Dropbox ignores how roaming is the new normal, refuses to protect photos | Hacker News Reader

Dropbox ignores how roaming is the new normal, refuses to protect photos

dropboxforum.com

17 pointshunter2_17 comments

Alternative headline: Dropbox being cautious to avoid incurring large roaming fees for users. This is probably a safer mode for them to operate in. Adding the option to specify that roaming is cheap (or trying to automatically guess where this happens worldwide) is a pretty big ask.

I'd agree automatic guessing is dangerous, but an explicit (default off) option to allow upload in other countries doesn't seem like a risk.

You could even put some wording round "hey this will cost you data" and offer an automatic turn off after a set period.

Dropbox's current approach is just mis-understanding their market.

In Europe there's no such thing as roaming fees (well unless you're in post-Brexit UK), so at least they should offer the option for european installs.

What's the problem with having the option, though? It's set "off" by default and, if the user wishes, they turn it on to enable uploads while roaming.

There's no guessing going on by the software. It's just a toggle.

I guess they're taking the Apple approach where "just a toggle" is a UI-destroying notion.

Literally every other application does this. If you can check whether you're roaming you can also check whether a boolean configuration property is true.

Would you say the same if Dropbox did not upload photos outside of your home state with no option to enable it? Because that's the EU situation.

True, but the alternative is a type of data loss for users who think their photos sync when they don't and happen to lose their phones while roaming.

Keeping a tight leash on background data while roaming should be an OS prerogative, not each app.

This is very much an aside, but here’s an observation about branding. It’s a huge mistake to use your brand typography on a user forum, at least when your typeface is as peculiar as Dropbox’s. Looking at the headline and the first post, it feels like something Dropbox is saying, which is bizarre for a complaint. Compare with the rest of the comments in the thread, which use a different typeface, and which clearly have a distinct voice.

Roaming is the new normal? Citation needed.

maybe there is a * missing:

Roaming is the new normal*

*in Europe[1]

[1]https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-tel...

note that Europe ≠ EU, for example in Switzerland we still have roaming when going to the EU

and it seems like that the UK will lose it's connection to this no roaming cost club, post brexit :(

True, but if you're often in EU (that thing completely surrounding Switzerland) you can use one sim to roam in every EU country. So if you are from Luxembourg and regularly visit Belgium, Germany, and France you also get advantages. Much more than a German from Berlin who regularly visits Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Munich.

I hate it when I forget that I am outside of the EU and get a 100$ roaming bill for net usage by just stepping out of the airport. Then I get the overuse alert from my telco and turn off roaming.

EU citizens request the native support of "EU roaming" in the phone's OS!

Years ago, roaming data had unavoidable exorbitant fees in almost all cases. Over the past few years, most people who travel outside their home area can trivially obtain cheap data so long as they plan ahead and set the data plan appropriately. I don't have a citation but it's been my personal experience and that of the dozens of commenters in the linked issue.

Is Condoleezza Rice still on the board of directors? She had a fairly strong anti-privacy stance.

Surprised that cellular photo syncing is turned off when you are roaming. Even native iOS gives you option to roam data at your discretion.

I use Google Photos with a worldwide plan. Pretty solid experience. No thought photo syncing.

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