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Why do I get this kind of threatening email from Dropbox that I'll lose access to my files?

I get this email almost daily: "Eligibility confirmed: NAME, you'll lose access to your files if you don't act soon!"

I have 1,7 / 2.0 GB on my free storage.

What do you mean by this message?
I'm no native speaker, but this "you'll lose" is factual statement to me.

But how can this be correct as I'm roughly 10% below my max. quota.

How can you state something like this? Is this some kind of harassment towards me to make me buy more storage?

Please confirm, Do I lose access or not? If the size of the data remains as is?

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TeeKoo_Fi

Thank You Megan for your support and your clear message.

I did misunderstand the "you'll lose access to your files if you don't act soon!" statement then.

I thought I would lose the files which I have uploaded.

Thank You.

All comments

Mark

If you are getting messages saying you are at risk of files being deleted then its true - would you rather they DIDNT tell you and you lost the files?

Have you looked at www.dropbox.com/backups to make sure that's not activated and using the quota up as well? Note that doesn't appear on the standard quota page.

TeeKoo_Fi

Sorry, but I do have difficulties in understanding this.

I have used 1,7 out of 2,0 only.
Can you please explain, why am I at risk of losing something?

Shouldn't I be allowed to upload almost 0,3 more, then I can accept that I have reached the limit. And, there will be consequencies, like losing something or all my data.

And again, I'm not a native EN speaker, so I perhaps do not understand all the nuances related to their " you'll "s.

Sorry again, can you please explain in a way that even a rock would understand.

Thank you

TeeKoo_Fi

...Sorry, I forgot to add that I have not activated any backups.

Megan

Hey @TeeKoo_Fi, I'd be happy to explain!

Please be aware that Dropbox will not delete any of your files.

However, if your Dropbox folder becomes over quota all that should happen is that syncing stops. Dropbox will only sync until you hit your quota, so if you are over quota all that should happen is that Dropbox will not sync any new files, hence the message.

If you need something else, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help every step of the way.

TeeKoo_Fi

Rich

@Megan wrote:
Please be aware that Dropbox will not delete any of your files.

Megan, that's apparently no longer the case. It's even documented that Dropbox may delete files if you're over quota, starting with the most recent data added to the account. It's my understanding that this doesn't happen for quite some time and not before several warnings, but it does seem to happen.

https://help.dropbox.com/storage-space/over-quota

If you’re a Dropbox Basic user you will have a free storage limit of 2 GB. If you go over your storage quota, you may be subject to data deletion. You’ll receive notifications about the deletion of your most recent data to make room within your plan limit. To prevent deletion, we recommend that Basic users manage their files to align with the plan limit or consider upgrading to a higher-tier plan for additional storage.

TeeKoo_Fi

Wow.
Thank you Rich for picking this up.
I wonder if Megan or the pages itself does have outdated info.

Rich

@TeeKoo_Fi wrote:
I wonder if Megan or the pages itself does have outdated info.

It's a relatively new change from last December (dated in the help article). Previously Dropbox wouldn't delete files if you were over quota. You just wouldn't be able to sync or change anything in the account. They would, however, delete the entire account along with the data if the account was left idle for more than a year.