Dropbox Ditches Unlimited Storage Plans, Citing Crypto Miner Abuse
Date: 2023-08-26 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS, IN WORLD
Cloud storage provider Dropbox has announced that it will be ending its "unlimited" storage policy offered under the Dropbox Advanced plan and replacing it with a metered model to better manage unexpectedly high usage patterns. These patterns, according to the team, include the unauthorized use of these tariff plans for mining cryptocurrencies.
Unauthorized use
According to the announcement, Dropbox Advanced's design has been adapted for enterprises, offering them the flexibility of unlimited storage as their teams expand. However, this policy inadvertently lured customers who instead used the platform for purposes such as cryptocurrency mining and storage pooling. It has been reported that these customers often consume thousands of times more storage than real business customers, putting all customers at risk of a degraded experience.
The announcement did not specify exactly how storage accounts are used for cryptocurrency mining. As of press time, Dropbox has not responded to CryptoSlate's request for comment.
As Dropbox Advanced's "acceptable" and "unacceptable" use cases proved difficult and unsustainable, the company decided to move away from its "as much space as you need" policy and move to a metered model.
Under the revised rules, customers who purchase the Dropbox Advanced plan with three active licenses will receive 15 TB of team-shared storage. Each additional active license provides 5 TB of storage. The vault can hold around 100 million documents, 4 million photos, or 7,500 hours of HD video, ensuring most teams have enough digital space for their operations.
The new policy will be rolled out gradually starting November 1st. Customers who require more space can purchase storage add-ons, available to new customers starting September 18 and to existing customers starting November 1.
Dropbox's decision to revise its retention policy hints at the broader impact of cryptocurrency-related activities across industries. This highlights the subtle but significant impact that the crypto landscape is having on other sectors, influencing adjustments in operating strategies across many industries.
