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Forum Discussion
Photographs that are NOT mine in Dropbox - and NOT as a result of using a shared computer!
Hello,
I have discovered a folder in my Dropbox entitled 'Camera Uploads' which is full of hundreds of photos and videos that are not mine. The files are dated from August 2012-November 2013 (which by coincidence is likely to be around about the same time that I set up my Dropbox account). I have not had reason to look in the folder before as I thought it was simply a default folder that Dropbox created on signup.
At first I thought perhaps the folder had been shared with me accidentally but it turns out it is not a shared folder and Dropbox is telling me that the files were uploaded 'by you' (i.e. me!).
Having searched the Dropbox community threads and Google I found someone who had a similar issue and one of the possible reasons given in the thread was that perhaps the user had used a shared computer in the past and left themselves signed into Dropbox and then someone else's phone photos were auto-backed up when they connected. I do not believe this to be the case for me. The reason being is that I looked through all the photos and videos to try to decipher if I knew the owner. I did not. However, one of the photos displayed a gig ticket stub which displayed the surname of the person who bought it - and lo and behold it happens to match my surname. This all seems to point to a scenario where someone with the same name as me was somehow able to sign in to my account and use it to back up their files. Can anyone (at Dropbox or otherwise) explain how this could possibly have happened?
This is surely a security issue. The reason I was poking around in the folders is because I was preparing to start using Dropbox for my business needs but this issue has alarmed me and I now have strong doubts about the security of Dropbox, especially for sharing/storing confidential business files.
BTW I have now changed my password and I was tempted to delete the folder but I feel kind of bad that I now have someone's personal photos (pics and videos of their kids in the school play etc.). I have tried to get in touch with someone at Dropbox but I currently have the basic free account and my options are limited to a chatbot or this forum (another turnoff - I hate when companies make it impossible to contact them!).
Hoping you can help!
Thanks,
Nat
57 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
It happened again - I was sent an email which requested my approval on Friday evening. I didn't check my emails over the weekend and the request was closed today with no recurse to reopen. Why such a short window to reply?
- Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
Natmonster, I also checked your latest email and it looks like it’s still open.
Can you please have a look again and reply back to Hannah before it automatically closes?
- Okay, I have now replied to Hannah, even though the email thread says it's been 'marked as solved' (on the other permission email, when I click on the 'give permission link' says the link is invalid).
I just had a similar experience of receiving photos of someone I do not know. I never share my computer, ever. The photos were taken in 2001 and 2002 in Napa, California, at the hot air balloon race. I'm sure they want their old photos but there is no way to know who they are, and Dropbox does not have any way to contact them. I will keep the photos for a while and if I don't hear anything in the next few weeks I will delete the photos. But it's alarming that this could happen. But it seems many other people have had similar experiences.
- Walter
Hey cathy 11, sorry to hear about this.
Did you check the version history of any of those files to see if you can find more information about when or who/which device uploaded them in the first place?
I'm a retired engineer with ageing tech (old HP pc and 2018 phone). I downloaded Dropbox a while ago but hadn't used it until today. I needed to upload some pics I had just taken to my pc and then email them. I opted for Dropbox from a Windows list and connected the phone with a cable. Dropbox uploaded only 25 pics including the new images. Then I spotted an image I did NOT recognise. A young lady, about 25, clearly sitting for a portrait in business attire, white sheet background. Image info showed it was a colour image but displayed in b&w. Taken on 13th June this year, just weeks ago. "saved from Safari", IMG_0380. I've never used Safari. Could be one pic from a company photoshoot perhaps. How it ended up on my old iphone I find deeply disturbing. Are any of my phone images now on someone else's phone or pc?? Fortunately they are all pedestrian and benign. Nothing really private, but the mind boggles. Before today, the last photo I took on this phone was in April. The spurious image then appeared, followed by the three new images. I don't do social media and make few calls. Internet radio, the news and Google mostly. Phone is too old for many apps. It has to be Dropbox. They will deny it (do a 'Horizon') but this is a massive security issue! VIZ: my images sent to the cloud and... someone else's image downloaded to my phone from the cloud. Nice.
- Mark
Super User II
Jethro51 wrote:
someone else's image downloaded to my phone from the cloud. Nice.
This isnt Dropbox that has done it - because Dropbox doesnt download and sync photos (or in fact any file at all) to mobiles. It is one of the biggest complaints people have about the product on mobile. So, if the file is on your mobile its come from the mobile - maybe an accidental screenshot (thats my usual error!) or saved from an email.
