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Missing camera Uploads from 2016 to 2021 missing from account, only placeholders left on Mac

einaroddur

My Dropbox desktop app on my Mac had not synced since December 2021. After reinstalling it, the local Dropbox folder still lists about 5.800 Camera Uploads files from 2016 to 2021, plus the folders "Photos from iPhoto" and "Af imac fyrir hreinsun" (several thousand files). These were online-only, so the local files are empty placeholders.

On dropbox.com, none of these files exist. Camera Uploads only contains files from 2024 onwards, and the files do not appear under Deleted files. My account is on the Basic plan and currently over quota.

Is there any way to find out what happened to these files, or to recover them? I have a complete list of the missing file names and sizes.

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Accepted answers

Megan

Hey @einaroddur, thanks for checking!

Since the content was deleted back in April (as mentioned in the email), it falls well outside the standard 30-day recovery window. I'm afraid our support team is unable to recover content that was deleted that long ago.

If you need help with anything else, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to assist you.

All comments

Mark

The only record of them would be at www.dropbox.com/events BUT if its over 180 days since deletion then that list is cleared. Dropbox support dont have any records other than that either.

Two possibilities I'm thinking:

I am just wondering if you have been over quota at all? If so Dropbox removes files to bring you back under quota - although you are warned first.
When you say it wasnt syncing, why? Did you just log out and not relog in? If so Dropbox deletes files of inactive accounts after 6 months of no use.

Megan

Hi there, @einaroddur, let's jump into this together!

Thanks for the details. In your post, you mentioned two key points: that the Dropbox desktop app wasn't syncing at the time, and that your account is currently over quota. As a result, it would make sense that the files wouldn't update from your Mac to your account online.

To add to what @Mark correctly noted, if your account was over quota, files may have been removed from the account as outlined here.

To help us investigate further, could you please clarify a few things?

When was the last time you accessed your Dropbox account before? Is it possible it was closed due to inactivity and then re-opened?
Could you please share your Dropbox app version, and its current syncing status? You can check this by hovering your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar next to your Wi-Fi icon.
You mentioned, "Dropbox folder still lists about 5,800 Camera Uploads files from 2016 to 2021." Could you send a screenshot of this folder and confirm whether we are looking at an old Dropbox folder or the current one linked to your account?

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

einaroddur

Thanks, Megan and Mark. I found the emails: my account was over quota, Dropbox warned me from January to April 2026, and on 9 April 2026 I received “We cleared space on your Dropbox account”. So that explains the missing Camera Uploads (2016 to 2021), and more. Is there any way to recover those files now, past the 30-day window? If not, I’ll close this out. Thanks for the help.

Megan

Hey @einaroddur, thanks for checking!

If you need help with anything else, please let me know. I'll be more than happy to assist you.