Dropbox squashes desktop client bug, offers free Pro upgrade to those who lost files

Those who rely on Dropbox to store their personal files may have lost some of their data. The service has experienced some issues regarding a bug in older versions of its available desktop apps. This bug deleted files uploaded by affected users who activated the Selective Sync feature, leading some to find they'd lost a large amount of files.

Should users shut down (or restart) the affected clients while Selective Sync was active, they would find the feature not being able to locate a portion of the files uploaded to the cloud. The good news is Dropbox has been busy working to restore files where possible and releasing updated versions of the desktop apps. Dropbox has also implemented some extra safeguards to help prevent this kind of mass deletion from occurring once again in the future.

Should you be one of the select few who have been affected by this bug, Dropbox has been reaching out to customers via email with an apology and offer for a year's worth of Dropbox Pro for free.

Let us know if you've been affected in the comments. Also, do you rely solely on cloud-based services for backing up files?

Source: Hacker News, via: Engadget

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.