{"slug": "dropbox", "name": "Dropbox", "category": "infra", "category_name": "Infrastructure and DevOps", "description": "Cloud file storage and sync service for sharing files across devices.", "recommenders": 8, "commenters": 24, "warners": 6, "score": 3.845, "rising": 1.36, "first": "2025-11-10", "latest": "2026-10-30", "why": "Liked for easy, set-and-forget file sync and sharing that has stayed reliable for years across Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 8, "neutral": 11, "compare": 0, "warn": 6}, "spark": [0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["Reliability", "Easy sync"], "caveat": "Storage value", "short_quote": "I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.dropbox.com", "pricing": "freemium", "aliases": ["Dropbox"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked for easy, set-and-forget file sync and sharing", "cites": [{"id": 804808530, "item_id": 50300533, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50300533", "by": "77ko", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "dropbox just made it easier to setup sharing and use without thinking", "excerpt": "It depends on use cases. I have multiple projects running in different locations/timezones - so I don't often need to have an agent running on a pc elsewhere - but just being able to smartly use herdr (also using rex) to set up a persistent service on those computers removes all the friction which used to exist with ssh keys and other things. So I could do all these things before, tools like herdr make it easier, smo", "context": "", "use_case": "file sharing", "switched_from": "rsync", "story": "Herdr has released native app"}, {"id": 744438257, "item_id": 46527391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527391", "by": "PaulHoule", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Third-party vendors like DropBox, Box and many others have made products that look like OneDrive but actually work", "excerpt": "I quit using OneDrive early in the Win 8 era. To point out how shambloic it was it was originally called SkyDrive but they were forced to rename it thanks to a trademark lawsuit. I mean, they launch a product that is so important to them that they are willing to make us all miserable shoving it down our throats and they can't be bothered to spend a few $100 or $1000 on a trademark search. I was working with Word and ", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "OneDrive", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}]}, {"text": " that has stayed reliable for years across Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.", "cites": [{"id": 772542032, "item_id": 48283877, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48283877", "by": "jaredcwhite", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's been rock solid and a true workhorse", "excerpt": "I've used and paid for Dropbox for well over a decade. Other than the rare hiccup every few years (usually due to switching machines/OSes or whatnot), it's been rock solid and a true workhorse. I know there are many other options, including iCloud Drive which I use sparingly, but Dropbox is a service I trust. I hope it continues in that manner and they don't destroy their reputation with a woebegone \"pivot to AI\".", "context": "paying user for over a decade", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 772648304, "item_id": 48290519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48290519", "by": "hieKVj2ECC", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it", "excerpt": "just here to say I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it and cant thank them enough", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 744440001, "item_id": 46527500, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527500", "by": "SanjayMehta", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "excerpt": "I use iCloud, Dropbox and OneDrive for family, professional use and junk files respectively. Works out really well. They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "context": "", "use_case": "professional files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaints are tightening limits and storage plans that feel poor value,", "cites": [{"id": 763262640, "item_id": 47703915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703915", "by": "hs86", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans.", "excerpt": "Google recently increased storage from 2 TB to 5 TB on their $20 AI plan, while Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans. They moved from 1 TB to 2 TB in mid-2019, and I wonder if they ever plan to pass on any of the gains from the past seven years of technological advancements, or if those gains are simply being captured on their side while we keep paying the same.", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Improving storage efficiency in Magic Pocket, Dropbox's immutable blob store"}, {"id": 788292800, "item_id": 49268300, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49268300", "by": "krzyk", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "warn", "quote": "after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "excerpt": "I'm surprised Dropbox is still around, was it 15 years ago when I used? It was something new, but after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 788306497, "item_id": 49269156, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49269156", "by": "kelvinjps10", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all.", "excerpt": "I remember gaining a bunch of storage from dropbox because they used to have this program where you gained storage by doing referrals. but then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all. Now I use syncthing (no cloud needed)", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 796380560, "item_id": 49773785, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773785", "by": "bayindirh", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time", "excerpt": "The pricing got very complicated, that part is true. On the other hand, service quality didn\u2019t go down. They added many small features which makes things easier, on the other hand. I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time (e.g.: send, transcription, advanced sharing controls).", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync, sharing, transcription", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox's Jan 1st 2027 terms of service"}]}, {"text": " with some also citing heavy filesystem scans and intrusive macOS permissions.", "cites": [{"id": 804289120, "item_id": 50268070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50268070", "by": "watersb", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off.", "excerpt": "The last few models of Intel Mac Pro that I used were mostly good at getting really hot. Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off. I think the thermal interface material on the GPU got cooked at some point. It would be a relatively easy fix, for me a couple of hours, but I chose to fix it with an M1 MacBook Air.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6"}, {"id": 772681585, "item_id": 48292599, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292599", "by": "seanhunter", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root", "excerpt": "While there isn't a proper Linux client, if you find yourself on a Linux box and need to sync to or from iCloud, rclone[1] works great. Just putting this out there in the hope that it might help someone. It's also (ironically given TFA) what I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root to re-add their thing to special permissions on macOs after I had removed", "context": "former Dropbox customer on macOS", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Reliability", "summary": "Long-time paying users describe it as rock solid and trustworthy.", "quotes": [{"id": 772542032, "item_id": 48283877, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48283877", "by": "jaredcwhite", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's been rock solid and a true workhorse", "excerpt": "I've used and paid for Dropbox for well over a decade. Other than the rare hiccup every few years (usually due to switching machines/OSes or whatnot), it's been rock solid and a true workhorse. I know there are many other options, including iCloud Drive which I use sparingly, but Dropbox is a service I trust. I hope it continues in that manner and they don't destroy their reputation with a woebegone \"pivot to AI\".", "context": "paying user for over a decade", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 744440001, "item_id": 46527500, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527500", "by": "SanjayMehta", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "excerpt": "I use iCloud, Dropbox and OneDrive for family, professional use and junk files respectively. Works out really well. They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "context": "", "use_case": "professional files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}, {"id": 796380560, "item_id": 49773785, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773785", "by": "bayindirh", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time", "excerpt": "The pricing got very complicated, that part is true. On the other hand, service quality didn\u2019t go down. They added many small features which makes things easier, on the other hand. I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time (e.g.: send, transcription, advanced sharing controls).", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync, sharing, transcription", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox's Jan 1st 2027 terms of service"}]}, {"label": "Easy sync", "summary": "Makes syncing and sharing files simpler than rsync or OneDrive.", "quotes": [{"id": 804808530, "item_id": 50300533, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50300533", "by": "77ko", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "dropbox just made it easier to setup sharing and use without thinking", "excerpt": "It depends on use cases. I have multiple projects running in different locations/timezones - so I don't often need to have an agent running on a pc elsewhere - but just being able to smartly use herdr (also using rex) to set up a persistent service on those computers removes all the friction which used to exist with ssh keys and other things. So I could do all these things before, tools like herdr make it easier, smo", "context": "", "use_case": "file sharing", "switched_from": "rsync", "story": "Herdr has released native app"}, {"id": 744438257, "item_id": 46527391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527391", "by": "PaulHoule", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Third-party vendors like DropBox, Box and many others have made products that look like OneDrive but actually work", "excerpt": "I quit using OneDrive early in the Win 8 era. To point out how shambloic it was it was originally called SkyDrive but they were forced to rename it thanks to a trademark lawsuit. I mean, they launch a product that is so important to them that they are willing to make us all miserable shoving it down our throats and they can't be bothered to spend a few $100 or $1000 on a trademark search. I was working with Word and ", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "OneDrive", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}, {"id": 734063825, "item_id": 45878989, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45878989", "by": "ubermonkey", "date": "2025-11-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "doing most of my work via a Dropbox account that's replicated across machines", "excerpt": "The only time I ever needed catastrophic backup recovery -- thanks to a robbery a dozen years ago -- Time Machine saved me. I bought a new Mac, plugged in the TM drive, told it to migrate, and stepped out for lunch. When I came back, even my browser windows were restored. I was pretty impressed. I continue to keep a TM running on both my primary machine and my \"media server\" laptop. Because I'm an old nerd and I have", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync across machines", "switched_from": "", "story": "A brief history of Time Machine (2024)"}]}, {"label": "Cross-platform", "summary": "Keeps files available across many devices and operating systems.", "quotes": [{"id": 772648304, "item_id": 48290519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48290519", "by": "hieKVj2ECC", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it", "excerpt": "just here to say I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it and cant thank them enough", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 754258849, "item_id": 47141178, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47141178", "by": "pipes", "date": "2026-02-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Sync the file to Dropbox.", "excerpt": "I use passwordsafe https://pwsafe.org/ Sync the file to Dropbox. Available on all my devices. 