How to Clear or Remove the Recent file list in mobile apps

[Swe T.]

I want to clear all the Recent file list, there has no clear function please advise how to clear the list.
Thanks & regards

Swe Tin

[Brad S.11]

Recent posters,

  I too was annoyed that every time I opened Dropbox, I got the "Recent" tab.  However, see Sofia's post two days ago (22 June 2016).  They are rolling out a change that takes you to your last tab, not the Recent tab.  I can confirm that this works perfectly on my new Galaxy S7 Edge.

  Good work, Dropbox team.  Thanks for listening!

[Haris K.2]

I'm glad somethings are moving for some.

I, on the other hand, can confirme nothing has changed. No matter how I leave the app, and the website for that matter, I alway get to recent tab whene I open the app and the website.

I can clearly see recently added or modified picture previews everytime... I'm just glad I have nothing "inciminating so far : ).

Cheers...
Awayting patiently...

[Nathan J.9]

Dropbox is not listening. This may allow for going to the last tab viewed but it doesn't solve the core issue. The core issue is that we want a simple preference that allows us to turn off the tracking and display of recent files. Making the recent tab one click removed doesn't offer any real protection against either the accidental display of files or intentional snooping to see what files were accessed recently.

Turning off the recent tab has almost no obstacles in terms of interface design implications or complexity of dev effort. Dropbox is simply choosing not to allow us to turn of the recents tab...which is what most of the users in this forum want. Dropbox is simply prioritizing their view of how we SHOULD use the product ahead of how we WANT to use the product. Dropbox is essentially saying that they aren't willing to do the work to satisfy the customers who don't want their files tracked and displayed in the recents tab.

They have the right to execute their view (which I don't prefer) and we have the right to choose another solution. I'm busy enough that I haven't bothered to switch yet personally, but we chose Google Drive for my 75 person company primarily because of this issue. (I'm happy to verify this statement with Dropbox reps if they want to reach out directly)

So, Dropbox won 1 battle and lost another. Eventually I'll switch over personally as well if they don't change this but they know most of us will just complain for a while rather than take the time to move our files and re-log our devices into another service. It's a really competitive market for storage, though, so you'd think they'd take advantage of the easy wins...

[Joe R.14]

"Once we decide which way we'll go, we'll let you know 🙂 "

I have never heard a bigger "SCREW YOU CUSTOMERS!!!" from ANY company than that right there!!!

I bought a Synology NAS and am in the process of replacing Dropbox with a more functional device that will cost me sooo much less in the long run. All without relying on DB deciding what to do with or how to display my data. I'll get TERABYTES of storage, VPN server, media streaming, camera surveillance, almost any networked function you can imagine... on and on!

I am not at all surprised they are acting this way, no one has sued them yet (or maybe they just settled with an NDA), Reddit hasn't made a stink that I am aware of, and so far (even in this thread... lookin at you Brad S.) they have been able to appease people by rolling out changes to a few customers who apparently think they were listened to the first time they complained. Google does this, Amazon does this, Microsoft does this, Apple does this... Good job DB... you are now in the big leagues, making the big league bucks. (And THAT'S all they care about.)

This thread was opened almost a year ago to the day, if that brings things into perspective. It is TRIVIAL to make an option in the settings to completely disable the "Recent" privacy debacle. (We make apps at my work.)

I am really curious how much revenue I generated this company by referrals, to be treated like this. I was a DB evangelist for the longest... now I'm evangelizing with another message.

[Brad S.11]

Joe R.,

  If you are new to Synology, then you are really going to love that box even more than you do now.  I have an 1815+ with 22TB of Synology Hybrid RAID with VPN access and automatic backups to both off-site at work and to CrashPlan (cloud).  The box is solid.

  I wouldn't say that my Synology box could replace Dropbox for the way that I use it.  Having synchronization between my Mac OS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android devices is where Dropbox shines.  But then, I use more operating systems than most.  :^)

  BTW, I just updated Dropbox on my iPad and voila, it no longer defaults to the Recent's tab.

[Tarjei U.]

I dont remember how long I have left of my Dropbox subscription, but when it runs out, if this issue isn't fixes (feature toggle of recent) I will no longer use Dropbox. A bit sad, but as other posters have said it seems like they doesn't care.

[Jason M.10]

Yet another +1 for giving users the ability to clear the RECENTS list, and/or prevent it from appearing at all.

[Adam J.2]

Just heard back from support on Twitter: "There isn't a way to remove Recents but thanks for the feedback". Translation: "Suck it, we'll do what we want"

[Ben R.9]

Still no Clear List option in the Recents list of the app huh? Thats pretty lame. Come on DropBox, get on it!

[Bliss G.]

I too, would like to have some options for the recent list

1. No recents list at all

2. Clear specific items from recents list

3. Clear ALL recent from list. 

I have private items that show up when I'm trying to use dropbox for business.  I am floored that dropbox isn't listening to their paying customers.  It's simply a request for an OPTION; not to change the entire way it works.  Bury it deep in advanced settings if you don't want most to mess with it? 

Also, would be nice to get a change log when updating the iOS app.  Can we get people who actually care about the app to be in charge of this?