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Forum Discussion
How can I completely disable Smart Sync?
How can I completely, 100%, disable Smart Sync so that Dropbox will always download all of my files?
The settings I have found all apply to NEW files and seem to have no impact on old files.
What...
Hey there Whatever2018 - how are you today?
I'm sorry to hear you would like to opt out of Smart Sync. Depending on the account you're on now you can do it following the steps mentioned below:
Individuals that no longer wish to use Smart Sync can do so with the steps found in the following Help Center article:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/filesystem-integration#optoutIf you're the Admin of a Dropbox for Business team and you'd like to opt all members of your Dropbox Business team out of Smart Sync, I'd also suggest to see the following Help Center article specifically under the section "Dropbox Business team admins: how to opt out your whole team from the system extension":
https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/filesystem-integration#optout
Also note that some of your team members may have connected a work and personal account. If you opt out your team from the system extension, team members won't be able to use Smart Sync on any personal devices (or personal accounts) where they're also signed in to their Business account.
I hope this information helps and please keep me posted on your progress!
Hello DB community,
After many years of Dropboxing I decided to discontinue the service. Not because I don't like it or haven't had use of it, but because I'm using another solution instead which isn't subscription based.
Many years ago, I could simply move a file or folder out of Dropbox. Dropbox would then sync and I knew it was removed on Dropbox server with a sole copy available on the client unit (my MacBook Pro f.e.).
When I started the tedious task of taking all my files away from Dropbox, my first step was to move my files out of the Dropbox assigned folder (on this client I use the default folder location). A few years ago this would've meant that I removed them out of the Dropbox service and only had my files on the client (since I don't have them anywere else). I'm very cautious when I ready about technology such as Smart Sync, which I suspect is brillant once you really understand it, I understood that this would really cause me issues with knowing that my files are safe and sound on my client. Hence, I copied a few folders and files out of Dropbox (maybe 15GB's or so) and let it sync (without interruption).
I've now realized when I started this task that Dropbox hasn't been syncing what I've removed from the Dropbox folder, but rather made everyting online-only, which means I have 300GB of corrupted files.
Now to the question I have:
How do I simply get my stuff out of Dropbox using the System Extension in macOS, moving the files locally to a location on my client and then being 100% sure I have uncorrupted files on my drive? Right now I'm downloading .zips of my files from dropbox.com since its all, without my concent, online only.
Thankful for any help!
You may disable Smart sync altogether to make all files download locally to your hard drive (provided you have enough space to store all your Dropbox content locally). The settings should be found in the Preferencess... > General tab. https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/sync-uploads/smart-sync
Alternatively, you can right click a folder and choose Smart sync > Local to download that folder, and then copy to your backup location.
Thanks!
