cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Want to learn some quick and useful tips to make your day easier? Check out how Calvin uses Replay to get feedback from other teams at Dropbox here.

View, download, and export

Need support with viewing, downloading, and exporting files and folders from your Dropbox account? Find help from the Dropbox Community.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Re: Fake activity?

Fake activity?

DoctorDada
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Yesterday I uploaded a movie file to Dropbox for some friends to download. Immediately after, I decided to check from a browser that wasn't logged in, to see what it would look like for them if they didn't have a Dropbox account. I was shocked to discover, under “Activity”: “Patricia Johnson downloaded this file” and “Anthony Abate viewed this file” (neither name recognised by me):

 

(Not logged in)(Not logged in)

So, then I logged in to investigate, but only saw “Traffic and insights: See who’s visiting... Upgrade to Dropbox Professional to start tracking.”:

 

(Logged in)(Logged in)

Surely this isn’t a scare tactic to get me to upgrade to a paid account, is it??

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hi @DoctorDada, thanks for joining the Community!

 

The image you saw in the first screenshot was an example of what file activity would look like if you were signed into your account.

 

It doesn't mean that those users were real or accessed the file.

 

Hope this helps to clarify matters! 


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

View solution in original post

12 Replies 12

Michał
Collaborator | Level 9
Go to solution

Hi, did you create share link or did you share this file with certain people? If you create simple share link you friends could share it with other person. Everyone can see shared link if has the link-code. When you invite certain person only this person can view it. Maybe this is the reason of the strange activity. Ask your friends did they forward this link.

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hi @DoctorDada, thanks for joining the Community!

 

The image you saw in the first screenshot was an example of what file activity would look like if you were signed into your account.

 

It doesn't mean that those users were real or accessed the file.

 

Hope this helps to clarify matters! 


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

DoctorDada
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Hi Michał, I just moved the file to a folder in my local Dropbox folder and, when it synched, copied the Dropbox link and sent it to my friends. They definitely didn't forward the link to anyone. And, anyway, I saw those messages within a minute of the file being on Dropbox, so it would be VERY unlikely that two (unknown) people would have found the link and accessed the file that quickly. I believe that Dropbox is lying, that the file wasn't really downloaded and viewed; Dropbox just wanted me to upgrade my account. (In fact I uploaded 3 other files and they all show exactly the same “Activity”.)

 

Just now I did another experiment: I copied a 3-byte text file to a Dropbox folder, copied the link, opened it in a not-logged-in browser and this is what I saw:

Screen Shot 2020-10-02 at 10.28.57 pm.png

“Viewed 5 hours ago”? I don’t think so!

This is very disappointing.

DoctorDada
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

> Hope this helps to clarify matters! 

 

Well, it does clarify now what happened, but it was not at all clear at the time. Don’t you think this should be explained? Otherwise, it just looks dishonest.

Kristy Jessica
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

umm I just got a complaint from one of my customers I sent an exclusive video project to. He was furious! Can Dropbox please remove this whack feature?!?!

Walter
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hey there @Kristy Jessica; thanks for using Dropbox!

 

We do have a dedicated section on the Community where you can post feature requests or suggest a change on existing features, so I'd recommend posting your idea there so other similar-minded users can provide their own input on this one and up-vote it too to show their interest. 

 

Let us know if you have any questions!


Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join

T J.1
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

I too got a call from my manager asking why I shared the video to these strange people.

 

You could have put a large "EXAMPLE" on top, but no, let's make people think the file was shared outside what it should be.

 

What's next ? Sell protection against hackers, and place scary messages about how my account / file was accessed from India, China, Timbuktu or some other random place, just to get me to purchase.

 

Unfortunately it's pointless to suggest changes here.

Maria Bogdankova
New member | Level 2
Go to solution

My client saw that the file was being viewed by other people, but I did not send the link to this folder to anyone but her.
Can you please tell us what this means? After all, I did not send this link to anyone else.
Thank you in advance for your response.

Снимок экрана 2020-10-13 180759.jpg

Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hey @Maria Bogdankova, thanks for reaching out to us. 

 

I've moved your post here, where other users have expressed a similar concern. 

 

When you have a moment, have a look at what is mentioned and don't hesitate to get back to get back to us if you have any other questions. 

 

Thanks again!


Lusil
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, please give it a Like below.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Tips & Tricks Find new ways to stay in flow or share your tips on how you work smarter with Dropbox.

Need more support?