66-694: Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc. , headquartered in San Francisco , California, U.S. that offers cloud storage , file synchronization , personal cloud , and client software. Dropbox was founded in 2007 by MIT students Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi as a startup company , with initial funding from seed accelerator Y Combinator . Dropbox has experienced criticism and generated controversy for issues including security breaches and privacy concerns. Dropbox brings files together in one central place by creating
132-486: A Forbes article, Dropbox had "revenue on track to hit $ 240 million in 2011". In April 2012, Dropbox announced that Bono and The Edge , two members of the Irish rock band U2 , were individual investors in the company. In 2014 Dropbox raised financing from BlackRock Inc. and others that values the company at $ 10 billion. In March 2017, Bloomberg reported that Dropbox had secured a US$ 600 million credit line, with
198-475: A CAPTCHA to prevent automated downloading. Several programs aid in downloading files from these one-click hosts; examples are JDownloader , FreeRapid, Mipony, Tucan Manager and CryptLoad . File hosting services may be used as a means to distribute or share files without consent of the copyright owner. In such cases one individual uploads a file to a file hosting service, which others can then download . Legal assessments can be very diverse. For example, in
264-463: A " mobile coupon startup". In May 2014, Dropbox acquired Bubbli, a startup that has "built some innovative ways of incorporating 3D technology into 2D views, and packaging it in a mobile app". In January 2015, Dropbox acquired CloudOn, a company that provided mobile applications for document editing and creation. At the same time, Dropbox told TechCrunch that CloudOn's base in Herzliya would become
330-424: A dedicated "Camera Uploads" folder in their Dropbox. Users are given 500 megabytes of extra space for uploading their first photo, and are given up to 3 gigabytes of extra space if users continue using the method for more photos. In July 2014, Dropbox introduced "streaming sync" for its computer apps. Streaming sync was described as a new "supercharged" synchronization speed for large files that improves
396-414: A degree, come to compete with P2P filesharing services. The sites make money through advertising or charging for premium services such as increased downloading capacity, removing any wait restrictions the site may have or prolonging how long uploaded files remain on the site. Premium services include facilities like unlimited downloading, no waiting, maximum download speed etc. Many such sites implement
462-449: A designated folder. The file is then automatically uploaded to Dropbox's cloud-based service and made available to any other of the user's computers and devices that also have the Dropbox software installed, keeping the file up-to-date on all systems. When a file in a user's Dropbox folder is changed, Dropbox only uploads the pieces of the file that have been changed, whenever possible. When
528-501: A different cost associated with access vs storage. For example, in a cold storage scenario, the price per GB stored over time can be very low, but it may take longer to access an item at a higher per GB retrieval cost. In some cases, users may have to commit to retrieval being much higher latency as well. One-click hosting , sometimes referred to as cyberlocker generally describes web services that allow internet users to easily upload one or more files from their hard drives (or from
594-421: A file or folder is deleted, users can recover it within 30 days. For Dropbox Plus users, this recovery time can be extended to one year, by purchasing an "Extended Version History" add-on. Dropbox accounts that are not accessed or emails not replied in a year are automatically deleted. Dropbox also offers a LAN sync feature, where, instead of receiving information and data from the Dropbox servers, computers on
660-404: A freemium business model, where users are offered a free account with a set storage size, with paid subscriptions available that offer more capacity and additional features. Accordingly, Dropbox's revenue is a product of how many users they can convert to their paid services. Dropbox Basic users are given two gigabytes of free storage space. This can be expanded through referrals; users recommend
726-458: A fully featured product. That helps test customer appetite, he says, dubbing the practice "minimum viable product". TechCrunch reported in July 2011 that Dropbox had been looking to raise between US$ 200 and US$ 300 million, and had a valuation "to end up in the $ 5 billion to $ 10 billion range. [...] quite a step up from its previous funding rounds which have totalled a tiny $ 7.2 million". As noted in
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#1732847467249792-439: A major global network expansion, aiming to increase synchronization speeds while cutting costs. The expansion, starting with 14 cities across 7 countries on 3 continents, adds "hundreds of gigabits of Internet connectivity with transit providers (regional and global ISPs), and hundreds of new peering partners (where we exchange traffic directly rather than through an ISP)". Dropbox uses SSL transfers for synchronization and stores
