In OSX Ventura, is it possible to move the DropBox folder someplace where Adobe Bridge can see it (not in OSX Ventura Library)? I'm a big Adobe Bridge fan, and I wanted to call out a feature that recently became problematic regarding Adobe Bridge + new DropBox folder location. The latest version of Dropbox is now in the Library folder, which is invisible to the Folder tab in Bridge: Users/Michael/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox In Adobe Bridge, the Folder tab with twirl-down is the most helpful feature in my opinion, and I’m disappointed this is now not possible because Bridge cannot see any DropBox files in Library. Is there a way around this? Or is it possible to move the DropBox folder someplace where Bridge can see it (not in Library?). Thank you!

Thank you very much for the reply Hannah. This will be an issue for many that work remotely:"Storing your Dropbox folder on an external drive is no longer supported by macOS."That throttles the usefulness of DropBox for designers that have many projects with many clients. I've reached out to my contacts at Apple - not sure if it will make a difference though. If you have any work-arounds (other than purchasing computers with 8TB internal SSDs), I'd love to hear it.

There are other options from different cloud storage vendors and these other vendors do not seem to have the same limitations as Dropbox. I am testing one of these alternatives now.

I'm trying to understand how best to secure data stored in Dropbox in light of upcoming changes to the Mac version. I understand that for various reasons (some possibly not under Dropbox's control) the new Mac version of Dropbox will forcibly be stored on the main boot drive under ~/Library/CloudStorage. This is the same drive that holds the OS and User directories, including default locations for potentially large files like Photos. iCloud files are stored there as well. As of December 2022, most consumer-grade 2022 Macs still top-out at a 2TB drive. In practice, it seems like this means that a Dropbox user on the 2TB plan or larger can no longer store their entire Dropbox locally on a modern consumer-grade MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Mini, or iMac. 4TB internal drives are only available on new Mac Studios or Mac Pros at $6,000 and up. So for most Macs on the planet, the Dropbox folder will likely move to an internal drive that is 2TB or smaller. I don't want to debate this technical decision to move the Dropbox folder to the main drive (many other threads in this forum do that). But all of this data is valuable, and should be backed up. The 3-2-1 backup rule seems to be broadly recommended as a best practice for securing your data. Dropbox itself recommends the 3-2-1 strategy including "you need both onsite and offsite backups". Thus, it does seem like the forced change of Dropbox folder location means medium-to-heavy Dropbox users (i.e. on the 2TB plan or up) can no longer keep all of their Dropbox files locally on internal drives available on most Macs on the planet. The "online only" option is one way to handle this for day-to-day use, but (at the risk of stating the obvious) online-only files are not available locally to allow for local backups. So it seems that following this change, Mac users no longer have a straightforward way to implement a 3-2-1 backup strategy to keep multiple local copies of that data. Dropbox, can you help? Given that you recommend the 3-2-1 backup strategy, how should Mac users securely make multiple local copies of their Dropbox data on an ongoing basis, given current hardware constraint on internal Mac drives? Or do you no longer recommend that 3-2-1 backup strategy?

I agree, a lot of us have invested first of all into Dropbox which costs significantly annually, then into external drives just to find out that we cannot use something we are already using.Not to mention that, as long long-term Dropbox user, we just see more and more increases in the price even though I am/We are loyal customers for years. Can we maybe make a group request to Dropbox to fix these issues? I am definitely starting to look for alternatives, because at the end of the day I cannot let the business and clients feel the technical issues I am facing, just cannot be like Dropbox...

michaelriley This is incorrect, it is a Dropbox policy. Every other cloud/sync service is able to work with folders on external drives, including OneDrive, which operated on the same kernal extension that ‘necessitated’ this change from Dropbox. It achieves this by using a hidden folder on the external drive to hold the actual files, while having a symlink in the Library/CloudStorage folder (see ‘Using another volume’ section on this page https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-onedrive-blog/inside-the-new-files-on-demand-experience-on-macos/ba-p/3058922 ) That Dropbox cannot do the same thing has nothing to do with Apple.

Move DropBox out of Library in OSX Ventura?

