You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
No additional space on Business Advanced
Dear community,
I'm here to advice that the support have been denying us additional space for two weeks, first telling us that there was a momentary problem, then that we had made a request before...
Dear Dropbox staff: Read and treat this seriously! Please pass this along to the appropriate department for handling. Thank you.
TLDR: Due to Google Workspace enforcing storage limits; users are migrating hundreds of TB of encrypted data (movies, TV) for use on their Plex servers (they mount and stream data from Dropbox with a tool called Rclone, so they don't have to pay the high cost of storing locally. Link to the tool: https://rclone.org/) . They then sell access to these Plex servers for a monthly paid subscription. This is considered a breach of Dropbox's AUP and these accounts should be banned.
Summary: Google Workspace was not enforcing storage limits and was being abused by people uploading hundreds of TB (even PB) of encrypted data (so they can't even de-duplicate the data) to Google Drive.
Google at the start of March 2023 decided to put a halt to this and is now enforcing storage limits. Users are now looking for a new unlimited cloud storage options. Enter Dropbox. You can see people discussing and pooling together for Dropbox Advanced this on this forum: https://forum.rclone.org/t/dropbox-unlimited-plan-looking-for-other-persons and here: https://forum.rclone.org/t/unlimited-alternatives-to-google-drive-what-are-the-options
This is where the huge influx of data is coming from per your notice:
We are currently seeing unexpected growth across Dropbox Advanced, and as a result are currently only able to grant 1 TB per month per team.
If your team needs more than 1 TB per month, you can purchase a space pack from https://www.dropbox.com/plans
We understand this may be frustrating and are working to resolve this for our customers.
This is a temporary measure we have put in place due to unexpected growth across Dropbox Advanced. We do not yet have an estimate as to when we will be able to grant larger quota increases.
How to solve this: Easily. You are looking for Dropbox Advanced accounts created in March 2023 or after and have 3 users only (usually) and tons of data taken up by encrypted files (basically gibberish). Some accounts may have been created early than March 2023, but still fit the criteria of using TONS of data.
Please investigate this and close the accounts abusing the service Dropbox provides. Thank you.
Sorry to say your fix doesnt actually solve it, There are many companys out there that use linux servers so use apps like rclone to connect to cloud back up servers, considering last I check dropbox dont have a linux alternative, also like my company who uses server that are linux based, Projects injest through it and back up to the cloud.
Your "easy fix" as you call it doesnt take everything into consideration and mass banning everyone on a claim without actual proof, would see dropbox sued into the next century.
Its not as easy as you think it is to stop the abuse by hoarders that have moved over to DB.
Also for someone who claims not to be doing things, you certainly know alot about it, where to look and such, I didnt even know half of that.
Yes Dropbox needs to do something but what I actually dont know. Investigate Account Sharing/Selling defaintly, but finding those that are selling Plex Accounts, going to be hard as by what I have heard Plex themselves have spent years trying to find a way.- Please read the AUP: https://www.dropbox.com/acceptable_useuse the Services to back up, or as infrastructure for, your own cloud services;P.S. No reputable company is using Dropbox to backup data. It is against their AUP. They would use real backup services for that. Blackblaze B2, etc. You are most likely the cause of this problem too.
Sir, you are creating conspiracy theories here.
In a lot of countries you are _obliged_ to store data encrypted. It is not only from interest for video-pirates, but for companies that do architectural and mechanical design, modelling, video-editing and so on. It is a very unwise allegation you are formulating that everyone encrypting their files does bad.
It is for security. Of customer data and sensitive project data.
Also you should ask _why_ people are encrypting their data. Simply because dropbox is scanning the files for copyright-infringement.
If they would not do this, but they are obliged by law to do this unfortunately, then people would not encrypt because it creates overhead to encrypt. And then you could deduplicate on filesystem-side of Dropbox. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the lawmakers and rights-holders that are after people that digitize their DVD-collections instead of caring for real criminality in the streets and be angry at Dropbox that is making contracts with people and not fulfilling it, - not be angry at people that use their storage they bought _as advertised_ by Dropbox in an absolutely legitimate manner.
@Shamrock22
You know WHY they are encrypting; to avoid copyright infringement of scanned files. 😆 That provides me all I need to know.
Like I said, any REAL company would not be using Dropbox as a BACKUP. They would USE REAL BACKUP SERVICES. Dropbox is to SHARE files.
And conspiracies? You can see people discussing and using Dropbox for mass uploading files and mounting Dropbox with Rclone at the forum links I provided in my OP. 🤣
I use Dropbox and using encryption to store the security videos from my clients. We encrypt because we don't want those files getting leaked online. I understand Dropbox scanning files for piracy, but I don't want them scanning our files and accessing them so easily. Who know what some hacker group might be able to do if they got access to something like that. Better the encrypt the files and be safe. Doesn't mean you are pirating at all. Plus we are using this because it's a lot cheaper are was supposedly more reliable then the other options out there.