858-535: A new entity called Yahoo . Starting in New York City in 2010, TechCrunch hosts an annual tech conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, in several cities in the United States and Europe. TechCrunch Disrupt brings innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts worldwide. At Disrupt, attendees can witness groundbreaking startups pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, participate in networking events, and explore
924-444: A number of design features of its operating model as being evidence showing a criminal intent and venture. Examples cited included reliance upon advertising revenue and other activities showing the business was funded by (and heavily promoted) downloads and not storage, defendants' communications helping users who sought infringing material, and defendants' communications discussing their own evasion and infringement issues. As of 2014
990-424: A per- gigabyte basis, and sometimes include a bandwidth cost component as well. Usually these will be charged monthly or yearly. Some companies offer the service for free, relying on advertising revenue. Some hosting services do not place any limit on how much space the user's account can consume. Non-paying users' accounts may be deleted or suspended after a predefined period of inactivity. Some services require
1056-501: A remote location) onto the one-click host's server free of charge. Most such services simply return a URL which can be given to other people, who can then fetch the file later. In many cases these URLs are predictable allowing potential misuse of the service. As of 2005 these sites have drastically increased in popularity, and subsequently, many of the smaller, less efficient sites have failed. Although one-click hosting can be used for many purposes, this type of file sharing has, to
1122-601: A software download which makes files only available on computers which have that software installed, others allow users to retrieve files through any web browser. With the increased inbox space offered by webmail services, many users have started using their webmail service as an online drive. Some sites offer free unlimited file storage but have a limit on the file size. Some sites offer additional online storage capacity in exchange for new customer referrals. Many providers offer tiered storage levels, charging differently based on frequency of access and retrieval latency. There may be
1188-682: A special folder on the user's computer. The contents of these folders are synchronized to Dropbox's servers and to other computers and devices where the user has installed Dropbox, keeping the same files up-to-date on all devices. Dropbox uses a freemium business model , where users are offered a free account with set storage size, with paid subscriptions available that offer more capacity and additional features. Dropbox Basic users are given two gigabytes of free storage space. Dropbox offers computer apps for Microsoft Windows , Apple macOS , and Linux computers, and mobile apps for iOS , Android , and Windows Phone smartphones and tablets. In March 2013,
1254-558: A startup that "enables advertisers and publishers to collaborate on tablet-optimized advertising". The following December, Dropbox acquired two companies; Audiogalaxy , a startup "allowing users to store their music files and playlists in the cloud then stream them to any device", and Snapjoy, a company that allowed users to "aggregate, archive and view all of their digital photos from their cameras, phones and popular apps like Flickr , Instagram and Picasa , and then view them online or via an iOS app". In July 2013, Dropbox acquired Endorse,
1320-521: A technology event hosted in several cities across the United States, Europe, and China. TechCrunch was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare . In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ 25 million. As of 2013, TechCrunch was available in English, Chinese (managed by Chinese tech news company TechNode), and Japanese. TechCrunch France
1386-501: A user. By demonstrating to a court how applying the convergent encryption methodology to an unencrypted copyrighted file produces the same encrypted file as that possessed by the user would appear to make a strong case that the user is guilty of possessing the file in question and thus providing evidence of copyright infringement by the user. There is, however, no easily accessible public record of this having been tried in court as of May 2013 and an argument could be made that, similar to
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#17328474672491452-401: Is append-only , which is distinct from simple "read", "write", and "read-write" permissions in that all existing data is immutable. Append-only support is especially important to mitigate the risk of data loss for backup policies in the event that the computer being backed-up becomes infected with ransomware capable of deleting or encrypting the victim's backups. Secret key encryption
1518-456: Is a provider of end-to-end zero-knowledge encryption for cloud storage services. In December 2022, Dropbox announced the acquisition of form management platform FormSwift for $ 95 million. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dropbox was one of the first companies to shift to a remote workforce . In October 2020, the company announced its "virtual first" initiative which would shift
