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Forum Discussion
Photographs that are NOT mine in Dropbox - and NOT as a result of using a shared computer!
Hello,
I have discovered a folder in my Dropbox entitled 'Camera Uploads' which is full of hundreds of photos and videos that are not mine. The files are dated from August 2012-November 2013 (which by coincidence is likely to be around about the same time that I set up my Dropbox account). I have not had reason to look in the folder before as I thought it was simply a default folder that Dropbox created on signup.
At first I thought perhaps the folder had been shared with me accidentally but it turns out it is not a shared folder and Dropbox is telling me that the files were uploaded 'by you' (i.e. me!).
Having searched the Dropbox community threads and Google I found someone who had a similar issue and one of the possible reasons given in the thread was that perhaps the user had used a shared computer in the past and left themselves signed into Dropbox and then someone else's phone photos were auto-backed up when they connected. I do not believe this to be the case for me. The reason being is that I looked through all the photos and videos to try to decipher if I knew the owner. I did not. However, one of the photos displayed a gig ticket stub which displayed the surname of the person who bought it - and lo and behold it happens to match my surname. This all seems to point to a scenario where someone with the same name as me was somehow able to sign in to my account and use it to back up their files. Can anyone (at Dropbox or otherwise) explain how this could possibly have happened?
This is surely a security issue. The reason I was poking around in the folders is because I was preparing to start using Dropbox for my business needs but this issue has alarmed me and I now have strong doubts about the security of Dropbox, especially for sharing/storing confidential business files.
BTW I have now changed my password and I was tempted to delete the folder but I feel kind of bad that I now have someone's personal photos (pics and videos of their kids in the school play etc.). I have tried to get in touch with someone at Dropbox but I currently have the basic free account and my options are limited to a chatbot or this forum (another turnoff - I hate when companies make it impossible to contact them!).
Hoping you can help!
Thanks,
Nat
I just had a similar experience of receiving photos of someone I do not know. I never share my computer, ever. The photos were taken in 2001 and 2002 in Napa, California, at the hot air balloon race. I'm sure they want their old photos but there is no way to know who they are, and Dropbox does not have any way to contact them. I will keep the photos for a while and if I don't hear anything in the next few weeks I will delete the photos. But it's alarming that this could happen. But it seems many other people have had similar experiences.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey cathy 11, sorry to hear about this.
Did you check the version history of any of those files to see if you can find more information about when or who/which device uploaded them in the first place?
Got notice I was out of space in my Dropbox. I decided to look in the folders and delete some of MY pictures. I have thousands of pictures that are not mine. I bought this computer new one year ago. I'm so frustrated because you can't email tech support or customer service. I have to INDIVIDUALLY delete each picture. I need help because I don't want to be forced to buy more space when I have all these random pictures of everything you can think of. I need help
- It's frustrating to see this is still happening to others and who knows on what scale. Dropbox don't seem to want to address the bug or even acknowledge that there is a problem, instead shifting blame to the users but there clearly is a problem with data security.
Dropbox offered to take up my query on email and I got an email from a perfectly nice representative but I got no real answers and they failed to get to the bottom of what was causing the problem.
I would stress to anyone reading this, DO NOT use Dropbox to store files that include sensitive information or that you would not be happy to end up in someone else's hands.Thank you for your response, at least I know I'm not the only one. I hate Dropbox! I would like to take it off my computer but don't know what would happen if I did. I guess I'm going to have to pay Geek guys to try to help me figure out what to do w/o Dropbox. Just awful they offer no help.
I have 0 shared content. They all said shared by Deb B. "Desktop". The majority of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds are mostly from the Web....and not even pages I have been browsing. At this point, I'm so frustrated I will just delete all the years and say goodbye to the random personal photos here and there.
