Dropbox removed ability to opt your files out of AI training::undefined

  • LastYearsPumpkin@feddit.chEnglish
    115·
    9 months ago

    Why does dropbox have the ability to see your files at all? That seems like a pretty bad security flaw in the first place.

    • hersh@literature.cafeEnglish
      72·
      9 months ago

      There are drawbacks to end-to-end encryption (E2EE). I’m not aware of any E2EE cloud storage systems that have the features Dropbox provides. I would LOVE to know of any that…

      1. Support at least the big 5 platforms (Android/iOS/Mac/Windows/Linux).

      2. Have a functional web interface.

      3. Support sharing and collaboration.

      4. Have a search feature

      5. Sync to the local filesystem on a folder-by-folder or even file-by-file basis

      6. Integrate with other tools (e.g. android file picker)

      It’s not easy to do all that with E2EE, like a functional web interface, search, and integration.

      ProtonMail’s search, for example, is limited to subject and metadata, and that’s specifically because they DON’T use E2EE for that.

      I’m willing to compromise some of this for the sake of E2EE, but I’m not at all surprised that feature-first services are more popular than privacy-first services.

        • hersh@literature.cafeEnglish
          3·
          9 months ago

          I just checked to see if I missed a big update.

          There’s still no Linux client, and it cannot sync files on Android (it only supports photo backups).

          I can’t work around that limitation on Android with FolderSync, either, the way I can with Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or any WebDAV- or S3-compatible server. Since it uses E2EE, any uploads need to go directly through the app, so integrations are difficult.

          It doesn’t seem to have a search feature, either, at least not on Android. I can’t imagine there’s any content-aware search on the web UI, since that can’t be done server-side.

          There’s been some interesting research in homomorphic encryption over the past couple years, which might someday lead to encrypted server-side search. But I think there are still major hurdles to actually implementing it securely and efficiently.

  • rickdg@lemmy.worldEnglish
    631·
    9 months ago

    Response from dropbox in that post: “Jumping in to clarify some confusion. The AI third-party toggle is only visible to users who have access to our AI features. If you don’t see the AI third-party toggle, then you can’t view or use Dropbox AI features. To reiterate, neither this nor any other setting automatically or passively sends any Dropbox customer data to a third-party AI service. Please see our Help Center article for a list of those with access to Dropbox AI features.”

    • JustARegularNerd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      I don’t know why I find it so surprising that Dropbox apparently has a Hacker News account, but I am mindblown that’s a thing.

      I thought HN would be way too niche for that to be a thing.

        • EnderMB@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          9 months ago

          If you want a laugh, go back to their initial “Show HN” post. It made one person with the top comment rather infamous for being out of touch with his comment on “I could just rsync, why would I use this?”

          • Malle_Yeno@pawb.socialEnglish
            2·
            9 months ago

            For what it’s worth, the reputation of the BrandonM comment on the Dropbox post is pretty overblown compared to what was actually written. The post highlighted some concerns that were legitimate in 2007. And the tone of the comments were supportive of dropbox – the poster acknowledged the feedback and offered use cases that still would lean towards Dropbox, and BrandonM responded that they made sense and wished them luck.

    • bean@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      9 months ago

      I did this. Enjoy unsharing literally every shared file and folder and removing access etc. I thought I deleted all my files. Nope. Checked the shared area. You’ll need to undo all of that manually. Only then was I finally able to rid myself of this enshittified disaster. Goodbye forever Dropbox. The only good you ever did was scannable.

  • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.worldEnglish
    301·
    9 months ago

    I said this in another post:

    If your business is using Dropbox as cloud storage, you are so fucked!

    In 2015, I worked in a company that stored financial records. Small restaurant company with 80 employees. I emailed them last week about this and they’re already making moves to leave.

    • Patches@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      4·
      9 months ago

      It’s wild that you’re still in contact with your former employers.

      Literally every single one has “fired me” and escorted me from the premises after I put in a 2 week notice.

      • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.worldEnglish
        51·
        9 months ago

        You can leave a company on good terms.

        I also highly recommend not burning bridges. Even if they were a shit storm, 2-3 years later you might change your mind.

        • Patches@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          9 months ago

          I have. I didn’t do anything bad to any one of them. I would like to think I was a top performer but they all somehow take it personally that I want more money than they wanna pay.

          If I can get a new job by leaving after 2/3 years and increase my pay by 20%. Why would I stay for a 2% COL raise? Inflation was 18% last year…

          One got upset and said “I don’t know how to process this. I thought you were a lifer…” and then escorted me to security.

