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Re: deleted folder re appeared after a couple of years

deleted folder re appeared after a couple of years

alex b.35
Explorer | Level 4
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Something very weird just happened with my dropbox account. Out of nowhere, a folder which was deletec about 2 years ago re appeared on my dropbox. It has the files as they were, which makes me wonder why the hell dropbox is still keeping these files after a few years that they have been deleted?

 

First I thought it was a hack, but then I checked all my devices and what was accessing my account and indeed, everything was as it was before.

 

It makes me think this is a serious bug and on another note, why the hell is dropbox keeping data that was deleted 2 years ago?

 

I'll surprised, scared and angry at the same time. I'm not even sure where to begin! I'm now wondering about several of my clients that use dropbox in their business if the same happens.

116 Replies 116

me4um8
New member | Level 2
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A similar thing happened to me: An old (maybe in the past shared?, created 2011-12-18   ) folder created reapeared recently with 4 pictures inside. Original file names but 0 Bytes.

 

Were in your case the files fully restored or only "empty" 0-Byte files?

 

@ Dropboxers: Is this part of the same issue or do I have to worry about the intgrity/validity of my account and files? I am not sure wether something is missing. I only noticed this very old folder reappearing and am slightly shocked. 😞

grilopedro
Explorer | Level 3
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Just happend the same with me. 5 or 6 folders from 2011 suddenly ressurected on my dropbox. This also happend on my office's accont with folders from 2012. This makes me wonder if there is a global issue here. 

 

The problem now is quite simple: HOW CAN WE TRUST DROPBOX EVER AGAIN?

 

It just made my server uploud 4Gb of unnecessary/obsolete files for no reason.

 

Honestly dissapointed.

toddwhite
New member | Level 2
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So do I need to re-delete these or will you clean up as part of the resolution? just checking before I start cleaning up my files.

'- -.4
Helpful | Level 6
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This is happening to me too. Finding stuff deleted many, many years ago. It's confusing the hell out of me. Maybe as consolation, Dropbox will give us all a free 500 MB of space?

Joe C.13
Helpful | Level 5
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Uhhh, this is really weird. When I went into my dropbox today, I noticed a folder named 21 with a .png file named clue21.png which is just a picture of a blue square. If I remember this was a clue from the dropquest a bunch of years back. Why is this folder\file suddently reapearing?? It said this file was made on 1/18/2017 at 6:00 AM.

Rich
Super User II
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Joe C.13 wrote:

I noticed a folder named 21 with a .png file named clue21.png which is just a picture of a blue square. If I remember this was a clue from the dropquest a bunch of years back.


Merging your post with the other thread that is already discussing this issue.

sector7g
New member | Level 2
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So will Dropbox roll back this error eventually or is manual deletion the only solution?

Ross_S
Dropbox Staff
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Thanks everyone for your patience while we worked on a way to clean up the inadvertently restored files and folders. We've built a fix that will automatically return this content to the way it should be: deleted and out of your Dropbox. This will only impact the inadvertently restored files and folders, and only if you haven’t updated them. We’ll begin rolling out the fix to affected users’ accounts later today. We’re giving you a heads up here so you’re aware of why there may be changes to your Dropbox. Here’s a bit more information about the fix.

 

Will this affect my other files?
The fix will only impact the inadvertently restored files and folders. If you have edited the files or folders—by moving them or updating the content inside—they will stay in your Dropbox. You can still manually delete these files and folders if you don’t want them.

 

What if I don’t want these files or folders removed?
While the fix will automatically take effect later today, you can contact our support team (dropbox.com/support) within 30 days and we’ll restore the files and folders for you. You won’t be able to restore on your own using the events page.

 

Do I need to do anything?
We will automatically roll out the fix, you don’t need to do a thing. If you have questions or concerns, please write our support team at http://bit.ly/cm-support so that we can investigate your specific case. Your ticket will be prioritized by the team.

 

Thanks again for your patience, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience and confusion we’ve caused.

thanar
New member | Level 2
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Indeed; this is what also makes me wonder. Dropbox is supposed to be erasing forever deleted files that's older than 30 days on a few account. Where did all this data come from? This means that potentially they can store anything for ever and this makes you think...

RTouris
Explorer | Level 4
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I suppose at some point the ToS potentially gave Dropbox the OK to keep backups of all users files for ...ever, however such incidents only add to the confusion of the conundrum that Dropbox as well as other online backup [services] have become as of late..

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