Dropbox's Infinite feature needs deeper access to users' computers, fact that is worrying many about their data privacy.
According to VentureBeat, after publishing earlier last week a blog post on the architecture of Project Infinite, cloud file syncing and sharing service Dropbox got negative feedback from users concerned about the deep access on their computer. Project Infinite is an upcoming Dropbox feature that will keep files stored on Dropbox's infrastructure in order to not occupy too much local storage space but will show all files that can be accessed.
Motherboard reported that several people are concerned with the fact that Project Infinite goes beyond the user space and dip into the more sensitive kernel space. Now, the cloud sharing service is exploring several options, according to an interview on VentureBeat given by Rob Baesman, head of product for Dropbox's pro, business and enterprise service tiers.
One of the options is to share the Infinite code under an open source license, as some Dropbox users have suggested. However, Baesman said that they cannot manage to implement the Infinite feature without using the kernel because this "would be technologically impossible."
Baesman did not specify whether Dropbox will consider a way to allow users opt out of Project Infinite. He explained that antivirus software commonly accesses kernel. He added that they are still evaluating the best way to meet their users' need.
According to Engadget, Dropbox's Project Infinite sounds great on the surface. The feature will save space by giving users access to everything in their account without having to store files on their computer. Despite the positive side, there are privacy issues, and a lot of people are not happy that Dropbox will need to have deeper access to their system.
As it deals with competition from Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Box and others, any specific product issue could negatively affect Dropbox. The service has now an estimated number of over 500 million registered users.