1584-973: Is an internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files . These services allow users to upload files that can be accessed over the internet after providing a username and password or other authentication . Typically, file hosting services allow HTTP access , and in some cases, FTP access . Other related services include content-displaying hosting services (i.e. video and image ), virtual storage, and remote backup solutions. Personal file storage services are designed for private individuals to store and access their files online. Users can upload their files and share them publicly or keep them password-protected. Document-sharing services allow users to share and collaborate on document files. These services originally targeted files such as PDFs , word processor documents, and spreadsheets . However many remote file storage services are now aimed at allowing users to share and synchronize all types of files across all
1650-425: Is considered the highest level of access security in cloud storage. This form of encryption is rapidly gaining popularity, with companies such as MEGA (previously Megaupload) and SpiderOak being entirely zero knowledge file storage and sharing. Since secret key encryption results in unique files, it makes data deduplication impossible and therefore may use more storage space. Convergent encryption derives
1716-624: Is easy for me to explain the idea, it is actually really hard to do it." Dropbox saw steady user growth after its inception. It surpassed the 1 million registered users milestone in April 2009, followed by 2 million in September, and 3 million in November. It passed 50 million users in October 2011, 100 million in November 2012, 500 million in 2016, and 700 million in 2021. In July 2012, Dropbox acquired TapEngage,
1782-407: Is especially common for companies with a major internet presence. Many businesses use file hosting services as part of their backup and disaster recovery strategies. By storing copies of important files offsite in a secure data center , they can quickly recover from data loss due to hardware failure, natural disasters , or other unexpected events. Some online file storage services offer space on
1848-433: Is sometimes referred to as zero knowledge , meaning that only the user has the encryption key needed to decrypt the data. Since data is encrypted using the secret key, identical files encrypted with different keys will be different. To be truly zero knowledge, the file hosting service must not be able to store the user's passwords or see their data even with physical access to the servers. For this reason, secret key encryption
1914-501: Is uploaded or while it is stored. While encryption is generally regarded as best practice in cloud storage how the encryption is implemented is very important. Consumer-grade, public file hosting and synchronization services are popular, but for business use, they create the concern that corporate information is exported to devices and cloud services that are not controlled by the organization. Some cloud storage providers offer granular ACLs for application keys. One important permission
1980-820: The "highest tier" of its product offerings, adding domain management tools, an assigned Dropbox customer support member, and help from "expert advisors" on deployment and user training. In July 2016, Dropbox announced a new "AdminX" administrator dashboard for Business customers, offering improved control of company files and users. In June 2017, the AdminX dashboard was given a redesign and additional administrator functions, such as log-in durations, custom password strength parameters, and setting specific subdomain verifications for individual teams. In September 2012, Facebook and Dropbox integrated to allow users in Facebook Groups to share files using Dropbox. In 2013, Samsung pre-loaded
2046-413: The 2015 acquisition of AOL and Yahoo! by Verizon , the site was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo!, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management . Apollo integrated them into a new entity called Yahoo! Inc. In addition to its news reporting, TechCrunch is also known for its annual Disrupt conference,
Dropbox - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-480: The Dropbox concept after repeatedly forgetting his USB flash drive while he was a student at MIT . Houston founded Evenflow, Inc. in May 2007 as the company behind Dropbox, and shortly thereafter secured seed funding from Y Combinator . Dropbox was officially launched at 2008's TechCrunch Disrupt, an annual technology conference. Owing to trademark disputes between Proxy, Inc. and Evenflow, Dropbox's official domain name
2178-567: The Dropbox folder, but only download specific files on-demand. Similar to Dropbox Basic, Dropbox Plus users can also earn extra space through referrals. Plus users earn 1 gigabyte per referral, up to 32 gigabytes. Dropbox Business is Dropbox's application for corporations, adding more business-centered functionality for teams, including collaboration tools, advanced security and control, unlimited file recovery, user management and granular permissions, and options for unlimited storage. For large organizations, Dropbox offers Dropbox Enterprise,
