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Dropbox and privacy (or lack of)

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dr_andus:
Yes, that's what I was concerned about. I really liked Dropbox so far, so it's such a pity that they are turning it into some sort of spyware now.

I guess one could argue that they need to monetise the "free" Dropbox users, but it doesn't sound like becoming a paid Dropbox user would provide one with any more privacy.

wraith808:
I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'spyware'- they're using the business intelligence of what you voluntarily give them with your account, with what you involuntarily give any site.  I just hate conflating the term 'spyware' with other practices.

dr_andus:
I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'spyware'- they're using the business intelligence of what you voluntarily give them with your account, with what you involuntarily give any site.  I just hate conflating the term 'spyware' with other practices.
-wraith808 (February 26, 2014, 06:49 PM)
--- End quote ---

OK, I take your point. I should have used inverted commas to emphasise that I was using the term metaphorically, not literally.

But... in the email they say to you "We don’t sell your personal information to third parties," which sounds reassuring. You will have to bother to click on the Privacy Policy link to find out that they may share your " name, email address and IP address" with Dropbox for Business users. Now, how is a "Dropbox for Business user" not a third party? It may not be to them, but they would be to me, as a bog-standard Basic (non-paying) or Pro (paying customer)?

So is it no longer spying if they tell you in convoluted ways that they are spying on you and selling that on to "second parties"? Or are they just enabling these "second parties" to spy on you?

I suspect that the vast majority of the Basic and Pro account users will never learn that this is happening unless they find it out from the media (like I did). Thanks, El Reg!

xtabber:
I think you are mis-interpreting this.

If something is uploaded to any Dropbox account and made available to others for download, it is perfectly reasonable for the poster to be able to know who has downloaded the file. 

I don't see anything nefarious about that or any kind of invasion of privacy.

Innuendo:
I think you are mis-interpreting this.

If something is uploaded to any Dropbox account and made available to others for download, it is perfectly reasonable for the poster to be able to know who has downloaded the file.  -xtabber (March 01, 2014, 08:39 AM)
--- End quote ---

I agree with this interpretation. This pertains to Dropbox for Business accounts. The way I see it Dropbox is making available a way for business owners to see what kind of file transfers their employees are engaging in and with whom.

This is perfectly reasonable. If I was shelling out the money so my employees could use Dropbox, I'd want to know how my employees were using company resources.

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