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Forum Discussion
I want to stop backing up my desktop on Dropbox.
I am using a different app to backup my desktop computer and its files. I want to continue to use Dropbox, but I don't need it to do the backups. How can I stop this feature?
Hey there rhaines765 - how are you today?
As our desktop app is designed to watch your Dropbox folder and sync any files placed in the folder you'll only need to uninstall it. Remember, your Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your hard drive, but with syncing features.
You'd then be able to access your Dropbox account through the website at:
Note that the Dropbox folder itself is still there as a local copy of your Dropbox files at the time you uninstalled (or unlinked) our app from your account on your desktop computer.
I hope this information helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey there rhaines765 - how are you today?
As our desktop app is designed to watch your Dropbox folder and sync any files placed in the folder you'll only need to uninstall it. Remember, your Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your hard drive, but with syncing features.
You'd then be able to access your Dropbox account through the website at:
Note that the Dropbox folder itself is still there as a local copy of your Dropbox files at the time you uninstalled (or unlinked) our app from your account on your desktop computer.
I hope this information helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Hello, Walter,
I am doing well today. Thank you for asking.
So it wouldn't cost me any more or any less to let Dropbox continue performing a backup? I see from other posts that indicate the backups are not retained indefinitely. I didn't want to be using up space.
- Walter
That would be up to you and how you use it rhaines765!
If you'd like to free up space on a computer using our desktop app, take a look at our selective sync feature:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/syncing-uploads/selective-sync-overview
Keep me posted on your progress!
I was able to do exactly as you suggested. I am using the Selective Sync instead of uninstalling the Dropbox app.
Thank you!
I chose to backup "locally" -- as I got caught up in a long process I couldn't back out of or discontinue but now Dropbox is backing everything up to the "cloud" where I don't want it. And when I plugged in a very big external hard drive hoping it would back my PC to it, it just suggested that I might want to back up my external hard drive to the cloud (only it doesn't use the word "cloud" which makes the process even more mystifying and confusing).
