PSA - Is Xbox aware they are deleting customers entire local storage? Microsoft's team...

I am not sure that Xbox is aware of this issue, but it seems quite serious for thousands of users & Xbox/Microsoft seems to be massively misleading or miscommunicating to consumers about thier data and local storage.

Yesterday I logged onto my console and when I went to check on my local storage, which has seemed not to have had any change until recently (Not Xbox Network, which is the cloud, but my local storage that hasn't changed in years) all of my captures and clips for the last several years are now gone. Randomly and without user permission or notice.

I started to dig into this issue, CNET reported on April 25th, 2024 that Xbox publicly announced changes to the Xbox Network not local storage (the cloud backup portion of your saves, not your ROOT save folder on your local storage device). Xbox said, "Backup your best gaming moments. Game captures on the Xbox NETWORK will be deleted after 90 days. Deletions start 5/30/24."

CNET wrote themselves on their article, "Captures stored on your console will remain, but the cloud backups will be deleted." - Nothing about your local storage being wiped because why would Microsoft need to wipe your local storage? This is the entire point in having a local SSD with high storage capacity!

Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/xbox-will-start-deleting-old-captures-on-may-30-heres-how-to-save-them/

When you are on Xbox it allows you to choose where you keep your saved clips at - on "local storage" or on "Xbox Network," which implies two completely seperate saving areas. The cloud backup is just a backup not the actual save location. (or root file of the capture) of my and many other clips.

Here's the problem: Xbox has started clearing out thousands of users entire local storage. It's all gone.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqovPjvVAZU&t=10s

Users like myself are finding our local storage completely wiped.

"I had old screenshots from Minecraft with my friends, and the old seasons of Fortnite, just to realize they are all gone…"

"7 years worth Xbox memories gone"

"This is disgusting. Thank you for shedding light on this."

"I lost just about every Fortnite, Cod, Apex event gone forever I’m so livid"

"I actually cried. Friends that arent here anymore were kept alive in our old clips playing cod laughing it up. All gone"

When I contacted both Xbox support and a private Microsoft engineer that I know through our gaming business both parties were shocked at the issue, have no idea why it would be happening, and both have said this makes zero sense.

Xbox & Microsoft really, really, needs to fix this situation. Deleting files on a local SSD that consumers have paid for is a massive consumer rights issue that I'm not entirely sure even Xbox leadership is really in the know about.

:)