Preserve file Creation Dates(and other metadata) in mobile app versions

This idea has been closed as it has reached the end of the Share an Idea process.

Hi Jay, I just wanted to chime in and urge Dropbox to resolve this issue. The lack of metadata violates accounting cybersecurity audit guidelines. Due to the widespread impacts it has across all files, not just media, it creates a significant amount of risk to the organizations using it. Dropbox at this point is knowingly enabling violations of SOX. It is sort of a big deal, especially on such a mass scale. 

This is exactly what I think!
After more than 2 years from the first request for implementation, the development team should have already done it!!!

I quit frankly don't understand why this is marked as "not for know". This breaks worflow how it's currently implemented.

I also don't understand why this is not already in. Each file and folder has metadata, it's super easy to detect. Not sure why it's not possible then?

Sharing the link to this post to as many people as possible on as many platforms as possible would help. And spread the word about this issue. I bet that many people aren’t even aware of the problem until they are suddenly aware that it actually altered their creation dates. Many people also don’t know what to do about it or don’t have time to try to figure out how to get ahold of Dropbox. Let them know and send them this link 

https://www.dropboxforum.com/idea/101002013/preserve-file-creation-datesand-other-metadata-in-mobile-app-versions/691539

Thank you. And yes, this suggestion includes preserving them at ALL times, including when downloading ✌🏼

Many of my files HAVE to have creation dates preserved for LEGAL purposes. There’s every reason for Dropbox to facilitate our ability to maintain such crucial information. When I first started using Dropbox, this worked perfectly. I have a subscription because it was the perfect solution for maintaining accurate backups of my variety of different types of files from my various devices… current, past, and future.

However the service is failing my needs now. I don’t want to have to find another cloud service because I LIKE Dropbox. But if I’m going to have to look into other options in the event that Dropbox doesn’t reinstate this basic functionality that used to be a perfectly functional feature of Dropbox.

If there’s some unspoken reason that Dropbox has removed it due to a portion of its users using it to “collaborate” on files… I’m assuming about this… I have no idea if that’s a factor in removing creation date functionality for everyone whether or not they ever need to collaborate on files, I don’t see why they can’t have certain folders, sections of the app, different subscription types or models, or whatever devoted to collaborative projects while allowing us “regular” users who just want a good established cloud service to store our files across our various devices, so that we can access them on all of them… as well as new devices when we have to replace an old one.

I’ve been going out of my way trying to find a solution so I can continue my subscription to Dropbox that I first started paying for back when my creation dates were actually being preserved. Since then I’ve actually LOST crucial metadata on files that I really can’t afford to have lost the metadata for.

I have 2TB of storage space yet haven’t been able to use as much of it as I would’ve liked to because I’m afraid to upload certain files, unless I maintain a copy of them on my device which is killing my available iPhone space, for fear of losing the metadata… as well as who knows what else that could be taken away in the future.

I guarantee you that everyone who agrees with this will never see it in order to vote for it. And that’s just taking into account the people who actually ever check these forums and-or suggestion boards. I’ve seen multiple, almost identical, posts on the forums as well as some that were posted as suggestions here, but very few people are going to scroll through these things looking for something every time it falls off the 1st page… or sometimes the first 2-3. But in the hypothetical scenario where everyone who uses Dropbox were given a popup poll asking whether or not they would like their Dropbox files’ creation dates to be preserved at all times, no matter how many times the modified, or last viewed, dates may change, I KNOW that everyone on the Dropbox team already knows exactly how the extreme majority of their customers would vote. They’d obviously vote to keep their files’ creation dates.

I completely agreeLucben …when I upload my videos, I need them to maintain the time and date I took them. When I upload audio files of songs, & song ideas, I’ve written and recorded, I ABSOLUTELY need to be able to maintain those creation dates… especially when I’ve recorded various ideas for a song in separate files over multiple days (or even longer). The same applies to all my files for all sorts of different purposes. 

This is a bug, I urge the Dropbox team to address it asap. As others have highlighted, this behaviour doesn't make any logical sense, as it conflicts with the mental model taht most people have of how product should have. Let people be in control of their data, any change in the timeline metadata should not happen without the users being aware and consenting to it. 

Thank you for sharing your idea.

We have looked into this, but it is not something we are actively working on at this time. 

We regularly review these ideas, and we will keep you updated if this idea moves forward in the future.