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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 wonder why the hell dropbox is still keeping these files after a few years that they have been deleted?
First I thought it was a hack, but then I checked all my devices and what was accessing my account and indeed, everything was as it was before.
It makes me think this is a serious bug and on another note, why the hell is dropbox keeping data that was deleted 2 years ago?
I'll surprised, scared and angry at the same time. I'm not even sure where to begin! I'm now wondering about several of my clients that use dropbox in their business if the same happens.
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.
I just received a new folder in my DropBox - it is called "Shared".
It contains a single zero-byte text file named "Shared with Matt.txt"
Dropbox's desktop agent did *not* show any notification that this had happened. Neither did it prompt me to accept the share (normally you get to accept a share by clicking "Add To Dropbox"???)
Windows 10 Action Centre (the alerts pane that appears on the bottom-right *did* give me a notification. That notification was:
"DropBox Server (DS) has shared a folder with you". Again there was no option to accept this, it just happened.Finally, the new folder that has appeared does not appear to be shared with anyone else, and the text file inside it is dated from 2010.
I have a (very!) dim recollection I *might* have created this file myself (but 6 years ago??) so I'm wondering:
a - is this some DropBox bug that's recreating old deleted stuff from years ago (and if so why does my notification come from "DropBox Server?)
b - this is the prelude to some kind of hack / attack (maybe tomorrow someone will "share" a malicious executable with me expecting me to run it?
- Rich
Super User II
clumsybiker wrote:
I have a (very!) dim recollection I *might* have created this file myself (but 6 years ago??) so I'm wondering:
There are a couple of other people that reported old folders returning after being deleted previously (in at least one case, years ago), so it's likely that the same has happened to you.
a - is this some DropBox bug that's recreating old deleted stuff from years ago (and if so why does my notification come from "DropBox Server?)
Best guess, yes, and probably because the Dropbox servers are adding the files back. Again... best guess.
b - this is the prelude to some kind of hack / attack (maybe tomorrow someone will "share" a malicious executable with me expecting me to run it?
Highly unlikely.
- RichI'm merging these threads into one so it's easier to track this issue.
- update - as a precaution I've changed password and cancelled any pre-existing sessions/connections to my account and re-entered the new password on all my devices. Still be interested to understand what might have happened though!
I'm using dropbox for quite some time. Never had problems.
All of a sudden it starts syncing old maps.
When I remove them from dropbox (for example by putting them on my computer or even in the trash), they return automatically.
Ross_SDropbox Staff
tijsboom wrote:
I'm using dropbox for quite some time. Never had problems.
All of a sudden it starts syncing old maps.
When I remove them from dropbox (for example by putting them on my computer or even in the trash), they return automatically.
Hi there,
I've sent you an email to follow up on this, we'll get to the bottom of it!
Many thanks in advance.
I'm actually having this exact issue: files I deleted about 5 to 6 years ago are appearing back in my Dropbox. When I go to view their prior history, I get an error and it says none is available. Can someone please contact me about this? Thank you.
- Rich
tijsboom wrote:
When I remove them from dropbox (for example by putting them on my computer or even in the trash), they return automatically.If a file or folder returns when you delete it, it's usually because it was unable to be deleted on one of your connected devices.
You delete a file on computer A. Dropbox is informed that it has been deleted and syncs that change to your account. Dropbox on your other devices is notified that the file has been deleted, so they also remove the file. On computer B, Dropbox is unable to remove that file for whatever reason (permission, locked, read-only, etc.). The result is that the file remains in place. Dropbox sees the file is still there, thinks it's been added and uploads it back to your account. All your other devices are notified of the "new" file and they sync it back down.
So the problem is that the file or folder in question on one of your devices is unable to be deleted. Figure out which (use Previous Versions to see which computer is adding it back) and fix what is holding it there, and you'll be able to delete it.No good Rich. The reappearing files are throwing error 400 when trying to check the version history.
I'm having similar issues this morning with dozens of files. There have been no changes of files from my employees listed under Events. From reading threads below it's obvious that it's a Dropbox system issue. My concen is rolling back to correct this issue. I don't want to spend time having to refile. Yikes!
This has happened to me too - a load of files and folders from 2011 and then some from about 5 years ago. All just appeared in my dropbox today. Tried to do the version history but getting an error.
Really concerning that I didn't even know these files still existed. They are personell data of old clients etc.
Have manually deleted but really want to know what is going on. Could someone update asap as this is very worrying.
Yep, deleted 2011 files started reappearing for me today as well. Hmmm...
Same thing happening to me. I am an experienced Dropbox user and know that this might occur if files are not deleted on other devices (for reasons such as write protection or if in use and such), but that is not the issue here. These are old folder and occasional - random - files in the folders. This is a very disturbing bug, because it makes me concerned about the syncing of my current files and so on. I'd like to see Dropbox reply to this immediately, please.
- Rich
janchristensen wrote:
I'd like to see Dropbox reply to this immediately, please.
Dropbox is already aware of the issue and is looking into it. When I hear more, I'll post it.
We had the same issue, and file organization completely wackadoo. That's my technical term for the day. :)
I too have this issue and would like a response to resolve and learn why it happend.
Another important thing to note is that the space utilization is completely off after the bizarre restoration of these files. For instance, my account space reads 0% utilization after removing these old files; therefore, I can't tell if my current files are securily accessible through my Dropbox, because it says I'm not using any space (even though they're present). This is pretty crazy stuff.
This just happened to me, too! Several folders, with all their contents, from as long ago as 2011.
These were all folders I made, some of them shared with others at the time (most of them, if I remember correctly, but with a variety of different people) but none show as shared now.
I deleted all these myself. I only use one computer, and the computer I had back then has long been wiped and donated. These seem to be coming from some memory vault at Dropbox. Creepy.
For now I'm not deleting them, in hopes that some sort of a reset makes them all go away again.
- I had two huge folders appear from 2009 - from a computer I used at my previous employer! I must have signed in at some point to move some large files but wasn't even using Dropbox regularly. I've deleted all associated devices and the folders themselves. I think that computer is long dead so I am pretty shocked at Dropbox for keeping these files, and then placing them all these years into my account again - which technically was some kind of data security breach because these files had personal information. It also made me worried that my current files got synced to who knows what other devices! How is Dropbox going to explain this away?
Experiencing the same issue: my first ever issue like this with Dropbox. Please, please investigate - very disconcerting for data integrity, guys.
- I have the same issue as above, and I concur with the security concerns everyone said previously. Over 3GB of my data from 2009-2011 era were resynced. Not all files from this time period were affected though.
It is interesting to read the following in the help pages:
"For Dropbox Basic users, and for many Dropbox Pro users, files are permanently removed 30 days after the initial deletion. These files cannot be recovered, even by a Dropbox support agent."
https://www.dropbox.com/help/9230
This is obviously a lie and makes me very concerned about privacy.
Has anyone reported a fix to this?
Also apps are not properly showing PDFs
Thank you
Several folders that were deleted years ago appeared in my main Dropbox folder yesterday. Should I be worried about this?
