We’re Still Here to Help (Even Over the Holidays!) - find out more here.
Forum Discussion
Please help me stop an automated upload-process. It began after linking my new Laptop.
Hello,
Yes ... although this email is about Storage Space, as you will see below; there are good reasons I will NOT upgrade yet! Why? Basically because, important issues about transparency and trust have been damaged!
1. My name is GraemeH.
2. I’ve had my 'BASIC account' for quite a while.
3. I was already planning to upgrade.
4. Now, before the problem arose, I only used 1.6GB of my 2.2 GB 'free data'.
5. Then recently linked my new Laptop to it.
6. But did NOT authorise photos or files to automatically upload!
7. I was shocked that my data suddenly 'maxed-out' at 2.3GB.
8. Yet, despite removing heaps of that un-authorised upload; the space I created kept being re-filled!
9. My 1st Search involved combing through Dropbox for instructions.
- The section, "How to delete Dropbox backup" seemed like it should fix everything.
- Item No -2 advises, "Click the Sync and backups tab."
- Yet, weird-though-it-seems, NO information – nor options exist there!
- Neither via my Laptop, nor my phone.
- I checked many times for several days.
10. Meanwhile, that uncertainty is made even worse, having discovered unsatisfactory facts, about a tiny facet of Dropbox's operations.
- The way it doesn’t make things easy, even for Clients with big Accounts!! (See Section 11.)
- From that (following) data you will see, why I won’t be railroaded into 'upgrading' - straight away
- Simply because it suits someone else’s priorities!
- Especially because I suspect, Dropbox may be utilising un-acknowledged, covert, or deceptive ways; to artificially ‘max-out’ people's data-limits!
11. Okay now ... for my 2nd Search, I explored "Community Answers", to find someone – in those archived Records – who had the same problem: but got it sorted out.
- There I found a guy who had exactly the same issue.
- For 3 days, he & one of your guys emailed each other. But it did NOT get sorted.
- Anyhow, he got really frustrated with all the time he already invested. So, after thanking his helper, said, he would immediately transfer his files out of Dropbox; and close his (big) account.
- He wanted a Company, with better support & greater transparency.
- He said he’d only used 5.69 GB of data – from his Account.
- Then suddenly, the rest of the 13.25 GB (of space he bought): filled up with photos & other files.
- Obviously, he would have felt indignant.
- Cos despite his reasonably big Account, Dropbox's lack of transparency & absence of easily accessible, straightforward self-help - is ridiculous!
12. As validation, I have that guy's name, I.D., and dates he got assistance from Community support.
13. Now … those circumstances the other guy was trapped by, a couple of years ago, still exist.
- Cos that’s what I’m now tangled up in!
14. Presumably lots of other people also leave Dropbox, reluctantly, for these same reasons:
- Absence of easy access to crucial information.
- Consequent lack-of-opportunity to sort out issues quickly - D.I.Y.
- The transparency - which they assure us about - is mythic rather than consistent! (See the next dot-point!)
- In "10 tips for submitting your Dropbox ideas"– in a Sub-section entitled, "Be yourself" – it begins with this advice and self-perception:
- "Make yourself worthy of trust. We’re into transparency, honesty, and truth. ..."
- Such a pity! Cos obviously their insistence is NOT totally true!!
15. Anyhow, please help me to cancel that automated, uploading process. (Which would also help to RESTORE my confidence in Dropbox.)
16. Cos despite this extraordinarily time-wasting journey I'm still on; I continue to admire the simplicity and versatility of Dropbox.
From ... GraemeH.
My email: [removed per Community Guidelines]
21 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
Hello Dropbox Staff, 17 /01/2024)
Haven’t received another email from you guys. Not sure why?
Might this unexpected (new) event, give any useful insight?
I happened to click on the Dropbox icon; at the Top-Left corner of my ‘Documents List.’
In this (new) view, all Folders in the Right-column have a Green-dot with a ‘white-tick’ in it.
Which includes all the Folders, that aren’t visible in the screen shot below.
Question:
- Does that indicate they’re Folders, still targeted for upload to Dropbox? When space becomes available?
- Also, none of the 4 emails sent to me by Dropbox Staff, asked for a screenshot – of the above view!
- Would this view have helped sort out, the auto-uploading of my files to Dropbox?
From GraemeH
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
All folders with a green tick mean that they are fully synced to the Dropbox site, and that they also taking up space on your local machine.
Hello Nancy … or whoever is available, 18 /01/2024)
I happened to click on the Dropbox icon; at the Top-Left corner of my ‘Documents List.’
And this is an enlargement, of what I found – heaps of Green-dots with ‘white-tick’s in them.
All Folders in the Right-column have a Green-dot with a ‘white-tick’ in them. Including all the Folders, that aren’t visible in the screen-shot below.
Questions:
- What do those dots indicate to you?
- Are they part of the ‘auto-upload’ process to Dropdox?
- Do they indicate, which Folders are still targeted for upload to Dropbox; when space becomes available?
- Hannah told me, “Based on that screenshot (I provided), it doesn't look like you have the backup feature enabled at all.”
- Sooo … would the process - which added those Green-dots have been possible; without the 'backup feature' enabled?
- If this view of my Folders became available earlier: could it have (a) made anything clearer? (b) Or even let you guys fix the problem for me??
From GraemeH
- Jay
As mentioned previously, anything with a green tick is already synced to Dropbox, and will automatically sync if you add or edit any data there.
If the Dropbox icon, or any files and folders, has a red x on it, like in this article, then that means that those files couldn't sync for some reason. In a sense, this could be what you're referring to in 3, for any files waiting to upload when you get enough space on your account.
Hi Jay & Hannah, 18 /01/2024
1st … my apology.
