive Consulting

EPC Group has 28+ years of SharePoint consulting experience, spanning every version from SharePoint 2003 through SharePoint Online. As a Microsoft Gold Partner with 4 bestselling Microsoft Press books on SharePoint and Microsoft 365, we have managed My Site migrations, OneDrive governance, and user profile architectures for enterprises with 50,000+ users. Our expertise in compliance-heavy industries (healthcare, financial services, government) ensures your personal storage and profile infrastructure meets regulatory requirements while maximizing user productivity.

Frequently Asked Questions