Files and folders disappeared

[nmbereny]

Hello,

I don't use use dropbox very often, but I have been using it since at least 2003.  When I logged in today, I found almost all of my files and folders missing and only a few from 2019 still there. 

Like I said, I don't use it often, but I was always happy that they were there - eg. letters from my late husband etc.   So not finding them there is very upsetting to me. And I only use the web version of the software.

I found an old link of when I had shared a folder to someone, and I was able to navigate to it, and then save it to a folder.

So it appears the files may still be there (whew!) but it is not displaying to me in my account.

Now they are all gone, and I don't know when Dropbox decided to just delete all my content.  I am on the free 2GB version and didn't plan to upgrade so are they just deleting all my files?

How do I get them back?

[Mark]

Hi @nmbereny 

Dropbox cannot delete things - it has no capability to do so without being told to do so by somebody. 

What does www.dropbox.com/events show about the files? Note that if they were deleted over 30 days ago they are not recoverable. If you found things via a link then they are NOT in your Dropbox but somebody elses and so you need to get the other links to find the rest

[Frustrated9]

I logged into Dropbox today to find almost all of my folders just gone. They are not shared folders, I do not have multiple accounts, and I absolutely did not delete them: they are not in my Deleted Files, I have used and edited them within 30 days, and there is nothing to reflect their deletion in my "Activities" tab or the Events page on the website. There was no notification that they were compromised or corrupted in any way--they're just gone. I have tried accessing them from multiple devices that I have previously accessed them on, using both the app and the Dropbox website.

I cannot find any help for this issue anywhere--only a few other accounts of people having a similar issue, never having it resolved, and switching to another platform.

[Mark]

What is www.dropbox.com/events showing - anything? 

What about https://www.dropbox.com/account/security in terms of connected devices etc.?

Do you recognise them all? Are they what you'd expect?

[Frustrated9]

Dropbox.com/events does show recently deleted files from shared folders by other users, and I did a test deletion of a file that showed up there as well. I looked at the history as far back as the last time I'm absolutely positive I edited a file on a specific date, which was 20 days ago.

The only connected devices that show up in my security settings are my phone and my computer--however, one strange thing is that my phone shows up as being used 4 months ago when I've used it multiple times since then (including today). Edit: I also noticed that my work computer was not included in connected devices, and I have logged into my Dropbox from there as well. It was on the web version and not an app, so not sure if that should be showing up or not. 

I appreciate your help.

[Mark]

So, if its not showing as being used in 4 months its possible you are actually using 2 accounts - even if you dont realise it. 

A simple way to check that is to disconnect the phone via the link I gave before and see if you can still log in. If you CAN log in to the phone it is connected to a different account to what you are viewing now.