- Natmonster! Did you get some resolution on this? I checked My Dropbox today for the first time in many many many years. I logged on due to many emails from dropbox about my space running out soon. The camera upload album was packed with photos from someone else. By the nature of the photos it was someone living far away from me and no relations at all. I found a photo of a car with a licence plate. I checked it in the car register. Lo and behold the car was owned by a person with the same first and last name as me, living in another part of the country.
Hi Laquenta,
Thanks for your posting. It's so interesting that you've experienced the same problem. It's clearly not a one-off failure on Dropbox's part. The disappointing news is that no, I have not resolved this and what's worse is it's apparent that no one at Dropbox is interested in investigating what amounts to, in my view, a breach of privacy.
I know that the photos and videos in my Dropbox are not mine (nor were they taken on my camera - there's hundreds of images/vids taken over a period of time), and I know that the person they belong to has the same surname as me but that's as far as I've gotten.I have come to the conclusion that Dropbox is simply not secure and I would strongly advise against trusting it with private files/files of any value.
I encourage anyone who may be reading this thread and experiencing the same problem to post about it here. The more information we can gather, the better. I don't know what it will take to get Dropbox to investigate. I am in the UK so GDPR laws apply and now that I have heard from someone else with the same problem, I will likely report this to the ICO.Natalie
- Natmonster,
I share the same conclusion as you. The reason must be a mistake on Dropbox's behalf. Luckily for the other guy all photos was standard family photos. It could have been something really private. I reached out to the other guy just to inform him and to give him a chance to check if he have stored the photos somewhere else before i delete them. Im planning not to make a big deal out of this, dont have the energy. And the support from Dropbox on a free account seems nonexisting. However, im intrested if you learn anything about this so please keep the thread updated. Just want to point out to anyone who is reading that this is not a result of shared computer or me logging on to someone elses device. The difference in location and the exact same first and last name proves it. I'll probably talk more to the other guy in coming week so i might get some more clues to share.
Best regards
//Laquenta
- Mark
Super User II
Hi Natmonster
They can only be in your account IF a device is connected to your account which has your credentials on it - either via a shared computer OR somebody putting a USB/phone etc. on your computer at some point (and the software just copies them off).
One thing that mayhelp to work things out is go to the Camera Uploads folder, click on one of the files three dots to the right and choose 'restore previous versions'. It MAY tell you what device it came from which could help you work things out.
Thanks for your input but it does not explain how photographs belonging to someone with the *same name as me* (and someone I definitely do not know) managed to back-up their photos to my account.
Firstly, I have never had reason to sign into Dropbox outside my home and there are only one or two people at home who would have had access to my own PC over the years. It's simply too much of a coincidence to believe that someone with the *same name as me* who ALSO had access to *my PC/a shared computer I have used* and the result was that their files were inadvertently backed up. I just don't buy it.I'm a retired engineer with ageing tech (old HP pc and 2018 phone). I downloaded Dropbox a while ago but hadn't used it until today. I needed to upload some pics I had just taken to my pc and then email them. I opted for Dropbox from a Windows list and connected the phone with a cable. Dropbox uploaded only 25 pics including the new images. Then I spotted an image I did NOT recognise. A young lady, about 25, clearly sitting for a portrait in business attire, white sheet background. Image info showed it was a colour image but displayed in b&w. Taken on 13th June this year, just weeks ago. "saved from Safari", IMG_0380. I've never used Safari. Could be one pic from a company photoshoot perhaps. How it ended up on my old iphone I find deeply disturbing. Are any of my phone images now on someone else's phone or pc?? Fortunately they are all pedestrian and benign. Nothing really private, but the mind boggles. Before today, the last photo I took on this phone was in April. The spurious image then appeared, followed by the three new images. I don't do social media and make few calls. Internet radio, the news and Google mostly. Phone is too old for many apps. It has to be Dropbox. They will deny it (do a 'Horizon') but this is a massive security issue! VIZ: my images sent to the cloud and... someone else's image downloaded to my phone from the cloud. Nice.
