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Forum Discussion
deleted folder re appeared after a couple of years
Something very weird just happened with my dropbox account. Out of nowhere, a folder which was deletec about 2 years ago re appeared on my dropbox. It has the files as they were, which makes me wonde...
Thanks everyone for your patience while we worked on a way to clean up the inadvertently restored files and folders. We've built a fix that will automatically return this content to the way it should be: deleted and out of your Dropbox. This will only impact the inadvertently restored files and folders, and only if you haven’t updated them. We’ll begin rolling out the fix to affected users’ accounts later today. We’re giving you a heads up here so you’re aware of why there may be changes to your Dropbox. Here’s a bit more information about the fix.
Will this affect my other files?
The fix will only impact the inadvertently restored files and folders. If you have edited the files or folders—by moving them or updating the content inside—they will stay in your Dropbox. You can still manually delete these files and folders if you don’t want them.What if I don’t want these files or folders removed?
While the fix will automatically take effect later today, you can contact our support team (dropbox.com/support) within 30 days and we’ll restore the files and folders for you. You won’t be able to restore on your own using the events page.Do I need to do anything?
We will automatically roll out the fix, you don’t need to do a thing. If you have questions or concerns, please write our support team at http://bit.ly/cm-support so that we can investigate your specific case. Your ticket will be prioritized by the team.Thanks again for your patience, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience and confusion we’ve caused.
Ross_S
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffThanks for your reports, and we’re sorry for the confusion we’ve caused. Here’s more information about why some of you are seeing previously deleted files or folders reappear in your Dropbox.
What happened?
A bug was preventing some files and folders from being fully deleted off of our servers, even after users had deleted them from their Dropbox accounts. While fixing the bug, we inadvertently restored the impacted files and folders to those users’ accounts. This was our mistake; it wasn’t due to a third party and you weren’t hacked.
Why are these files and folders so old?
Typically, we permanently remove files and folders from our servers within 60 days of a user deleting them. However, the deleted files and folders impacted by this bug had metadata inconsistencies. So we quarantined and excluded them from the permanent deletion process until the metadata could be fixed. During this time no one had access to your files or folders and none of your other files were affected.
What should you do?
We’ve fixed the metadata bug so you can delete these files and folders now, and they won’t reappear. We’re continuing to explore alternative solutions and will keep you updated here on the forum. In the meantime, we’ve made sure these files and folders won’t have a negative impact on your quota.
If you still have questions, you can reach our support team at http://bit.ly/cm-support
P.S: This has been marked as a 'solution' to be pinned to the top of the page and visible to everyone.
This happened to me as well -- several very old folders reappeared with their contents intact. I found this forum, and read through the postings and replies. I am extremely put off by this -- and the official response. Obviously, we've been LIED to. Our deleted files have been hanging out on their servers due to a metadata error, and they just now, seven years later figured that out? Files that should have been permanently deleted 30 - 60 days "after the initial deletion." I don't buy that. Shady.
This is a big deal. You've just lost a lot of trust. How do we know that this is the extent of it? How can we know Dropbox is safe? Or takes our privacy seriously? Huge fail, Dropbox. You can no longer be trusted.
