4 ms·

Why would a personal backup company invest in OCR? > To peek at personal data

nielsbot 9y ago
A more innocent explanation would be "make your scans searchable" (Not saying you're wrong)
blacksmith_tb 9y ago
Unless you're encrypting it first (via Cryptomator etc.), they already have lots of your data in easier-to-peek-at formats. You could always do your own OCR, and encrypt the results before storing it with them - though I accept that most won't, or use encryption at all for the files they keep in Dropbox, gDrive, etc.
barkingcat 9y ago
This statement is obvious. I pay Dropbox specifically so they can hold my data and yes - look at my personal data. And by OCR'ing it make my data even more understandable and searchable. How is this a concern when that is the purpose of the company's software?
- kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
  I understand that you are fine with them looking at your data, but how exactly is it obvious that the primary purpose of a company you are paying to backup your data is to mine that data?
  - acdha 9y ago
    Normal people like to find the things which they store. If they're storing images, 99% of the time there won't be much metadata or text alternatives available — it's the same reason why everyone is investing in image classification and face recognition so you can search for “uncle bob” and find pictures which have them.
  - ggg9990 9y ago
    Dropbox has never been sold as "pure backup" like Backblaze, and isn't priced like it (I'm a paying customer of both). I'm not paying Dropbox to backup my data, I'm paying them to sync my data across machines, make it available to me on devices I don't own, make it easy to share with family and friends, etc. I want Dropbox to OCR my documents -- I don't really want Backblaze to (and Backblaze's margins probably don't have any wiggle room for added features).
  - barkingcat 9y ago
    The primary purpose of dropbox was never "backup". It was always to intelligently store and share data, and to be able to identify information inside of it - like if it's an image, have a gallery. If it's a word doc, have a light weight interface for reading and editing, etc. It was also one of the primary ways to get data out of cell phones because of the "sharing" and "syncing" options. I think you are confusing dropbox for something else? In fact I think dropbox would be a horrible backup solution! Don't use it for backup or you will be disappointed.
    - derefr 9y ago
      Right: Dropbox isn't a safe-deposit box for your data; it's a checking account for your data.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
- dchuk 9y ago
  I am curious how they will expose the search indexes they are presumably building to the desktop client users. I almost never use the dropbox website for anything, and primarily use Spotlight to search on my desktop for any file, dropbox or not. I don't really see how their indexing of my files for search can mix into my workflow
maxerickson 9y ago
Dropbox isn't a personal backup company. They provide storage to lots of individuals, but that isn't really where they are trying to grow their business.

A more innocent explanation would be "make your scans searchable" (Not saying you're wrong)

Unless you're encrypting it first (via Cryptomator etc.), they already have lots of your data in easier-to-peek-at formats. You could always do your own OCR, and encrypt the results before storing it with them - though I accept that most won't, or use encryption at all for the files they keep in Dropbox, gDrive, etc.

barkingcat 9y ago

This statement is obvious. I pay Dropbox specifically so they can hold my data and yes - look at my personal data. And by OCR'ing it make my data even more understandable and searchable. How is this a concern when that is the purpose of the company's software?

kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
I understand that you are fine with them looking at your data, but how exactly is it obvious that the primary purpose of a company you are paying to backup your data is to mine that data?
- acdha 9y ago
  Normal people like to find the things which they store. If they're storing images, 99% of the time there won't be much metadata or text alternatives available — it's the same reason why everyone is investing in image classification and face recognition so you can search for “uncle bob” and find pictures which have them.
- ggg9990 9y ago
  Dropbox has never been sold as "pure backup" like Backblaze, and isn't priced like it (I'm a paying customer of both). I'm not paying Dropbox to backup my data, I'm paying them to sync my data across machines, make it available to me on devices I don't own, make it easy to share with family and friends, etc. I want Dropbox to OCR my documents -- I don't really want Backblaze to (and Backblaze's margins probably don't have any wiggle room for added features).
- barkingcat 9y ago
  The primary purpose of dropbox was never "backup". It was always to intelligently store and share data, and to be able to identify information inside of it - like if it's an image, have a gallery. If it's a word doc, have a light weight interface for reading and editing, etc. It was also one of the primary ways to get data out of cell phones because of the "sharing" and "syncing" options. I think you are confusing dropbox for something else? In fact I think dropbox would be a horrible backup solution! Don't use it for backup or you will be disappointed.
  - derefr 9y ago
    Right: Dropbox isn't a safe-deposit box for your data; it's a checking account for your data.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
dchuk 9y ago
I am curious how they will expose the search indexes they are presumably building to the desktop client users. I almost never use the dropbox website for anything, and primarily use Spotlight to search on my desktop for any file, dropbox or not. I don't really see how their indexing of my files for search can mix into my workflow

maxerickson 9y ago

Dropbox isn't a personal backup company. They provide storage to lots of individuals, but that isn't really where they are trying to grow their business.