Ramon F.1
Helpful | Level 6
2 years ago
I'm trying to understand how best to secure data stored in Dropbox in light of upcoming changes to the Mac version.

I understand that for various reasons (some possibly not under Dropbox's control) the new Mac version of Dropbox will forcibly be stored on the main boot drive under ~/Library/CloudStorage. This is the same drive that holds the OS and User directories, including default locations for potentially large files like Photos. iCloud files are stored there as well.

As of December 2022, most consumer-grade 2022 Macs still top-out at a 2TB drive. In practice, it seems like this means that a Dropbox user on the 2TB plan or larger can no longer store their entire Dropbox locally on a modern consumer-grade MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, MacBook Mini, or iMac. 4TB internal drives are only available on new Mac Studios or Mac Pros at $6,000 and up. So for most Macs on the planet, the Dropbox folder will likely move to an internal drive that is 2TB or smaller.

I don't want to debate this technical decision to move the Dropbox folder to the main drive (many other threads in this forum do that). But all of this data is valuable, and should be backed up. The 3-2-1 backup rule seems to be broadly recommended as a best practice for securing your data. Dropbox itself recommends the 3-2-1 strategy including "you need both onsite and offsite backups".

Thus, it does seem like the forced change of Dropbox folder location means medium-to-heavy Dropbox users (i.e. on the 2TB plan or up) can no longer keep all of their Dropbox files locally on internal drives available on most Macs on the planet. The "online only" option is one way to handle this for day-to-day use, but (at the risk of stating the obvious) online-only files are not available locally to allow for local backups.

So it seems that following this change, Mac users no longer have a straightforward way to implement a 3-2-1 backup strategy to keep multiple local copies of that data. Dropbox, can you help? Given that you recommend the 3-2-1 backup strategy, how should Mac users securely make multiple local copies of their Dropbox data on an ongoing basis, given current hardware constraint on internal Mac drives? Or do you no longer recommend that 3-2-1 backup strategy?
Hannah
Dropbox Staff
2 years ago
Hey michaelriley, thanks for reaching out to us!

As part of the Dropbox for macOS update, the Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage.

Some things to note about the Dropbox folder location:

Changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.

Due to the change of the Dropbox folder location, files that were previously linked in some third-party applications may need to be linked again.

Storing your Dropbox folder on an external drive is no longer supported by macOS.

Your Dropbox folder in Finder will now be found under Locations and no longer under Favorites.

Individual folders can be moved from your Dropbox folder to Favorites for quick access.

I hope this clarifies things, but let me know if you have any questions.
- michaelriley
  Helpful | Level 6
  2 years ago
  Thank you very much for the reply Hannah.
  
  This will be an issue for many that work remotely:
  "Storing your Dropbox folder on an external drive is no longer supported by macOS."
  That throttles the usefulness of DropBox for designers that have many projects with many clients.
  
  I've reached out to my contacts at Apple - not sure if it will make a difference though. If you have any work-arounds (other than purchasing computers with 8TB internal SSDs), I'd love to hear it.
- esf
  Helpful | Level 6
  2 years ago
  There are other options from different cloud storage vendors and these other vendors do not seem to have the same limitations as Dropbox. I am testing one of these alternatives now.
  - michaelriley
    Helpful | Level 6
    2 years ago
    Thank you for looking into it! I would love to have the flexibility to decide where to put my DropBox folder. Very much appreciated.
- dantdavis
  Helpful | Level 6
  2 years ago
  @hannah (Dropboxer)
  
  I've been looking into these issues, and have seen this robotic copy/paste response over and over.
  
  Actually answering the questions asked would be a lot more appreciated.
  - michaelriley
    Helpful | Level 6
    2 years ago
    Apple benefits by now requiring users to store files in Library locally. This encourages users to buy a new Mac with a larger SSD hard drive, because they can no longer store DropBox on an inexpensive external drive. Also, it gives preferential treatment to iCloud over DropBox, because iCloud files can live in the Documents folder while DropBox cannot. It’s disappointing because DropBox is infinitely better than iCloud. But in this relationship Apple has more power than DropBox, so here we are.