Stop saving uploaded photos on my phone

[HappyCake]

Hello. Thank you for any help you might provide. (I take it because I am not a paid user I can’t call tech support?)

I hope this is the correct board. If not, please advise? This is my first time using this service.

When I open Dropbox on my phone and go to FILES and then UPLOAD, I see pictures that I had taken and loaded into Dropbox in order to move them into my Dropbox app on my computer.

I’ve made an assumption that once they were out of my Dropbox   onto my computer, the pictures would disappear from the phone.

I was disappointed to open this folder on the phone app (Files > Upload) and see that these pictures were still there.

And I see absolutely no way to delete them.

Even when I then upload them again into the Dropbox on my computer, and delete them from there, they still don’t delete from the phone.

Can someone tell me how to permanently delete these from my Dropbox app on my phone?

The ONLY things I want in my Dropbox, on the computer and phone, are things that I specifically drop in there, and when I remove them, I want them to go away.

Help? Thank you so much!

Victoria

[Jay]

Hi @HappyCake, thanks for your message!

Just for clarification, are you looking to delete the original photos from your phone itself, and not in the Dropbox mobile app?

Are you aware that deleting files from the Dropbox mobile app will also delete them from the site and your computer once the deletion is synced over?

This will help me to assist further!

[HappyCake]

Hi Jay! THANK YOU!!!

So... I may not be explaining this well. Let me start over? (Sorry!)

Ok... I turn on the camera on my Android/Samsung phone.

I take a photo.

In the camera app, I tag that photo to share.

I click on Dropbox.

I click ADD TO DROPBOX.

My Dropbox folder opens.

I select UPLOAD HERE.

It says "Uploading to Dropbox," then "Uploaded to Dropbox!"

I go to my computer and open Dropbox.

There's the photo! Cool...

I slide it onto my computer and it is now out of my Dropbox.

BUT... I go back to my phone and open Dropbox and click on FILES, Upload and... BOO! There it is.

Ugh!!!

I select it... there is a checkmark on it now... but??? Don't see a way to delete it. 

???

And there are HUNDREDS of old photos there, dating back forever.

I want all of them GONE.

When I remove ANYTHING from Dropbox, I want it gone.

Can you help? Either way... I appreciate you Jay. THANK YOU!

Victoria

Portland, Oregon

[Megan]

Hi @HappyCake, thanks for the step-by-step description you gave us! 

It's kind of odd that after you move your content outside of your Dropbox folder, it remains active in your Dropbox account on your mobile. 

Do you use the stable version of our desktop app? You can check by locating your Dropbox icon on the task bar, next to your WiFi and hover your mouse there. That should give you some numbers. 

As for the delete option on the mobile, what happens if you click the three dots, on the right part of the file? Does that give you the option to delete the file?

If not, feel free to send me a few screenshots of what you see on the mobile app, in order for me to have visual too, 

[HappyCake]

Thank you so much Megan! Appreciate your help!

Now I’m getting an error when I try to move something from my phone into dropbox.

It says. “Network error. Your file will upload again in the app when you return back online.”

I am online. My computers are working fine.

I have to be honest. This is getting too complicated and time-consuming.

I don’t need to upload to Dropbox to move things from my phone to my computer.

It’s convenient when it works but when it doesn’t, like now, which is the first time this has ever happened by the way… I can just plug my phone into the computer and transfer things that way.

Again I really appreciate your help and the help of the others.

I know you want to help, but I’d like to let it go. I love Dropbox (it’s GENIUS!) and this is the first time I’ve had trouble with it. It’s ok… I’ll get by.

Thank you again!

[HappyCake]

Hi again Megan! Hey... to answer your question. (Sorry.) The number is 168.4.4802

:-0)

Is that good?

Victoria

[Jay]

The mobile app is mainly used to preview and upload files. It might take a short time for files to appear deleted from within the mobile app after they were deleted from the computer and site.

If you're not on a Dropbox Basic plan with more than 3 devices connected, could you try uninstalling the app, rebooting the device, and re-installing it to see if this helps?

[HappyCake]

Hi Jay. I can't do this. I'm sorry.

I just want DB to stop all connection to photos I have on my phone's Internal Storage. I want DB SEPERATE from my files unless I specifically load them into DB.

Just becuse I take a photo with my phone, doesn't mean I want DB to display it or in any way connect to it on its own.

When I open DB, and click FILES, and then UPLOAD, I see all my photos. 

I think, now, that this is purposeful. DB is then saying, great... what do you want to upload?

Just figuring this out.

So... I don't want DB accessing my photos.

Ugh. 

THANK YOU for your help!

Victoria

[HappyCake]

PS. I realize... those photos are not in my Internal Storage. They are on my SD Card.

I want DB to stay out of my SD Card, please.

[HappyCake]

Oh.. LOL

Ok... Yes... DB is connecting to pics on my SD Card, and ALSO new pics I take, which go to the Internal Storage.