2fa protection in password safe - yubi + password. This is probably not the most secure system in the world but I've been using it for 10+ years. And it's free.", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing password file", "switched_from": "", "story": "1Password pricing increasing 20% in March"}, {"id": 796116050, "item_id": 49757253, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49757253", "by": "wpollock", "date": "2026-09-18", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Keepass and the free tier of Dropbox", "excerpt": "> The website should display a qr code you can scan with your phone that allows you to then login... A malicious website can display a QR code too. I think this \"feature\" could cause some of the security issues that passkesys were intended to solve. I use Keepass and the free tier of Dropbox, to keep my passwords strong and available across multiple devices. (Dropbox not required, you can store the database on a thum", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing password database", "switched_from": "", "story": "I don't like passkeys"}]}, {"label": "Integrations", "summary": "Its API and third-party support let users connect other tools and devices.", "quotes": [{"id": 762805648, "item_id": 47675353, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675353", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-04-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually.", "excerpt": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually. I use the open source client https://maestral.app/ on the Mac for workstation use, but also integrate other systems with my Dropbox account using their API. If someone built an open source Dropbox server that sat on top of S3 compliant storage, I would not only use it, but pay to have that optionality to get out of Dropbox if they ever enshittify. I can recognize form and function wort", "context": "Mac workstation user", "use_case": "file sync and API integrations", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stop paying for Dropbox/Google Drive, use your own S3 bucket instead"}, {"id": 760986672, "item_id": 47561667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47561667", "by": "tpaschalis", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "It can connect to Dropbox so I deployed a small app in Fly.io", "excerpt": "Nice write up! After a couple of attempts I settled on a a different approach for my old Kobo. It can connect to Dropbox so I deployed a small app in Fly.io which takes a link, bundles it as an epub and uploads to the right folder. Day-to-day all I use is a bookmarklet", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing epubs to Kobo", "switched_from": "", "story": "I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper"}, {"id": 753170338, "item_id": 47073146, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47073146", "by": "alabhyajindal", "date": "2026-02-19", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "store my encrypted data on Dropbox", "excerpt": "Here's another approach using Rclone and an editor of your choice. Rclone has a built in crypt library that can encrypt your data and store it in a cloud provider. I use it along with Sublime Text to journal, and store my encrypted data on Dropbox. More here: https://alabhya.me/rclone", "context": "", "use_case": "encrypted storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: An encrypted, local, cross-platform journaling app"}]}, {"label": "Extra services", "summary": "Add-on features like send, transcription and sharing controls save time.", "quotes": [{"id": 796380560, "item_id": 49773785, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773785", "by": "bayindirh", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time", "excerpt": "The pricing got very complicated, that part is true. On the other hand, service quality didn\u2019t go down. They added many small features which makes things easier, on the other hand. I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time (e.g.: send, transcription, advanced sharing controls).", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync, sharing, transcription", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox's Jan 1st 2027 terms of service"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Storage value", "summary": "Plan storage caps have not grown in years and pricing has become complicated.", "quotes": [{"id": 763262640, "item_id": 47703915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703915", "by": "hs86", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans.", "excerpt": "Google recently increased storage from 2 TB to 5 TB on their $20 AI plan, while Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans. They moved from 1 TB to 2 TB in mid-2019, and I wonder if they ever plan to pass on any of the gains from the past seven years of technological advancements, or if those gains are simply being captured on their side while we keep paying the same.", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Improving storage efficiency in Magic Pocket, Dropbox's immutable blob store"}, {"id": 796380560, "item_id": 49773785, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773785", "by": "bayindirh", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time", "excerpt": "The pricing got very complicated, that part is true. On the other hand, service quality didn\u2019t go down. They added many small features which makes things easier, on