Earlier today I looked for a reply from Jay. Having noticed my email (sent yesterday) wasn’t listed – nor any replies; it didn’t occur to me that ‘email-storage No.1’ must have got full. And therefore new emails were transferred to ‘No.2’! (Actually, I never been in this type of situation before.)
Meanwhile … I modified yesterday’s email and re-sent it this morning. Then having checked its ‘status’ (on-line); discovered that both versions – plus replies from both of you - were stored in ‘No.2’. (Sooo … I owe both of you an apology!!)
Seems like GOOD news though! Starting to look like, problems with my Dropbox may get sorted out!
Cos Hannah’s recent email (which I didn’t find till today), (1) suggested: the Camera Uploads feature was probably enabled. (2) Then provided a Link “... to locate its version history to … see the name of the device the photo was added from.”
Okay now, what these 2 screenshots confirm is – those photos were all: “Added by Graeme Hoel Desktop.”
* A question for Jay. Thanks for your feedback about the Green-dots. But when you said, “… anything with a green tick (1) is already synced to Dropbox, and will automatically (2) sync if you …”
- Does the 2nd use of the word “sync” mean – those files would then upload to Dropbox - if space is available?
- Which of course is exactly what I don’t want to happen!
- And when linking my new laptop to Dropbox, I certainly did not select that option!
Okay … where do we go from here? Cos I need space 'freed up': the difference between 1.6GB - 2.3GB.
From GraemeH
Hi Hannah & Jay, 18 /01/2024
Just realised, I overlooked Hannah’s second request, namely:
“Is it the computer you're currently using? (The answer is Yes – my new laptop!)
If it is, try following the steps in this article, to see if you can disable that feature and let us know how it went.”
Actually, it isn’t possible to hardly even begin doing that! Bizarre though it seems, the “steps" you directed me to: don’t open!
As a matter of fact, I was already directed to go through those exact-same procedures, by Nancy; after receiving my 1st email from you guys. The outcome back then was exactly the same as: when I tried exploring that again – a few minutes ago. So, in a moment, despite me expressing it differently to you below; what I typed in my reply to Nancy, was this same message.
- What follows is the proforma that opened from Hannah’s link.
“Turn photo uploads on or off in the Dropbox desktop app.
- Open your Dropbox desktop app preferences.
- Click Backups.
- Note: Click the dropdown next to Enable camera uploads for to switch between Photos only or Photos and videos.
- Click Change AutoPlay Settings next to Import photos and videos to Dropbox.
- Click the dropdown under Removable drive.
- To turn on camera uploads, select Import photos and videos (Dropbox).
- To turn off camera uploads, select any other option.
- Repeat step 4 for Memory card.”
- The problem is, after I “Click backups” …
- There is no “Dropdown”
- Nor any text about, “Enable camera uploads for … etc”
- Sooo … nothing opens to click on.
Therefore the options connected with Nos. 3, 4 & 5 don’t become available!
I drew attention to this back then! When I replied to Nancy’s email.
Anyhow, up-to-date we have solved 1 issue. (1) Folders & Files that uploaded to Dropbox came from my new laptop. And I did not initiate an automated uploading system.
But what do we do now?
From GraemeH.
- Hannah
Thanks, Graeme.
Just to clarify, the files with the green check mark icons mean that they are synced/uploaded to your Dropbox account, so you should be able to find those on the Dropbox website as well.
As for the steps to disable Camera Uploads, can you send us a screenshot of what you see in the Backups tab?
Hi Hannah,
- I begin at the Task-bar, in the ‘up-side-down ^’ window. And click the Dropbox icon, that has a red arrow on it. (The regular icon has not been working, since my Account ‘maxed-out’!)
- Next I checked the ‘blue -GH’ button.
3. Now checked “Preferences”
4. “Backups” is now checked.
5. Here I checked “Manage Backups”
6. And of course … here we are back at this window: which I did not set up: when linking my new laptop to Dropbox!!!
7. Meanwhile I checked “Photos and Videos”. But once again, obviously I selected none!!!
8. Now I check “Change AutoPlay Settings”
9. Which opened this window.
10. This time I checked “Removable Drive.”
Now I am speechless – due to wider implications of what just opened up!
11. Finally I checked “Memory Card.”
Now I’m even more shocked by further implications – of what is FINALLY emerging!
12. Meanwhile, I have 2 screen-shots from my phone which help to further authenticate, this fact. I wanted neither my smart-phone – nor laptop – to participate in automated uploading of photos or files to Dropbox!
13. Here in particular, under “Features,” Note that (1) “Camera uploads”; & (2) “Configure passcode” – are both “OFF.”
14. Wow! Hannah … you, Jay and I, finally have clear evidence, that my laptop was highjacked by a sophisticated application: to ‘max-out’ my ‘Basic Dropbox Account.’ That’s what the ‘smoking gun’ shows: but not only about circumstances I experienced: nor only about people with ‘Basic Accounts’!
15. But please let me know what procedures will be used to remove from my account, all that 0.7GB of un-authorise, uploads of Folders and files.
From GraemeH.
- Hannah
Thanks for the screenshots, Graeme!
So, indeed, from the AutoPlay settings, it seems that the saved options were to import your photos and videos to Dropbox, so once you switch that option to, let's say, "ask me every time", the importing will be disabled.
Now, if you'd like to bring your account under quota, all you have to do is move the files you don't need to have in Dropbox, out of your Dropbox folder.
You can move them anywhere else on your computer and they will be removed from Dropbox, thus clearing up your Dropbox space.
Hi Hannah,
Is there a location or window in Dropbox where all those unwanted, 'auto-uploaded' folders and files are grouped together? So I can find and delete them very quickly?
From GraemeH.
