Dropbox can be a very useful service to have in your digital range of products, but the service is about to change soon and sharing files may no longer be so straightforward, TechCrunch reports. Developers who use the Dropbox API reportedly received an email informing them that starting July 31, the cloud storage company will no longer be creating Public folders for new users.
A company representative, however, wrote on the company's support forums and noted that current Dropbox users would still be able to benefit from the functionality, but those who create new accounts after July 31 will not be able to put their files in a Public folder for easier sharing.
The 'Get Link' Alternative
Last month, the Dropbox team announced the addition of a new feature to the service, in most cases reducing the need for a Public folder to begin with. The company launched in April a Get Link feature that allows users to quickly create links to any file stored in a Dropbox account, something very simple and very useful.
On the other hand, while the new feature appeals with its simplicity, at times it is significantly less useful. For instance, a link created with the Get Link feature guides people to a download page where they can get the file, instead of being able to link directly to a file dumped in a Public folder. When you want to keep the file in question, this may not pose a major inconvenient, but users on the Dropbox forums worried about sharing certain types of files, particularly photos. Simply showing an image to someone is one thing, but knowing they have to download it to view it is arguably less desirable.
Why This Approach?
According to the email sent out to developers who use the Dropbox API, the company opted for this approach because the new link-oriented sharing model reportedly offers a more scalable solution to handling the types of use-cases the Public folder is often used for. This approach, said the company, will certainly prove helpful as the service continues to grow - they already passed the 50 million registered user mark a few months ago.
If there is some other reasoning as well behind this move, only the Dropbox team knows for now. Still, as TechCrunch very well points out, "in the end it seems like a small price to pay to keep the service as cheap and responsive as it is."
