
Then while attempting to implement a solution, the engineers “inadvertently” caused the years-old files to resurface from the trash heap and be restored to people’s accounts. To restore deleted Dropbox files using Disk Drill: Download and install Disk Drill. (Dropbox did not immediately respond to Fortune’s specific requests for information about the number of files or customers affected, nor Ross’ full name or title)ĭropbox’s engineers “quarantined and excluded” these faulty files from the queue of ones to be permanently deleted until they could fix the problem, Ross said. Get Data Sheet, Fortune ’s technology newsletter.Ī Dropbox employee identified only as Ross S., who responded Thursday to complaints posted to the company’s “help center” forum, said some files apparently had “metadata inconsistencies,” tech jargon that the company neither elaborated upon nor clarified, despite Fortune’s inquiries. Something went wrong, in this case, that prevented the company from following through with the process. If you continue to experience issues, you can request file recovery from Dropbox Support. To restore your account to a specific point in time, use Dropbox Rewind. To restore an older version of a file, check its version history. Normally, Dropbox permanently wipes files-eradicating the data from its servers-60 days after a person deletes them, in accordance with the company’s privacy policy. To restore a single file, check your Deleted files page.

The company apologized for what it has described as “a bug” as well as a botched software fix that led to the unintended document recoveries. Files supposedly deleted by customers from the company’s servers were instead retained for as long as eight years, according to several reports over the past few weeks.