the other hand. I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time (e.g.: send, transcription, advanced sharing controls).", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync, sharing, transcription", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox's Jan 1st 2027 terms of service"}]}, {"label": "Added limitations", "summary": "Some users left after Dropbox introduced limits and ended the referral storage program.", "quotes": [{"id": 788306497, "item_id": 49269156, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49269156", "by": "kelvinjps10", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all.", "excerpt": "I remember gaining a bunch of storage from dropbox because they used to have this program where you gained storage by doing referrals. but then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all. Now I use syncthing (no cloud needed)", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 788292800, "item_id": 49268300, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49268300", "by": "krzyk", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "warn", "quote": "after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "excerpt": "I'm surprised Dropbox is still around, was it 15 years ago when I used? It was something new, but after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}]}, {"label": "macOS behavior", "summary": "One user cancelled over misuse of root to re-add macOS permissions.", "quotes": [{"id": 772681585, "item_id": 48292599, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292599", "by": "seanhunter", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root", "excerpt": "While there isn't a proper Linux client, if you find yourself on a Linux box and need to sync to or from iCloud, rclone[1] works great. Just putting this out there in the hope that it might help someone. It's also (ironically given TFA) what I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root to re-add their thing to special permissions on macOs after I had removed", "context": "former Dropbox customer on macOS", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}]}, {"label": "Resource usage", "summary": "Large filesystem walks spun up fans on an Intel Mac Pro.", "quotes": [{"id": 804289120, "item_id": 50268070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50268070", "by": "watersb", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off.", "excerpt": "The last few models of Intel Mac Pro that I used were mostly good at getting really hot. Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off. I think the thermal interface material on the GPU got cooked at some point. It would be a relatively easy fix, for me a couple of hours, but I chose to fix it with an M1 MacBook Air.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6"}]}, {"label": "Linux features", "summary": "The Linux app has long-requested features still missing.", "quotes": [{"id": 743327808, "item_id": 46457988, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46457988", "by": "MostlyStable", "date": "2026-01-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This has been a feature that has been being requested on the linux version of the app for years, and dropbox appears unlikely to add it anytime soon.", "excerpt": "It is good, and for 99+% of use cases for 90+% of users (who mostly use nothing but the browser), they will hardly even notice a difference, besides the lack of obnoxious, instrusive MS behavior. However, despite really, really wanting to switch (and having it installed on my laptop), I keep finding things that don't quite work right that are preventing me from switching some of my machines. My living room PC, which ", "context": "org mandates Dropbox", "use_case": "work file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it"}]}, {"label": "Lock-in", "summary": "Even happy users want an exit plan in case the service declines.", "quotes": [{"id": 762805648, "item_id": 47675353, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675353", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-04-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually.", "excerpt": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually. I use the open source client https://maestral.app/ on the Mac for workstation use, but also integrate other systems with my Dropbox account using their API. If someone built an open source Dropbox server that sat on top of S3 compliant storage, I would not only use it, but pay to have that optionality to get out of Dropbox if they ever enshittify. I can recognize form and function wort", "context": "Mac workstation user", "use_case": "file sync and API integrations", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stop paying for Dropbox/Google Drive, use your own S3 bucket instead"}]}], "who": [{"by": "akg_67", "context": "reducing Apple dependency", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49989600", "date": "2026-10-07"}, {"by": "jaredcwhite", "context": "paying user for over a decade", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48283877", "date": "2026-05-26"}, {"by": "toomuchtodo", "context": "Mac workstation user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675353", "date": "2026-04-07"}], "tags": ["for password vault sync", "for multi-device file sync", "for API integrations", "for encrypted cloud storage", "for sending large files"], "use_cases": ["file sync", "cloud storage", "file sharing", "file sync, sharing, transcription", "syncing password database", "cloud file storage"], "compared": [{"slug": "syncthing", "name": "Syncthing", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 3}, {"slug": "filestash", "name": "Filestash", "co": 7, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "onedrive", "name": "OneDrive", "co": 3, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "google-drive", "name": "Google Drive", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "icloud", "name": "iCloud", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "nextcloud", "name": "Nextcloud", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "rsync", "name": "rsync", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49267818", "title": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279453", "title": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46526376", "title": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50298436", "title": "Herdr