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I deleted my Dropbox Backup but files still are still accessible through the 'Recents' filter
Hi,
In my main account, I've deleted a Backup (proper Backup; a computer that was registered there).
Today, when exploring the "Recents" filtering on the Home page, I see the name of that computer, folders and files within are still there! I can even open and visualize them.
Even though they were supposed to be wiped; when I delete the whole Backup and confirm, they are not supposed to be stored under the retention period. Also, I don't see them anywhere else; not in Deleted Files; not in dropbox.com/backups, so there is no way to restore them or properly delete them.
When selecting those files in questions from the Recents filter, the only options I get are "File Info" and "File Activity", so Dropbox "knows" that those files are supposed to not exist anymore and, hence, it won't let me do anything. When you right click other; existing files there, you get all the options like Open, Share, Delete, etc.
In summary, this is clearly a (serious) bug:
- Those files should have been completely removed when I deleted the Backup
- They shouldn't show up in Recents list as a leftover
- Serious privacy issue, as not only they show there as some useless remnants, I get a thumbnail preview of them and I can double click to open! You are clearly storing my data I chose to delete!
As a side note, why can't we clear or selectively remove items from the Recents list; nor on the Web or the App? I've seen some posts from years ago. Is this ever going to be addressed? All the other main players (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) allow that, so why do I have to see stuff I don't want in my Recents filtering "forever" (or until they get cycled out; which I couldn't find any documentation on how many files you keep there)
Thanks.
Hi Megan Jay, I've fixed by doing the following:
- Unlinked all my devices
- Deleted the new backup I had created, in order to start from scratch
- At this point, the "Recents" filter was still showing that deleted data from the older backup still
- Went to dropbox.com/backups/all, refreshed the page several times and, at some point, I got a red message in a rectangle (didn't capture the screen) saying something like "There are some problems with your folders; resolve if you want to keep them or delete them" (even this message was bugged; we are not talking about "Folders" there; those are "Backups"...)
- Right then, the older deleted backup (Backup 1) in my example, appeared grayed out on the list, with the overflow menu giving me the option to delete it
- Did that; "Recents" filter had all those files and folders in that backup dissapear
As I was guessing in my previous message, something was really messed up. Even though I had no way to see that older backup, the "Recents" filter still showed those files. I don't know if both backups have somehow got mixed together or why "Backup 1" wasn't showing while I had the new one, but it was quite disconcerting.
I don't fully trust a couple of things now; first the whole Backup functionality (yeah, I know it says "Beta"), why data I though was deleted properly was still there (if I haven't gone through all this I'd have never known that my data was still recoverable - privacy issue), completely disjointed experience between all clients (web, mobile, desktop) on how it handles this (i.e. still now, the "Recents" filter show different items on web vs. mobile vs. desktop), etc. Will monitor for a while and think if I'll renew or not, but during all these things, I got the feeling that the platform wasn't as robust as the last time I used Dropbox when it started with cloud storage many years ago, so it will be difficult to trust my data to it moving forward.
I'll leave you a couple of questions, if you can answer:
- The "Recents" filter; since we can't remove items from there. How many items does it keep? Is it time-based (e.g. show the last year)? Does it depends on the amount of items there?
- Data retention; how much time, supposedly, since I permanently delete a file or even a backup, do you keep that data on your servers?
Thanks.
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Adding some screen captures. First one, one of those deleted files (notice no options available to execute on it). Second, a proper; existing files (notice how the options now appear).
The platform knows that those files are supposed to be deleted and is clever enough to not show the options; yet the files shouldn't be there in the first place.
And I'm not even talking about "true" deletion and how long / how can I trust you actually deleting my data someday / feeding into NSA... I would be just happy to get lied to and not see my "deleted" files in the Recents filter! This is clear proof you might be keeping files longer than needed (hopefully actually erasing them some day) and is another hit to trusting you and a big consideration for subscription renewal.
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi Timmy256, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Could you try going into your Dropbox Backup page clicking 'Show deleted backups', and then click the ellipsis next to the deleted backup to permanently delete it?
Does the backup still appear on the Recent filter after the permanent deletion?
Regarding your query about removing items from the Recents list, currently, there isn't a method to selectively remove items from this list, although the list would be gradually overwritten when any file is recently accessed or edited.
This will help me to assist further.
Thanks for your prompt reply Jay. I'm disappointed that you changed the title of the post, since this is indeed a Privacy Bug/Concern.
I don't see any "Show Deleted Backups" option. Under "Manage Backups", this is all I see:
More erratic behavior related to these "deleted" files.
