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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 o
by mmastrac 8y ago
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.
- raesene9 8y agoI'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.
- Nicksil 8y agoWhat'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.
- hunter2_ 8y agoI guess they're taking the Apple approach where "just a toggle" is a UI-destroying notion.
- dtech 8y agoLiterally 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.
- hunter2_ 8y agoTrue, 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.