Some people might be like that. But there are also those like me. Who hade GSuite Business with unlimited storage, where forced by Google to move to Workspace with "as much storage as you need" and who all of a sudden got limited. I'm a consultant and a one person company. I store nightly backups of my computers and servers in the cloud as well as project and customer data. Customer data which makes me want to encrypt anything I upload.
I'm looking into moving to Dropbox Advance now because of this and would fall under you blanketed description of people. All while being a legitimate users and business owner who are in need of a new home for my data since I simply don't trust Google and their way of changing the rules all the time any more.then you shouldn't select Dropbox as your service provider. - doing it even faster than google. 😉
btw.: Business Advanced is still being falsely advertised with "As much space as needed, once purchased" on my side.
Bearing in mind they've gone and changed their advertisement for Business Advanced and added this: "while also offering a reliable service to all our customers without interruption. We grant Advanced teams’ requests for additional space over time as is reasonable and in a way that allows us to manage storage responsibly."
So yeah don't expect to see "as much storage as needed" coming back.
The pricing page continues to say ‘as much space as you need’. But I thought I would give the benefit of the doubt and assume it is simply yet to be updated, until today.
I decided to see what is the sales side of the business saying about this - Are they warning potential new customers of this pitfall?
I’ve had conversation with their sales team now, and they are still actively telling people you get as much as you need and not disclosing there is a restriction on that, and a significant restriction.I confirmed if I ask for 30TB, or 100TB I will get it. ‘Yes, just talk to support, and they’ll take care of it :)’ is the paraphrased response.
I also asked if there’s a restriction on that, and gave the example of the unlimited ISP that slows your data after X gigabytes… nope, you ‘just ask support :)’ to get additional space as you need it.
Also another related thread continues to say you get more space automatically once you exceed 75%. I’ve been around 90% capacity for well over a month or more, so this is also not true (any more).
The reality is, I am already a customer, and I am absolutely not getting anything more than 1TB a month now, as you have all found and they are not buding on it. And that’s 1TB to share amongst ten users, so 100GB a month per user, when we have a need for 30TB in the next month, and 100TB by end of year - AND to date have been able to rely on and trust Dropbox to deliver ‘as much space as [we] need’.
The support team also are refusing to escalate or consider circumstances. Just continue to offer refunds.
Per my previous posts, this has never been an issue in the past and indeed worked as the sales team continues to advertise…
But this is a real problem - Dropbox is indeed happy to continue sell this ‘as much space as you need’ product to new customers, even though they absolutely cannot or will not fulfil its promise any longer (even if you have relied on this as part of your business model for years and have never abused the service).
Happy to take your money but then immediately not deliver the promised service - the service in our case, we are long term customers of. That’s terrible.
Is it necessarily a surprise? Well, in some ways yes (I always trusted them, which is obviously my mistake) and in other ways no (it’s likely not the first business happy to deceive its customers to get more money in the door). If I’m honest, I expected better of Dropbox and did not expect them to act in this manner. This is a really bad business practice in my opinion, and it’s now impacting my business and decisions we now have to make…
I have also asked their support team in multiple ways is this temporary? No one can give a straight answer… it sounded for some time like it was, but now… looking less and less so.
The Dropbox team really need to step up here, and be clear with customers, stop selling the product you absolutely will not fulfil (until you can again), get on top of this issue and honour your contract with existing customers to deliver ‘as much space as needed’. The needed is the key word here, they seem to be ignoring. We legitimately need this storage. We do not abuse the service and never have. Our requests for more have always been explained and are perfectly reasonable.
The 1(TB)-size-fits-all as a standard for ‘reasonable’ is ridiculous. Please Dropbox Team, just be open, and honest about what’s going on, what you’re doing about it and what the timeframe is to get there.Please be a decent company, Dropbox. You always seemingly used to be. It’s challenges like these and how you handle them that define who you are as a company though. I’m willing to give plenty of leeway due to whatever is going on, but I need some idea on how and when we will be able to get ‘back to business’.
iNQUAM wrote:Some people might be like that. But there are also those like me. Who hade GSuite Business with unlimited storage, where forced by Google to move to Workspace with "as much storage as you need" and who all of a sudden got limited. I'm a consultant and a one person company. I store nightly backups of my computers and servers in the cloud as well as project and customer data. Customer data which makes me want to encrypt anything I upload.
I'm looking into moving to Dropbox Advance now because of this and would fall under you blanketed description of people. All while being a legitimate users and business owner who are in need of a new home for my data since I simply don't trust Google and their way of changing the rules all the time any more.I would not recommend them at the moment. Show for alternatives. You become 1 TB per lizens + 1 TB per month.If that's enough for you? OK, have fun.btw.: Business Advanced is still being falsely advertised with "As much space as needed, once purchased" on my side
The same with us.
