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Forum Discussion
Photographs that are NOT mine in Dropbox - and NOT as a result of using a shared computer!
Hello, I have discovered a folder in my Dropbox entitled 'Camera Uploads' which is full of hundreds of photos and videos that are not mine. The files are dated from August 2012-November 2013 (whic...
Mark
Super User II
Super User IIHi Natmonster
They can only be in your account IF a device is connected to your account which has your credentials on it - either via a shared computer OR somebody putting a USB/phone etc. on your computer at some point (and the software just copies them off).
One thing that mayhelp to work things out is go to the Camera Uploads folder, click on one of the files three dots to the right and choose 'restore previous versions'. It MAY tell you what device it came from which could help you work things out.
Thanks for your input but it does not explain how photographs belonging to someone with the *same name as me* (and someone I definitely do not know) managed to back-up their photos to my account.
Firstly, I have never had reason to sign into Dropbox outside my home and there are only one or two people at home who would have had access to my own PC over the years. It's simply too much of a coincidence to believe that someone with the *same name as me* who ALSO had access to *my PC/a shared computer I have used* and the result was that their files were inadvertently backed up. I just don't buy it.- Mark
The only way is that the person has got access to your username and password, but, thats highly unlikely.
Also, if the photos are from that long ago its almost impossible to remember who may have used one of your devices for a few seconds.
Check what devices are on your account at www.dropbox.com/account.
Hi Mark,
Yes of course. I accept that my memory is fallible and I can't be 100% sure that no one ever used my computer all those years ago. However, I am 100% certain that someone who shares the same name as me has never, ever used my computer. That, I would certainly remember. And so the question remains, how can it be explained that I have photographs in my Dropbox that belong to someone (who I certainly don't know) who has the same name as me? That cannot be mere coincidence.
"The only way is that the person has got access to your username and password, but, thats highly unlikely".
Not only would they have to have access to my account, they would have to have access to my account AND also have the same name as me. That's even more unlikely, and for me, not believable as a pure fluke 'coincidence'. This aspect of the incident is still unexplained.I believe it must have something to do with my login. I signed up for Dropbox using my Gmail address. When I first registered my Gmail account, back in the early days of the internet, I was early enough to be able to choose my [firstname][last name]@gmail.com . As a result, I regularly receive all manner of emails intended for other people who share the same name as me (and presumably a similar email address) including variations where there is a dot between words or it ends with @googlemail.com etc. My suspicion is that somehow, somewhere along the way, a bug in Dropbox's system has enabled a crossover with someone with the same name. I am open to other explanations and would be interested to hear them but they would need to account for the shared name aspect too.
(I have checked all linked devices on Dropbox and there is currently only one linked device, my phone).
I'm a retired engineer with ageing tech (old HP pc and 2018 phone). I downloaded Dropbox a while ago but hadn't used it until today. I needed to upload some pics I had just taken to my pc and then email them. I opted for Dropbox from a Windows list and connected the phone with a cable. Dropbox uploaded only 25 pics including the new images. Then I spotted an image I did NOT recognise. A young lady, about 25, clearly sitting for a portrait in business attire, white sheet background. Image info showed it was a colour image but displayed in b&w. Taken on 13th June this year, just weeks ago. "saved from Safari", IMG_0380. I've never used Safari. Could be one pic from a company photoshoot perhaps. How it ended up on my old iphone I find deeply disturbing. Are any of my phone images now on someone else's phone or pc?? Fortunately they are all pedestrian and benign. Nothing really private, but the mind boggles. Before today, the last photo I took on this phone was in April. The spurious image then appeared, followed by the three new images. I don't do social media and make few calls. Internet radio, the news and Google mostly. Phone is too old for many apps. It has to be Dropbox. They will deny it (do a 'Horizon') but this is a massive security issue! VIZ: my images sent to the cloud and... someone else's image downloaded to my phone from the cloud. Nice.
- Mark
Jethro51 wrote:
someone else's image downloaded to my phone from the cloud. Nice.
This isnt Dropbox that has done it - because Dropbox doesnt download and sync photos (or in fact any file at all) to mobiles. It is one of the biggest complaints people have about the product on mobile. So, if the file is on your mobile its come from the mobile - maybe an accidental screenshot (thats my usual error!) or saved from an email.
