Dropbox Updates Include New Sharing Feature to Replace Public Folders

  • In the face of new competition from Google Drive, file sharing and cloud hosting service Dropbox has announced new mobile and Web updates.
  • According to a Dropbox forum post and a follow-up developers announcement, Public folders will be phased out in favor of a new quick-link sharing feature.
  • “In April, we launched the ability to share any file or folder in your Dropbox with a simple link. This new sharing mechanism is a more generalized, scalable way to support many of the same use cases as the Public folder,” explains Dropbox. “After July 31, we will no longer create Public folders in any new Dropbox accounts.”
  • Initial response on the developer forum has been largely negative. The post notes that the new sharing feature adds a step on both ends of the folder sharing process.
  • “Power users who have virtually turned Dropbox into a server on their own system are naturally frustrated by the choice, but the casual or light Dropbox file and folder sharers out there likely won’t be very affected by the change,” suggests Digital Trends. “Dropbox is doing this because it’s a more scalable solution on its end — which is something worth considering, given that it has 50+ million users.”
  • On the mobile front, the latest Dropbox iOS app now has automatic photo and video upload capability over Wi-Fi and cellular. Additionally, users who give Dropbox permission to auto-log their camera rolls will be rewarded with 3GB of extra storage.

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