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Jon L.9's avatar
Jon L.9
New member | Level 1
10 years ago
Solved

How to turn off syncing?

I just discovered today that Dropbox automatically copies everything in my Dropbox storage to my local harddrive. I have no idea why this is a default feature, since automatically copying 1TB of files to my computer defeats the entire point of having cloud storage.

Is there a way to disable syncing altogether? I am perfectly capable of uploading and downloading my files on an as-needed basis.

 

  • I have no idea why this is a default feature, since automatically copying 1TB of files to my computer defeats the entire point of having cloud storage

     

    This is because this is the whole point of Dropbox - it is what it was designed and intended to do. It is not 'just' cloud storage. It is a syncing tool. It is supposed to sync everything between computers. 

    To disable syncing to the computer close and/or remove the Dropbox application from your machine and just use the website to upload and download 

5 Replies

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  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    10 years ago

    I have no idea why this is a default feature, since automatically copying 1TB of files to my computer defeats the entire point of having cloud storage

     

    This is because this is the whole point of Dropbox - it is what it was designed and intended to do. It is not 'just' cloud storage. It is a syncing tool. It is supposed to sync everything between computers. 

    To disable syncing to the computer close and/or remove the Dropbox application from your machine and just use the website to upload and download 

  • Jon L.9's avatar
    Jon L.9
    New member | Level 1
    10 years ago

    Is there a way to not sync everything in my Dropbox account, but rather only sync select files? To opt out of syncing and only opt-in for specific files?

     

    I've looked into Selective Syncing, but it doesn't load the folders in my account; It only loads one "Dropbox" folder with the message "Trying to connect to Dropbox..."

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    10 years ago

    You can use selective sync, 

    And if you are getting that message something is causing issues on your machine with Dropbox's connection (firewall/antiviruses etc.)

  • Yvonne C.3's avatar
    Yvonne C.3
    New member | Level 1
    10 years ago

    I need to manually sync as I live remotely and pay for data.

    I successfully turned of synchronizing and now that I am in a wifi zone have updated, but now I cant find where to turn it off again!

    I thought is was in the preferences file but can't find it.

    help?

  • Yvonne C.3's avatar
    Yvonne C.3
    New member | Level 1
    10 years ago

    ps nowhere in your HELP does it answer this question.

    there is only information of pausing and resuming a sync....

     

    [This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]

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