How to turn off syncing?

[Jon L.9]

I just discovered today that Dropbox automatically copies everything in my Dropbox storage to my local harddrive. I have no idea why this is a default feature, since automatically copying 1TB of files to my computer defeats the entire point of having cloud storage.

Is there a way to disable syncing altogether? I am perfectly capable of uploading and downloading my files on an as-needed basis.

[Mark · Accepted solution]

I have no idea why this is a default feature, since automatically copying 1TB of files to my computer defeats the entire point of having cloud storage

This is because this is the whole point of Dropbox - it is what it was designed and intended to do. It is not 'just' cloud storage. It is a syncing tool. It is supposed to sync everything between computers. 

To disable syncing to the computer close and/or remove the Dropbox application from your machine and just use the website to upload and download 

[Jon L.9]

Is there a way to not sync everything in my Dropbox account, but rather only sync select files? To opt out of syncing and only opt-in for specific files?

I've looked into Selective Syncing, but it doesn't load the folders in my account; It only loads one "Dropbox" folder with the message "Trying to connect to Dropbox..."

[Mark]

You can use selective sync, 

And if you are getting that message something is causing issues on your machine with Dropbox's connection (firewall/antiviruses etc.)

[Yvonne C.3]

I need to manually sync as I live remotely and pay for data.

I successfully turned of synchronizing and now that I am in a wifi zone have updated, but now I cant find where to turn it off again!

I thought is was in the preferences file but can't find it.

help?

[Yvonne C.3]

ps nowhere in your HELP does it answer this question.

there is only information of pausing and resuming a sync....

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]