2244-485: The Dropbox mobile application on its Android devices and Dropbox provided extra space for users owning Samsung's devices. In November 2014, Dropbox announced a partnership with Microsoft to integrate Dropbox and Microsoft Office applications on iOS, Android and the applications on the web. On July 10, 2018, Dropbox announced its partnership with Salesforce aiming to improve brand engagement and team productivity. The Dropbox software enables users to drop any file into
2310-546: The Series A investment, which included a fresh slug of US$ 6 million", bringing the total amount to US$ 7.25 million, with the round closed in 2008 and documents filed in 2009. A May 2010 report in The Wall Street Journal said that "since [founder Drew Houston] started reading Eric Ries ' Lean startup blog about a year ago, the company has started trickling out new features when they are ready instead of waiting to launch
2376-562: The annual Crunchies award ceremony to award startups, internet, and technology innovations. At the first award ceremony in 2007, Facebook won the award for best startup. TechCrunch announced in 2017 that it would end the Crunchies. The company was criticized for allowing developers to present the Titstare application created by participants in a hackathon at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013. The application allows users to "stare at tits". In 2011,
2442-639: The case has not yet been heard. A year later, Megaupload.com relaunched as Mega . In 2016 the file hosting site Putlocker has been noted by the Motion Picture Association of America for being a major piracy threat, and in 2012 Alfred Perry of Paramount Pictures listed Putlocker as one of the "top 5 rogue cyberlocker services", alongside Wupload, FileServe , Depositfiles, and MediaFire . The emergence of cloud storage services has prompted much discussion on security. Security, as it relates to cloud storage can be broken down into: Deals with
2508-645: The case of Swiss – German file hosting service RapidShare , in 2010 the US government's congressional international anti- piracy caucus declared the site a "notorious illegal site", claiming that the site was "overwhelmingly used for the global exchange of illegal movies, music and other copyrighted works". But in the legal case Atari Europe S.A.S.U. v. Rapidshare AG in Germany, the Düsseldorf higher regional court examined claims related to alleged infringing activity and reached
2574-470: The company acquired Mailbox , a popular email app, and in April 2014, the company introduced Dropbox Carousel , a photo and video gallery app. Both Mailbox and Carousel were shut down in December 2015, with key features from both apps implemented into the regular Dropbox service. In October 2015, it officially announced Dropbox Paper , its collaborative document editor. Dropbox founder Drew Houston conceived
2640-480: The company expected to file for its initial public offering (IPO) "as soon as this year". In February 2018, Dropbox filed an IPO to be listed on the Nasdaq . The company's initial intent was to raise $ 500 million. Dropbox's stock rose 42 percent to $ 29.89 in its first day of trading on March 23, 2018. As of February 2021, Dropbox had been profitable in the last three quarters, whilst also having no debt . Dropbox uses
2706-433: The company on February 5, 2021. In the same month, Dropbox announced it would sublease much of its office space in a transition to remote work. In April 2023, Houston announced the layoff of roughly 500 employees, or 16 percent of the current workforce. The company cited a slowdown in growth and a need for different, AI-focused skill-sets. In October 2024, Houston announced the layoff of roughly 528 employees, or 20 percent of
Dropbox - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-430: The company to a long-term remote working plan, which launched officially April 2021. In January 2021, Dropbox CEO Houston announced the layoff of 315 employees, which is approximately 11 percent of the current workforce. The company said the reductions were necessary in order to focus the company team structure and focus on top level priorities. The software firm also announced that COO Olivia Nottebohm would be leaving
2838-437: The company. He announced that he would join the venture capital firm SOSV in December 2020 as a senior operating partner. His former role at TechCrunch was replaced by Matthew Panzarino, former editor-in-chief, and Joey Hinson, director of business operations. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management , and Apollo integrated them into
2904-434: The conclusion on appeal that "most people utilize RapidShare for legal use cases" and that to assume otherwise was equivalent to inviting "a general suspicion against shared hosting services and their users which is not justified". The court also observed that the site removes copyrighted material when asked, does not provide search facilities for illegal material, noted previous cases siding with RapidShare, and after analysis
2970-654: The court concluded that the plaintiff's proposals for more strictly preventing sharing of copyrighted material – submitted as examples of anti-piracy measures RapidShare might have adopted – were found to be "unreasonable or pointless". By contrast in January 2012 the United States Department of Justice seized and shut down the file hosting site Megaupload.com and commenced criminal cases against its owners and others. Their indictment concluded that Megaupload differed from other online file storage businesses, suggesting
