Dropbox is officially launching a handful of new consumer features out of beta today, along with some new tools for businesses.
Mar 29, 2020 The 9to5Mac team has discovered that the latest Dropbox beta for Mac (sadly, not easy to grab) has the option of syncing your desktop, Documents. Jun 16, 2020 Dropbox Passwords works very much like its erstwhile competition, saving the login and password data for sites and apps, and logging in automatically via tools on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. The announcement post says that they’re saved with “zero-knowledge encryption,” i.e. The actual text of the usernames and passwords isn’t. Jul 30, 2018 Dropbox is a cloud storage and sync service available for the Mac, PC, and most mobile devices. It makes sure that anything in its particular folder is kept safe online and mirrored on any other device you install it on.
The cloud storage giant first introduced its password manager — replete with a standalone mobile app for Android and iOS — back in June. Similar to other password management apps on the market, Dropbox Passwords stores and encrypts users’ online passwords and syncs them across all devices (desktop and mobile) so users don’t have to remember multiple login credentials.
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Dropbox Passwords can also suggest strong, randomly generated, individual passwords for your online services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, and Dropbox itself.
Dropbox Passwords is the result of last year’s acquisition of Massachusetts-based Valt, which swiftly shuttered its own apps ahead of integration with Dropbox. Dropbox Passwords is available to everyone on a Dropbox Plus or Professional subscription from today.
The San Francisco-based company is also launching its previously announced computer backup feature in general availability today. The tool, which is available for Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Professional users, automatically creates a cloud-based backup of any folder stored on a PC or Mac and is continuously synced.
Dropbox also launched its new Vault feature in general availability today to help users share access to specific files — such as passport scans or sensitive tax documents — while keeping those documents secure behind a PIN code. The Vault folder sits alongside other files and folders on Dropbox, though it can only be opened from Dropbox.com or the Dropbox mobile app — files contained in Dropbox Vault are not stored locally on a user’s desktop. Dropbox Vault is available to all Dropbox Plus subscribers from today.
Alongside the more consumer-centric features, Dropbox today unveiled two features exclusive to the Dropbox Professional subscription plan. “Branded sharing” allows users to customize the files and documents they share with their name and branding.
Finally, Dropbox is giving Professional subscribers access to a new “traffic and insights” feature, allowing them to track all the interactions with files and folders that they share, including who clicked on the link, what device they were using, when they accessed it, and whether they viewed or downloaded the content.
Dropbox has launched two new tools for its users, with the collaborative-working service Paper exiting beta, and Smart Sync allowing users to more selectively synchronize files between the cloud storage service and individual Mac and PC desktops.
Dropbox Paper was originally introduced in beta last year, after a period of private testing, as a collaborative environment for teams. The project software lets teams work on multiple shared documents, editing and passing notes to each other to refine ideas and files into a final form.
The app offers enhanced search functions to find specific files and comments, image galleries, and a notification system that works across both the web and app versions of the tool. The iOS app offers many of the aspects of the full web interface, with simplified document editing and the option to insert images from an iPhone or iPad's camera roll.
For the launch Dropbox has revealed the web version of Paper supports 21 languages, though the mobile apps will have this in the future. The mobile apps are expected to include support for offline workspaces in the future, with project filtering and viewing options also arriving in beta.
First introduced last year as 'Project Infinite,' Smart Sync is a way for Dropbox users to access files without synchronizing all the contents of a folder. All of the files and folders kept in Dropbox storage will be viewable in the OS X Finder or Windows File Explorer, though the files will not be present locally until the user clicks the icon to open it.
Once downloaded, the file will automatically synchronize back with the cloud if any changes are made to it. Placeholder versions of files yet to be downloaded will show a cloud icon instead of a green tick, and will also provide users with details about the file itself, including its size and the time it was last modified.
Smart Sync is intended to save users from wasting local storage capacity and bandwidth by keeping as many of the Dropbox files on the company's servers, and only downloading the files they need. This is extremely useful for teams and business accounts, as the Dropbox could include high quantities of documents as well as very large files.
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Smart Sync for all Dropbox Business and Enterprise customers is available immediately.
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At the same time as launching Smart Sync and Paper, Dropbox has also introduced new Business plans. The Standard plan for $12.50 per month per user provides 2 terabytes of storage and collaborative tools, while the $20 Advanced plan adds on top administration features, with a third for Enterprise intended for larger businesses.
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