  • redcalcium@lemmy.instituteEnglish
    28·
    9 months ago

    Wait, Dropbox can use your files to train AI? How is this acceptable? Aren’t people storing their keepass vaults there?

    • logicbomb@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      Password manager is one of the few “free” services that I pay for. Still feeling pretty good about 1password.

      • Plopp@lemmy.worldEnglish
        103·
        9 months ago

        Pff, such capitalist bull. But communists at least have LastPass, that shares our passwords with the world under the banner of no private ownership.

        But seriously, paying for a password manager is a good thing. Find a good and secure one that is properly vetted and trusted in the industry, and support them if you can.

    • MagneticFusion@lemm.eeEnglish
      32·
      9 months ago

      You better have created a Keyfile with it and store that only locally on your devices, otherwise if your passwords get leaked or you get hacked it is 100% your fault and not Dropbox’s fault.

    • Bilb!@lem.monsterEnglish
      13·
      9 months ago

      The problem, as I’m sure you know, is that a home server is not fit for purpose for the vast majority of people. Managing that is a fun project for some, but a complete non starter for most.

      • Patches@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        43·
        9 months ago

        Synology makes it relatively painless with synology drive. It ain’t cheap but neither is drop box long-term

        • kingthrillgore@lemmy.mlEnglish
          4·
          9 months ago

          Synology makes the best home NAS hardware you can get. And they are still actively supporting decades-old units with DSM security updates and aren’t stopping any time soon. They get it. And they get my money time and time again.

          • Patches@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            Correction: They make the best home NAS Software that you can get and they support it forever (so far).

            Their hardware is often dated and expensive af. But you can’t get the software without the hardware so…

      • MadBigote@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        9 months ago

        You can easily repurpose old drives for this. I started my server scavenging drives and using my laptop. I upgraded to some WD NAS HDD and I’m about to upgrade to a better Synology NAS.

        There are options for people wanting to start hosting.

    • hushable@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      9 months ago

      I used to pay for Dropbox about a decade ago, I replaced it with a raspberry pi running syncthing with an USB drive attached to it

  • M500@lemmy.mlEnglish
    12·
    9 months ago

    I HATE Dropbox.

    I tried to use them recently and their service had some problems.

    They have an option to “stream” files when you need them. The only problem is you need an internet connection to access them. I did not trust this kind of system and I actually need to access my files even without internet.

    So there is a way to make the files available offline. Great! Problem solves. NOPE! They offer an option to have your files available offline, but they might remove the files and make them only available in the cloud if you local storage gets low.

    That is really all they say about it and there is no option to turn this off. I was uncomfortable about their vagueness and my inability to disable this.

    Within 24 hours of paying for their service I learned of this and they refused to refund my purchase.

    PLEASE NEVER WORK WITH DROPBOX

  • Wet@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    9 months ago

    Happy I moved to Syncthing a long time ago. My data is replicated on several locations and instances on cheap old raspberries+drives and syncs instantly even on my phone, where I keep Obsidian notes. No size limits, no huge hassle, 10 minutes to get a new instance set up.

    Every now and then I will rsync the encrypted version to an offline drive and store it somewhere else.

  • Zoboomafoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    9 months ago

    So are there any files that an AI shouldn’t vacuum up that I just happen to have in my dropbox?

  • extant@lemmy.worldEnglish
    61·
    9 months ago

    If you aren’t aware rclone makes it easy to backup (copy) or sync files to different cloud providers like Dropbox and you can setup encryption very easily so you can continue using Dropbox since it does have pretty good value for the price even though they’ve shown they aren’t trustworthy.

    https://rclone.org/dropbox/ https://rclone.org/crypt/ https://rclone.org/commands/rclone_copy/ https://rclone.org/commands/rclone_sync/

    • sloppy_diffuser@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      For android there is RoundSync. It automatically backs up folders of your choice on a schedule. Not on any app store. It must be installed by downloading the apk from GitHub.

      There is also Cryptomator as an alternative. I used it for years without issue, but prefer rclone for more control over my work stream. Think I paid a one time license of $10 for desktop and another $10 for mobile.

      Dropbox is only a good deal if you use near peak storage and/or do a lot of data transfers.

      I was paying $120/yr for 2TB. Now I’m on B2 Backblaze. On paper Dropbox was cheaper per GB, but with my usage pattern I’m paying like $1.00 every other month.