has released native app", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50261352", "title": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49976972", "title": "Ask HN: My Apple ID is locked for a week, Apple is a single point of failure", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 2}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 1, "recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804808530, "item_id": 50300533, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50300533", "by": "77ko", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "dropbox just made it easier to setup sharing and use without thinking", "excerpt": "It depends on use cases. I have multiple projects running in different locations/timezones - so I don't often need to have an agent running on a pc elsewhere - but just being able to smartly use herdr (also using rex) to set up a persistent service on those computers removes all the friction which used to exist with ssh keys and other things. So I could do all these things before, tools like herdr make it easier, smo", "context": "", "use_case": "file sharing", "switched_from": "rsync", "story": "Herdr has released native app"}, {"id": 804289120, "item_id": 50268070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50268070", "by": "watersb", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off.", "excerpt": "The last few models of Intel Mac Pro that I used were mostly good at getting really hot. Dropbox would fire up to do massive walks of the filesystem tree and the fans would take off. I think the thermal interface material on the GPU got cooked at some point. It would be a relatively easy fix, for me a couple of hours, but I chose to fix it with an M1 MacBook Air.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6"}, {"id": 799833601, "item_id": 49989600, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49989600", "by": "akg_67", "date": "2026-10-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Keeping Dropbox storage subscription instead of considering migration to iCloud storage.", "excerpt": "Interesting read, your experience gave me some ideas to reduce dependency on Apple ecosystem. A few questions: 1. \"Don't use safari\" Why? 2. Is there an alternative to \"Find My\" that I can use with AirTag? Some of the things, I have done since this experience: - Exported all my passwords from Apple Password Manager to BitWarden. Also, now I better understand why my wife was keeping her passwords in a notebook (no ser", "context": "reducing Apple dependency", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: My Apple ID is locked for a week, Apple is a single point of failure"}, {"id": 796380560, "item_id": 49773785, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49773785", "by": "bayindirh", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time", "excerpt": "The pricing got very complicated, that part is true. On the other hand, service quality didn\u2019t go down. They added many small features which makes things easier, on the other hand. I use a bunch of additional services they offer. They work well, make me spend less money and save my time (e.g.: send, transcription, advanced sharing controls).", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync, sharing, transcription", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox's Jan 1st 2027 terms of service"}, {"id": 796116050, "item_id": 49757253, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49757253", "by": "wpollock", "date": "2026-09-18", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Keepass and the free tier of Dropbox", "excerpt": "> The website should display a qr code you can scan with your phone that allows you to then login... A malicious website can display a QR code too. I think this \"feature\" could cause some of the security issues that passkesys were intended to solve. I use Keepass and the free tier of Dropbox, to keep my passwords strong and available across multiple devices. (Dropbox not required, you can store the database on a thum", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing password database", "switched_from": "", "story": "I don't like passkeys"}, {"id": 793442674, "item_id": 49590167, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49590167", "by": "eszed", "date": "2026-09-06", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I have several times my HDD in Dropbox", "excerpt": "Thanks for this. I'll give it a try, though I'm not someone who experiences much frustration with Finder, because I maintain a solid folder structure, and use Alfred (first) for virtually all file interactions. The deciders for me, in case you're interested: - Privacy. It doesn't look like you are trying to get my data. I'll be using network monitoring to verify. - Automatically groups like files, regardless of file ", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud file storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Finder is so frustrating and has been since day one"}, {"id": 788314320, "item_id": 49269645, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49269645", "by": "bborud", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "from a user point of view it is really attractive to have storage services that are JUST storage.", "excerpt": "From the service provider perspective storage is a feature not a service. From the customer perspective it is a pretty important product. The customer may not be aware of this until it is too late. It becomes tempting to store your data with application providers because it seems more \"cost effective\". I try to avoid storing a lot of data with services that offer online storage as part of a product. For instance imag", "context": "", "use_case": "file storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 788306497, "item_id": 49269156, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49269156", "by": "kelvinjps10", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all.", "excerpt": "I