Ending support of public folder

[ae2rigc]

Just heard from dropbox that support for the public folder is ending.

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As a result, we’ll soon be ending support for the Public folder. Dropbox Pro users will be able to use the Public folder until
September 1, 2017. After that date the files in your Public folder will become private, and links to these files will be deactivated. Your files will remain safe in Dropbox.

If you’d like to keep sharing files in your Public folder, you can create new shared links. Just make sure to send the new URLs to your collaborators.

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It is one of the most useful features of the service for me as I use it to get links to single files that I can send to people without setting up shared folders and requiring them to have dropbox accounts.

(Save file to my public folder locally, syncs, right click, get publick link, paste. Doesn't get any easier than that.)

It's also useful for bb style forum posts where you can link to images with an easy tag.

With the public folder support being removed, is there going to be an alternative solution to allow easy public sharing of single files?

[flyingtatu]

I'm also very disappointed about this change. Even there is time left almost a year, it gonna cause problems. Like many others, I have shared thousands of Dropbox links to customers and friends, and 2017 all of those will stop working.

I have also used the public folder when I have needed to transfer some file quickly to an unknown computer. In few seconds you can download the file you need with web browser without manually copying any sharing link, because the URL to shared folder will always be the same, so it can be remembered by hearth or linked for example via tinyurl.

Just wondering, that is there a technical problem with the public folder, or why it's going to be suspended. Most probably I need to change to use another service after the currect subscription to dropbox ends 😞

[roar]

I was just gonna use Dropbox to support a mobile app I'm developing since they offer really good API.

I've found out that they're closing public folders with no obvious reason nevertheless so many people use it, even pay for. So obviously ignore their own customers.

I recognized it's not such a great idea to rely on cloud. App developers cannot take such a great risk that one day his app stops working because cloud provider decided to shut down key functionalities. It's better to use own server whenever possible.

[cwestfall]

Please do reconsider removing the currently-active links to the Public folder items. 
 
Your service has been vital to our business and family and removing these links will create a hardship..

Thanks.

CW
A paying, happy user

[critic]

I have links to a thousand files that are in my Public Folder all over the Internet, from forums to blog posts. Do you seriously consider me tracking down years worth on my Internet activity to 'replace' these links a reasonable course of action?

I wish upon you a slow and painful bankrupcy if you do this.

[Elizabeth G.10]

@abela wrote:

Vast majority of comments here seem to be along the lines of "i have posted links to images/videos on forums and now they will break."

So, basically Dropbox does not want to be everybodies CDN anymore.

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But that's what I'm paying them for; It is a sharing and collaboration tool. Is it not?

If it was just for file backups, I would be using backblaze at half the cost and unlimited storage.

[draeath]

This functionality was and is the only reason I use Dropbox. If your intent was to push people away, congratulations.

I'm off to go buid my own Seafile server now, thanks, where I control the whole thing. I think I'd have been better off tossing things up on S3 instead, all these years.

[saguaroman]

+1.  Please reconsider, Dropbox.  At least give us a way to keep existing public links active without having to recreate and replace them...

[Pablo f.6]

Does anyone in the dropbox see all this here?

Friends do not stop sending emails to the support, making it clear that this is horrible!

[Stefen H.]

For those who are confused about what dl=0 and 1 is:

At the very end of a Dropbox link there'll be a 0. Change that to a 1 and it'll be a direct download instead of a download page, similar to how the old public folder links work.

Also for those who think they have to visit Dropbox.com to create links:

This is not the case if you have the app installed. Right clicking the file or folder you want to create a link to and choosing copy Dropbox link will create a link and copy it to your clipboard. You only have to visit the site if you want to set or modify link options or remove the link altogether.

That said, I'm not a huge user of public folder links, but I too disagree with this change and don't understand why there hasn't been any disclosure about the reason. All this importance placed on disclosure about government requests for data, and none about changes like this. A lot of the negative criticism comes from people not knowing anything about why this is being done.

[Phoenix84]

I had no idea people still used that folder.

I hated it.

The second they announced sharable links throughout dropbox I stopped using it.

I guess a good compromise might be to either allow existing links to function, but make all future files private and require you to generate a share link; or allow it for pro users, if it's costing them to maintain it.

I'm a pro user and don't care either way. I'm honestly surprised people still use it.