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Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

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Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#31

Post by Xeamek »

sharken wrote: post #12
WhyNotHugo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'll be honest, I don't really see the complaint here. There is no explicit consent.

Exactly, as a paying user having the option to disable telemetry is not unreasonable. Too bad Dropbox does not see it that way.

That depends what telemetry though. Assuming this telemetry is purely about app's performance and behavior and is trully anonymous(I know that's big assumption, for sake of the argument let's believe it is the case), taking away from devs informations about whether or not the app is working well, is indeed quite unreasonable

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#32

Post by windock »

stewartmcgown wrote: post #21
aunty_helen wrote: post #15

Wouldn't get this with a FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem.

Excellent reference

For reference, it is referred to the first comment under announcement of Dropbox https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#33

Post by accrual »

Hamuko wrote: post #8

Do people still use Dropbox? I feel like I almost never hear recommendations for it. I personally abandoned Dropbox when they introduced a limit on the amount of devices you could use for free plans, and the cheapest plan was like 120€/year for 2 TB.

I use it to backup game saves from a Docker container. The binary is installed on the server but otherwise I just use the web interface to check on things.

It's pretty neat, but that's all I use it for these days. Still have my original 2GB account from when Dropbox was new.

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#34

Post by popey »

I switched away from Dropbox to Syncthing https://syncthing.net/ a few years ago. Running it on Windows, Mac and Linux (I don't use it on mobile) to keep all manner of files in sync across a bunch of machines. While it doesn't have all the shell integration and end-user friendliness of Dropbox, it also doesn't have the pitfalls like (non-optional) telemetry and constant up-sell.

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#36

Post by ketzu »

michael9k wrote: post #25
Hamuko wrote: post #8

Do people still use Dropbox? I feel like I almost never hear recommendations for it. I personally abandoned Dropbox when they introduced a limit on the amount of devices you could use for free plans, and the cheapest plan was like 120€/year for 2 TB.

Maybe I just have a different view of pricing, but I find €120 a year for 2TB with unlimited versions, ability to share files of any size, rock solid syncing on all my devices etc to be extremely cheap!

Oh they increased to 2TB? (Seems it was around 2019... wow I am not up to date! https://venturebeat.com/business/dropbox-increases-plus-plan... )

Back when I decided which cloud storage to use, all the big ones were at 1TB and dorpbox was the most expensive with the least features, while microsofts offer included office 365 for nearly half the price.

Right now it seems: MS 6$/mo for 1TB + Office (https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-365/onedrive/compa...) Dropbox 10$/mo for 2TB (https://www.dropbox.com/plans) Google 12$/mo for 2TB+some smaller things like calls (https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html?utm_source=drivefo...)

There obviously are smaller companies offering storage too, which seems to be around 4~5$/(mo and TB), eg https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html?peri... https://icedrive.net/plans https://www.sync.com/pricing-individual/

Overall I'd say its not a terrible offer after the increase to 2TB, but on the expensive side compared to competitors.

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#37

Post by manigandham »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #19

Many times on HN, commenters have mocked those who questioned why someone would use Dropbox instead of a method controlled by the user. I guess becausse someone made lots of money from it or it became popular or something. I always found this perplexing because I look at solutions from the perspective of the user, namely, me, not from the perspective of a third party "tech" startup founder. It's insensitive to the pe…

Dropbox became popular because, from the perspective of 99% of users, it provides an incredibly simple and effective UX for syncing files across devices and locations. And better UX is enough to be a billion-dollar company.

Of course you can use whatever you want.

Re: Dropbox telemetry can't be disabled

#38

Post by Pawka »

popey wrote: post #34

I switched away from Dropbox to Syncthing https://syncthing.net/ a few years ago. Running it on Windows, Mac and Linux (I don't use it on mobile) to keep all manner of files in sync across a bunch of machines. While it doesn't have all the shell integration and end-user friendliness of Dropbox, it also doesn't have the pitfalls like (non-optional) telemetry and constant up-sell.

I did the same. Plus also I'm using on my Android phone. Replaces Dropbox completely unless I want to share something with other people. But for that case I usually use Sharing feature from Synology NAS.
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