remember gaining a bunch of storage from dropbox because they used to have this program where you gained storage by doing referrals. but then they removed it after I had invited so many people and I didn't want to keep using the service at all. Now I use syncthing (no cloud needed)", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 788292800, "item_id": 49268300, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49268300", "by": "krzyk", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "warn", "quote": "after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "excerpt": "I'm surprised Dropbox is still around, was it 15 years ago when I used? It was something new, but after they started pushing limitations I stopped using it.", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 788290736, "item_id": 49268171, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49268171", "by": "nugzbunny", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to use Dropbox at work and also personally.", "excerpt": "I used to use Dropbox at work and also personally. Work didn\u2019t like it as Dropbox was new/unknown and eventually banned us from using it. This was about 15 years ago and the only way to share files between colleagues was to manually upload a file to their shared drive (through a browser) and then ask your colleague to go download it. Works Dropbox was replaced by Microsoft. My personal Dropbox was replaced by Google ", "context": "", "use_case": "file sharing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox, loved by the masses, a shareholder dead end"}, {"id": 772681585, "item_id": 48292599, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292599", "by": "seanhunter", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root", "excerpt": "While there isn't a proper Linux client, if you find yourself on a Linux box and need to sync to or from iCloud, rclone[1] works great. Just putting this out there in the hope that it might help someone. It's also (ironically given TFA) what I used to sync all my files off dropbox when I cancelled my subscription because of their misuse of root to re-add their thing to special permissions on macOs after I had removed", "context": "former Dropbox customer on macOS", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 772648304, "item_id": 48290519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48290519", "by": "hieKVj2ECC", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it", "excerpt": "just here to say I love Dropbox since I ran Ubuntu long ago and Windows and Android. I am still on it and cant thank them enough", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 772542032, "item_id": 48283877, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48283877", "by": "jaredcwhite", "date": "2026-05-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's been rock solid and a true workhorse", "excerpt": "I've used and paid for Dropbox for well over a decade. Other than the rare hiccup every few years (usually due to switching machines/OSes or whatnot), it's been rock solid and a true workhorse. I know there are many other options, including iCloud Drive which I use sparingly, but Dropbox is a service I trust. I hope it continues in that manner and they don't destroy their reputation with a woebegone \"pivot to AI\".", "context": "paying user for over a decade", "use_case": "file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down"}, {"id": 772299808, "item_id": 48268738, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48268738", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-05-25", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I maintain a Dropbox account, Apple Shared Albums, and a private Peertube instance for sharing this media.", "excerpt": "SSDs are vulnerable to rot. I recommend multiple copies on spinning disk at a minimum. For photos of historical family significance, consider uploading to familysearch.org as part of a family tree; this system is maintained by the LDS Church (Mormons) with a billion dollar trust contributing to their technology apparatus. Their longevity is likely longer than personal systems. M-DISC sounds reasonable for the use cas", "context": "", "use_case": "sharing family photos", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Archiving Family Photos?"}, {"id": 766512352, "item_id": 47907022, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47907022", "by": "ghammondca", "date": "2026-04-25", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've used everything from ftp (for videos), to Dropbox", "excerpt": "It depends on how big the file is. I've used everything from ftp (for videos), to Dropbox, or filetransfer.io (6gb limit), to send.now (maximum of 100gb), or even a USB stick (if they are local and you don't need the stick back right away). (I'm not affiliated with any of these sites)", "context": "", "use_case": "sending files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What file sharing apps do you guys use?"}, {"id": 763262640, "item_id": 47703915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703915", "by": "hs86", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans.", "excerpt": "Google recently increased storage from 2 TB to 5 TB on their $20 AI plan, while Dropbox is still stuck at 2 or 3 TB for their $12/$20 plans. They moved from 1 TB to 2 TB in mid-2019, and I wonder if they ever plan to pass on any of the gains from the past seven years of technological advancements, or if those gains are simply being captured on their side while we keep paying the same.", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Improving storage efficiency in Magic Pocket, Dropbox's immutable blob store"}, {"id": 762805648, "item_id": 47675353, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675353", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-04-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually.", "excerpt": "I love Dropbox, I pay annually. I use the open source client https://maestral.app/ on the Mac for workstation use, but also integrate other systems with my Dropbox account using their API. If someone built an open source Dropbox server that sat