Dropbox Basic - not wanting to upgrade so will I lose my data?

[Effmeeffthis]

Hello all,
I am unable to contact any support people due to my plan being so basic. I used Dropbox about a decade ago to store and backup travel photos. I have a lot of photos and videos saved on here. At some point Dropbox rolled out a more tiered subscription plan and I am slapped with the Basic Plan. Therefore I am way over my storage limit of 2GB (I think it says there is 36GB of data) so obviously I have always been over 2GB and haven’t added any files since 2016. I’m wondering what is going to happen to my photos if I never upgrade? They will still exist here on Dropbox right? They can’t just delete my data or make it unavailable somehow..right?? I need to find my old laptop and make sure those photos and videos are still available on the hard drive. If so, then I guess it’s not a big deal. If not, I will be worried I might lose years worth of memories. Anyone have any idea what happens to accounts over the 2GB limit but never upgraded?

[Rich]

---

@Effmeeffthis wrote:
At some point Dropbox rolled out a more tiered subscription plan and I am slapped with the Basic Plan.

---

Not really. Dropbox has always had the Basic, i.e. free, plan. The next available plan is the paid Plus plan. It's always been that way. They've added some bigger plans over time, but nothing has changed with Basic, and the storage on Plus doubled for no additional cost. Basic includes the same 2GB for free that it always has.

---

... I have always been over 2GB and haven’t added any files since 2016. I’m wondering what is going to happen to my photos if I never upgrade? They will still exist here on Dropbox right?

---

No, not anymore. Previously, Dropbox would retain all of your data as long as your account was active (accessed at least once per year). Recently, however, that policy has changed, and Dropbox will now start to remove data from your account to bring it back below your storage limit, starting with your newest files.

• https://help.dropbox.com/storage-space/over-quota

[Effmeeffthis]

Ah ok. It’s all there in that article. I do recall now that I had paid for more storage while traveling and didn’t maintain that storage amount when it expired. Thanks. But, how will I know when things are being deleted? I’ve received plenty of emails saying Dropbox has stopped syncing and there is no more space but nothing explicitly saying they are deleting files, yet. I did receive the email that my account had been inactive for a year so I indeed logged in and began the process of clicking a million buttons to try and contact someone about being over the storage limit. Luckily this forum exists. I guess.

[Rich]

---

@Effmeeffthis wrote:
 But, how will I know when things are being deleted? I’ve received plenty of emails saying Dropbox has stopped syncing and there is no more space but nothing explicitly saying they are deleting files, yet.

---

You'll receive email warnings before anything is deleted, but I wouldn't wait until then. Email (from any system) isn't guaranteed delivery. It's best effort. If something should happen and you don't receive the warning, you might lose your files without knowing it.