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Status:
Closed - Inactive
Preserve file Creation Dates(and other metadata) in mobile app versions
The ability to preserve, view, sort by, etc the original Creation Dates(and other metadata) of files is missing or severely limited in the Dropbox mobile apps. People who donât use Dropbox primari...
I agreed with the importance if preserving file creation date. Dropbox used to do this, as my company has been using Dropbox to upload files. photos and videos at least monthly for that last 10+ years. We've been running a specific procedure "export unmodified original" from an iphone for the sole purpose of preserving original meta data and file creation dates (date&time photo/video were captured). We are noticing that some time last year-ish, Dropbox has LOST 10+ years of file creation data and now "date created" has been changed to match "last modified" or date/time uploaded. This is over ten years of important business data lost. I double-checked this looking at an old backup drive (clone of my laptop) from over 5 years ago, and that confirms this change with the Dropbox app. File creation dates were preserved in the past. I'm now exploring other solutions like Box/One Drive/Google Drive for an alternative. Seeing Dropbox Staff comments on similar posts/complaints about this issue claiming "all cloud-based systems should be expected to use upload time as creation time" which I find not only inaccurate and misleading but also dodging responsibility and seriousness of the issue. Very disappointing. I've had a paid account for almost 10 years and all that money I paid now feels like a waste and a rip off.
I first started using Dropbox sometime between 2018 - 2019 and the creation dates were definitely preserved at that time. I donât know exactly when they removed this basic feature but if it existed before, thereâs absolutely no reason why it canât be added back. As the saying goes, âIf it ainât broke, donât fix itâ⊠and it certainly wasnât broken when this feature was working.
I signed up for my paid subscription DURING the time that it was working. Some of the first files I saved were some of my videos that had various creation dates and metadata stored on them from being edited by various video editing software at various dates. I know because I was only able to see some of those creation dates AFTER uploading them to the app. I really liked being able to do this. I still have the folders I created specifically to save various versions of these videos based on what creation dates(or lack of creation date) they had. This is still something that I need to be able to do, not to mention the need to keep track of when exactly a video or photo was taken, or when a document was created, an audio file was created, etc. Iâm a musician as well and I need to keep track of these EXACT metadata details.
I would really like also to find a solution to this problem. I don't understand why it has changed. What can we do to put pressure on Dropbox?!?
I wonder if it's not a problem coming from somewhere else. Because now when I download my pictures from my Iphone to my computer it's the same, I loose the metadata of their creation date.
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 arenât even aware of the problem until they are suddenly aware that it actually altered their creation dates. Many people also donât know what to do about it or donât 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
