jpg. files missing. What happened?

[johnni88]

is/has anyone experienced jpg. files missing from their dropbox account? I thought I may have deleted one or two by accident but over time I am discovering multiple jpg. images are gone. 

If I delete an image off my IoS phone, does that delete it from my dropbox account as well? I wouldn't think so?

I am really stuck in understanding what is going on and dropbox customer support blatantly says they don't delete files randomly.

Any help or ideas in where I should look would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you everyone!

[Rich · Accepted solution]

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@johnni88 wrote:

If I delete an image off my IoS phone, does that delete it from my dropbox account as well?

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No. Deleting a file off the camera roll on your phone won't delete the file in Dropbox. Only if you delete the file from the Dropbox app will it also be deleted from your account online.

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... dropbox customer support blatantly says they don't delete files randomly.

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Dropbox doesn't delete files. It's simply not capable of it. The only way it can delete files is when it's instructed to do so.

Have you checked your Deleted Files or Events page for the missing files? If you can find one, restore it and look at the version history for the file. It will show you where the deletion is occurring.

[johnni88]

Hi Rich

my camera roll backs up to dropbox photos. There was a point a year ago i rapidly deleted nearly 5k-10k photos that doubled up's and redundant work photos. I am wondering if the photos i deleted from my dropbox photos removed them from my Dropbox account folders? could that be possible? I am now too afraid to save anything in jpg. 

It is only jpg. files that are disappearing it seems. i have lost at least 50 of them. Because i dont know when they disappeared i cant trace it via dropbox events. i have to add dates into the folders in case they go missing. I dare say it is something i am doing but i just cant work out how its happening. The above paragraph is my best guess.

[Rich]

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@johnni88 wrote:

my camera roll backs up to dropbox photos.

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That's an upload only. Deleting a file there won't delete it from Dropbox. Likewise, deleting a file in Dropbox won't delete it from your Camera Roll.

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I am wondering if the photos i deleted from my dropbox photos removed them from my Dropbox account folders? could that be possible?

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If you were deleting them from within the Dropbox app or on the Dropbox website, then yes, you would have been deleting the files from your account.

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I am now too afraid to save anything in jpg.

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I wouldn't be worried at all. Dropbox simply cannot delete files on its own.

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I dare say it is something i am doing but i just cant work out how its happening.

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I'd go through your entire process carefully and look to see at which point a file goes missing.

[johnni88]

I was using the dropbox app when i did a mass delete of thousands of photos. 

maybe i could take a photo, let it upload to dropbox photos, save that photo on dropbox and delete it from the app to see if that is what is making it "disappear".

thanks for your help Rich! it has scattered my brain trying to work out what is going on. it'll be something simple im doing, it usually is.

[Rich]

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@johnni88 wrote:

I was using the dropbox app when i did a mass delete of thousands of photos.

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If you delete any file within the Dropbox, you're deleting it from your account online.

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maybe i could take a photo, let it upload to dropbox photos, save that photo on dropbox ...

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If you're thinking of that as two different steps, then that's likely one source of the confusion. If you're using Camera Uploads to automatically back up your photos to Dropbox, or you're using the manual upload process, then as soon as the upload is complete those photos are already saved in your Dropbox account.

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[johnni88]

I delete photos of my camera roll regularly, and those photos are uploaded to dropbox automatically. 

But i am wondering if i delete photos from the camera roll and/or dropbox IOS app, does that delete jpg. files from my dropbox account on the website? i think that might be the issue and confusion im having. because it can't just be a coincidence everything that has gone missing is jpg.

I think that is whats going on. i'll hone in on that and try to work out what im doing wrong.

[Hannah]

Hey @johnni88, just to clarify, deleting the photos from your camera roll, won't affect the photos that are stored in your Dropbox account, like Rich mentioned.

But the Dropbox app on your phone is a mirror of your account on the website; any changes you make to your files on the app, will be reflected in your account online.

So, if you're deleting photos from the Dropbox app, they will get deleted from your account online as well.

I hope this helps!

[johnni88]

Hi Hannah

Thanks for the comment. I hope i am explaining this well enough and making sense. Just bare with me because this is caving my brain in trying to workout where the "missing" files have gone and blaming dropbox haha. It's been me all along.

Does that work in reverse as well, where if I delete jpg. files of my account, can i expect them to be deleted off the dropbox app?

Essentially you're saying that I shouldn't delete any photos off my dropbox app unless i want them permanently gone? and i suppose this is why i am only missing jpg. file because when i change them into PDF they stay put because PDF's are not sitting in the Dropbox app as "pictures" !?

and, the dropbox app photos are automatically uploaded to camera uploads in my dropbox account and thats why they stay on the dropbox app>photos. I think iv finally worked it out haha. 

Long story short: don't delete anything off the dropbox app>photo unless you want it to disappear for good. I knew it was something simple i was doing to mess this up, it's always something simple and hiding in plain sight!

If you could kindly write back to me to confirm this rationale of mine I would be GREATLY appreciative! 🙂

[Mark]

Hi @johnni88 yes thats pretty much correct.

Think of the Dropbox app, website AND connected devices almost as a mirror. What you do on one replicates to others. So, delete something in the Dropbox app it will then delete on the website and all connected Dropbox devices (note: only in the 'Dropbox' folders so it wont, as Rich said, delete from the photo roll of a phone). 

So if you delete something from Camera Uploads on a mobile app it will also delete from the website and all other 'Camera Upload' folders on connected computers 🙂

Same works opposite way - add something to one and it'll appear everywhere.