- On mobile app, in Recents, it allows me to add one of those folders to the Home page. Then, it shows as empty or gives a message saying that the content in that folder can't be displayed
- On mobile app, trying to preview on of those files (the PDF here) throws an error. On the Web, it opens and allows downloading perfectly (i.e. proof you are storing data that was supposed to be "deleted"). The Apple logo shown is the backup I deleted that holds these folders and files.
- Jay
Thanks for the info. Could you attach a screenshot showing the whole screen on the Dropbox Backup page when viewing it from the Dropbox site?
Sure; here it is.
Adding more info, I think something is severely messed up. I don't know if that "Unlinked" status in my current Backup is related. I've found a few threads here but no solution offered on 1) What it actually means 2) How to "relink"
Summary; I purchased the subscription in January. Create an initial Backup named "Backup 1" (example). Deleted it a few days after.
This week, I created a new Backup named "Backup 2". In the Dropbox application / Backup settings, it called to my attention that on the sidebar it didn't show this name I gave; instead is showing the name of the old Backup (BTW, it's a different computer, so no remnants of previous Dropbox configuration there; was a fresh install).
When browsing the "Recents" filter on the Web and pinpointing those orphaned files, as mentioned, I can view/download them on the Web. I can also open its "File Location". When doing so, it takes me to the Backup screen; inside the "Backup 2" folder; obviously the file isn't there.
TL;DR; I think something messed up and Dropbox thinks mixed the two Backups together OR it thinks that the new Backups has those files (why would opening the file location take me to the new Backup URL I made?) OR a combination of all these; when I deleted "Backup 1" it messed up; when I created "Backup 2" it created on top of "Backup 1" (or something; lacking the words to explain this) and now both are entangled or related together.
Potential solution could be deleting "Backup 2" and creating "Backup 3", to see if it fixes this, but you can agree this whole thing is a trust mess; I've lost all confidence in Dropbox actually working as a backup tool if it failed so strongly after a few days of creating the account and with placeholder folders. All platforms messed; each one of them with their own erratic behavior; nothing on Dropbox desktop client shows any errors (Sync log reports OK; Backup screen shows OK - even after manually clicking the button to "Backup"; all the while the web report Status = Unlinked)
Do you have any idea what is going on here Jay?
Hi Megan Jay, I've fixed by doing the following:
- Unlinked all my devices
- Deleted the new backup I had created, in order to start from scratch
- At this point, the "Recents" filter was still showing that deleted data from the older backup still
- Went to dropbox.com/backups/all, refreshed the page several times and, at some point, I got a red message in a rectangle (didn't capture the screen) saying something like "There are some problems with your folders; resolve if you want to keep them or delete them" (even this message was bugged; we are not talking about "Folders" there; those are "Backups"...)
- Right then, the older deleted backup (Backup 1) in my example, appeared grayed out on the list, with the overflow menu giving me the option to delete it
- Did that; "Recents" filter had all those files and folders in that backup dissapear
As I was guessing in my previous message, something was really messed up. Even though I had no way to see that older backup, the "Recents" filter still showed those files. I don't know if both backups have somehow got mixed together or why "Backup 1" wasn't showing while I had the new one, but it was quite disconcerting.
I don't fully trust a couple of things now; first the whole Backup functionality (yeah, I know it says "Beta"), why data I though was deleted properly was still there (if I haven't gone through all this I'd have never known that my data was still recoverable - privacy issue), completely disjointed experience between all clients (web, mobile, desktop) on how it handles this (i.e. still now, the "Recents" filter show different items on web vs. mobile vs. desktop), etc. Will monitor for a while and think if I'll renew or not, but during all these things, I got the feeling that the platform wasn't as robust as the last time I used Dropbox when it started with cloud storage many years ago, so it will be difficult to trust my data to it moving forward.
I'll leave you a couple of questions, if you can answer:
- The "Recents" filter; since we can't remove items from there. How many items does it keep? Is it time-based (e.g. show the last year)? Does it depends on the amount of items there?
- Data retention; how much time, supposedly, since I permanently delete a file or even a backup, do you keep that data on your servers?
Thanks.
- Nancy
I’m glad you were able to resolve this in the end, Timmy256! Thank you for taking the time to test things on your end and for sharing the solution that worked for you here.
When it comes to your second question, you can read our privacy policy here.
Now, as for the thing you asked before that, and since this behavior was quite strange and unexpected, I’d say that it’s better to reach back to us again, in case you face a similar issue in the future. If this happens again, we’ll most likely need to log a ticket for you and investigate this with our support team.