on top of S3 compliant storage, I would not only use it, but pay to have that optionality to get out of Dropbox if they ever enshittify. I can recognize form and function wort", "context": "Mac workstation user", "use_case": "file sync and API integrations", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stop paying for Dropbox/Google Drive, use your own S3 bucket instead"}, {"id": 760986672, "item_id": 47561667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47561667", "by": "tpaschalis", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "It can connect to Dropbox so I deployed a small app in Fly.io", "excerpt": "Nice write up! After a couple of attempts I settled on a a different approach for my old Kobo. It can connect to Dropbox so I deployed a small app in Fly.io which takes a link, bundles it as an epub and uploads to the right folder. Day-to-day all I use is a bookmarklet", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing epubs to Kobo", "switched_from": "", "story": "I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper"}, {"id": 754258849, "item_id": 47141178, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47141178", "by": "pipes", "date": "2026-02-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Sync the file to Dropbox.", "excerpt": "I use passwordsafe https://pwsafe.org/ Sync the file to Dropbox. Available on all my devices. 2fa protection in password safe - yubi + password. This is probably not the most secure system in the world but I've been using it for 10+ years. And it's free.", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing password file", "switched_from": "", "story": "1Password pricing increasing 20% in March"}, {"id": 753170338, "item_id": 47073146, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47073146", "by": "alabhyajindal", "date": "2026-02-19", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "store my encrypted data on Dropbox", "excerpt": "Here's another approach using Rclone and an editor of your choice. Rclone has a built in crypt library that can encrypt your data and store it in a cloud provider. I use it along with Sublime Text to journal, and store my encrypted data on Dropbox. More here: https://alabhya.me/rclone", "context": "", "use_case": "encrypted storage", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: An encrypted, local, cross-platform journaling app"}, {"id": 745018978, "item_id": 46563686, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563686", "by": "adityaathalye", "date": "2026-01-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "sync notes to my PC with Dropbox", "excerpt": "Same team! Also an orgmode user who uses it for all things longform... A decade+ and counting. Only recently do I see need to start adopting TODOs because work and life tasks are threatening to go beyond the capacity of my normie calendar and paper lists coping mechanisms. Orgmode text is fairly well supported now, across a plethora of non-Emacs apps and editors. I've enumerated several in my post [0]. Quoting onesel", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Markdown Took over the World"}, {"id": 744440001, "item_id": 46527500, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527500", "by": "SanjayMehta", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "excerpt": "I use iCloud, Dropbox and OneDrive for family, professional use and junk files respectively. Works out really well. They all work perfectly for their intended uses.", "context": "", "use_case": "professional files", "switched_from": "", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}, {"id": 744438257, "item_id": 46527391, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527391", "by": "PaulHoule", "date": "2026-01-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Third-party vendors like DropBox, Box and many others have made products that look like OneDrive but actually work", "excerpt": "I quit using OneDrive early in the Win 8 era. To point out how shambloic it was it was originally called SkyDrive but they were forced to rename it thanks to a trademark lawsuit. I mean, they launch a product that is so important to them that they are willing to make us all miserable shoving it down our throats and they can't be bothered to spend a few $100 or $1000 on a trademark search. I was working with Word and ", "context": "", "use_case": "cloud storage", "switched_from": "OneDrive", "story": "Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files"}, {"id": 743327808, "item_id": 46457988, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46457988", "by": "MostlyStable", "date": "2026-01-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This has been a feature that has been being requested on the linux version of the app for years, and dropbox appears unlikely to add it anytime soon.", "excerpt": "It is good, and for 99+% of use cases for 90+% of users (who mostly use nothing but the browser), they will hardly even notice a difference, besides the lack of obnoxious, instrusive MS behavior. However, despite really, really wanting to switch (and having it installed on my laptop), I keep finding things that don't quite work right that are preventing me from switching some of my machines. My living room PC, which ", "context": "org mandates Dropbox", "use_case": "work file sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it"}, {"id": 734063825, "item_id": 45878989, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45878989", "by": "ubermonkey", "date": "2025-11-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "doing most of my work via a Dropbox account that's replicated across machines", "excerpt": "The only time I ever needed catastrophic backup recovery -- thanks to a robbery a dozen years ago -- Time Machine saved me. I bought a new Mac, plugged in the TM drive, told it to migrate, and stepped out for lunch. When I came back, even my browser windows were restored. I was pretty impressed. I continue to keep a TM running on both my primary machine and my \"media server\" laptop. Because I'm an old nerd and I have", "context": "", "use_case": "file sync across machines", "switched_from": "", "story": "A brief history of Time Machine (2024)"}]}