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Forum Discussion
does Dropbox compressed photo files???
I'm sending full resolution photo files to clients instead of burning them on a disc, but I want to make sure they are the full resolution. I had a client that had pictures made at Walgreens, and they were pixely..I told her not to resize them at all o her end, but now I'm wondering if they are compressed at all and no longer full resolution. If so, I need to go back to discs.
Thanks!
I uploaded a 107.5MB TIFF file to Dropbox using a desktop browser, then downloaded the file. I then compared the file in my download folder to the source file.
Both were exact matches down to the byte: 107,525,5436 bytes.
I then checked for JPG. Also an exact match 9,177,764 bytes.
Then I checked CR2 files (Cannon's proprietary file extension)
Drumroll...both files were 23,921,835 bytes.
If you are using some mobile app to upload your photos...switch to desktop if you care about such things, but blame the right party.
Last I checked, I do not work for Dropbox, nor do I own any stock. If you call someone a liar, you better be able to back it up at least as well as dropbox backs up your files.
OrlaDropbox Staff
Hi Silisia, Dropbox does not compress photos. Files are synced exactly as they are.
so how come the hash and size change? I think I can see in the EXIF that you automatically change the orientation without asking, but how come the file is 0.5%-1% smaller than on my phone? what else is edited? and why can't I avoid the renaming?
Holly, you're lying to us. I have the same experience.
Personal experience, Dropbox 3.8.6, Windows 10 Pro.
Yep, the file size definitely changes a little bit once the upload to Dropbox happens.
What's going on, Dropbox?
Someone's done some research on the images uploaded to dropbox and it appears that the images are being re-compressed upon upload. Hopefully the images on the original device aren't being harmed, too.
https://blog.night-shade.org.uk/2015/06/dropbox-iphone-camera-upload-changes-photos/
I wrote that article, the originals are untouched on the device. The Dropbox App also adds a unique tracking ID to each photo uploaded via the App.
Well, I have moved to a private installation of OwnCloud on my own private server. Can't trust Dropbox nor Mega to protect the privacy and integrity of my files, and real encrypted options are more pricey than running my own server. kinda sad...
@Tim F. & @Ira,
I have been using dropbox since its inception. I have had the same questions as you both have. I am constantly looking for answers. Thank you for your input.
I do wonder, if just "binary difference"? Thats why they are "different" files...
Anybody? Hopefully an actual Dropbox engineer can answer...
The tiles are significantly smaller. If you look at the blog post I wrote there is a GitHub repo, with a single image that has been via Dropbox, Google photos and iCloud.
If you look at the fine details there are differences. My main issue is the lack of honesty from Dropbox and the fact there is a mystery tracking number included in the photos.
@Tim F
Have you tried to test other type of files? To see if we see the same type of binary differential, like lets say for a .doc or .pdf file?
