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Forum Discussion
Dropbox Syncing Without My Permission
Hi! I am running into a potential problem with Dropbox. When I started up my Windows 10 PC this evening, the Dropbox desktop app on my screen immediately started syncing, even though I had not prom...
- The Dropbox desktop application would only sync other computer folders (namely Desktop, Documents and Downloads) if you enabled the computer backup feature.
If it's disabled, all that would be synced are the files in the Dropbox folder itself. It doesn't sync your entire computer, as this feature isn't available on Dropbox.
Hi, Walter! Thank you so much for your reply! I followed your advice. I first went to the desktop app Preferences and made sure that "Start Dropbox on system startup" and "Open the desktop app when starting Dropbox" were unchecked. Then, I quit Dropbox.
Being the experimenter I am, I reopened the Dropbox desktop app to ensure that I had done everything necessary, but the little yellow circle with the pair of lines is still there. How do I do a reset so that my Dropbox desktop app isn't going to forever be in "Pause syncing" mode?
Jay
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi Cendrillon, you could resume syncing in the desktop app, and then immediately quit the app.
This way the only way files will sync to your account is when the app is running.
Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you don't want the app to sync automatically, and only when you choose to have the app running?
This way the only way files will sync to your account is when the app is running.
Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you don't want the app to sync automatically, and only when you choose to have the app running?
Hi, Jay! Thanks for joining the thread! Yes, there is a reason I don't want the app to sync automatically, and only when I run the app. The simple reason is, I only have the basic account with 2GB capacity, so I don't want the app to sync my entire computer automatically. I am taking an online GIS course, and I am going to be creating some GIS documents. I only want to back up my GIS documents to Dropbox. I don't want my entire computer backed up to Dropbox. So I will sync my GIS files to Dropbox when I am ready. When I'm not deliberately syncing files to Dropbox, I would prefer the app to be shut down and not syncing, if that makes any sense. I am still very new to Dropbox and syncing services in general and am not 100% clear on how it works. 😕
- JayThe Dropbox desktop application would only sync other computer folders (namely Desktop, Documents and Downloads) if you enabled the computer backup feature.
If it's disabled, all that would be synced are the files in the Dropbox folder itself. It doesn't sync your entire computer, as this feature isn't available on Dropbox.Hi Jay,
I'm also having this issue.
I never gave dropbox permission to start accessing and syncing the files on my Macbook so it is just appalling that it would automatically just do it by default straight out of the gates. I'm this close to flicking dropbox for iCloud, even though I've been using and enjoying dropbox for years.
I'll explain the situation just so we all have some context for others as I'd be very surprised if a heap of people aren't having the same issue.
Recently my iMac motherboard failed and I've purchased a new M1 Apple MacBook Air. After manually transferring my docs and other files over, I've started downloading and installing apps that I commonly use from scratch. Enter Dropbox.
After installing it and signing in, all of a sudden it is syncing all of the folders and files on my Mac! Folders that it is helping its self to include: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Movies. And not only that, the syncing is apparently going to continue for the next two days!
Seriously WTF. And how dare Dropbox do this by default. This is an assault on our time and seems to be purposefully sneaky given that the solutions is hidden away behind several steps within the preferences.
After finding and reading this thread, I followed the said steps. However when I uncheck the folders within the "Back up your Mac automatically" page, and then click Save, then check "Keep content in folders on the Mac" (another very vague and misleading way of representing the options) and then clicking Stop backup, it then comes up with error messages beside the folders saying in red: "Couldn't stop backup"
GRRRRRR!!!!
So I tried pausing syncing and trying again... But then it comes up with the error message "Syncing is paused", greying out the entire page and rendering it unresponsive unless I click on "Resume syncing"
So with these steps repeated over and over just to make sure there's nothing I've missed, and several loud curses later, I can only assume we must need to wait for the syncing to finish and stop on it's own accord, before having the functional access to opt out of this "Back up you Mac automatically" feature. A feature that your company thinks is ok to force on its users without prior notification.
Am I missing anything?