3036-521: The current workforce. Dropbox has computer apps for Microsoft Windows , Apple macOS , and Linux computers, and mobile apps for iOS , Android , and Windows Phone smartphones and tablets. It also offers a website interface . As part of its partnership with Microsoft , Dropbox announced a universal Windows 10 app in January 2016. Dropbox's apps offer an automatic photo uploading feature, allowing users to automatically upload photos or videos from cameras , tablets , SD cards , or smartphones to
3102-667: The data via Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)-256 encryption. The functionality of Dropbox can be integrated into third-party applications through an application programming interface (API). Dropbox prevents sharing of copyrighted data, by checking the hash of files shared in public folders or between users against a blacklist of copyrighted material. This only applies to files or folders shared with other users or publicly, and not to files kept in an individual's Dropbox folder that are not shared. File hosting service A file-hosting service , also known as cloud-storage service , online file-storage provider , or cyberlocker ,
3168-622: The devices they use. File syncing and sharing services allow users to create special folders on each of their computers or mobile devices, which are then synchronized across all devices. Files placed in this folder can be accessed through a website or mobile app and easily shared with others for viewing or collaboration. Consumer products such as OneDrive and Google Drive have made file hosting and sharing more accessible and popular for personal and business use. Content providers who encounter bandwidth congestion issues may use specialized services for distributing cached or static content . This
3234-462: The encrypted files could thus easily determine if a user has uploaded a particular file simply by encrypting it themselves and comparing the outputs. Some point out that there is a theoretical possibility that organizations such as the RIAA , MPAA , or a government could obtain a warrant for US law enforcement to access the cloud storage provider's servers and gain access to the encrypted files belonging to
3300-411: The encrypted files through various forms of hacking or other cybercrime . TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high-tech and startup companies . It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare . In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ 25 million. Following
3366-518: The financial stability of the storage provider (because, even if perfectly fit from a technical point of view, if the provider financially goes out of business, then its services go offline too). The question of who can access and, potentially, change, their data, ranges from what physical access controls are in place in the provider's data center to what technical steps have been taken , such as access control, encryption , etc. Many cloud storage services state that they either encrypt data before it
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#17328474672493432-560: The first Dropbox office in Israel. In July, Dropbox acquired Clementine, an enterprise communication service. In April 2014, Dropbox acquired photo-sharing company Loom (which would be shut down and integrated with the then-recently announced Carousel), and document-sharing startup Hackpad . Dropbox later announced in April 2017 that Hackpad would be shut down on July 19, with all notes being migrated to Dropbox Paper . In January 2019, Dropbox acquired e-signature company HelloSign. The acquisition
3498-411: The key from the file content itself and means an identical file encrypted on different computers result in identical encrypted files. This enables the cloud storage provider to de-duplicate data blocks, meaning only one instance of a unique file (such as a document, photo, music or movie file) is actually stored on the cloud servers but made accessible to all uploaders. A third party who gained access to
3564-460: The latest trends in technology through keynote speeches and panel discussions. It's a hub for collaboration, investment opportunities, and showcasing disruptive technologies that have the potential to reshape industries. Startup Battlefield is a startup competition. Monetary awards are presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences. Startup Battlefield has a reputation for launching some of
3630-563: The local network can exchange files directly between each other, potentially significantly improving synchronization speeds. LAN Sync discovers other peers on the same network via UDP port 17500 using a proprietary discovery protocol developed by early Dropbox engineer Paul Bohm in 2010. Originally, the Dropbox servers and computer apps were written in Python . In July 2014, Dropbox began migrating its performance-critical backend infrastructure to Go . In September 2012, Dropbox's website code base
3696-464: The most successful companies in the tech industry. Notable startups that have been involved in the competition include Dropbox , Intuit Mint , Yammer , and CrateDB . From 2007 to 2015, TechCrunch operated Crunchbase , a website and online encyclopedia of information on startups, key people, funds, funding rounds, and events. In 2015, Crunchbase became a private entity and is no longer part of TechCrunch. From 2007 to 2017, TechCrunch sponsored
3762-444: The opinion expressed by Attorney Rick G. Sanders of Aaron | Sanders PLLC in regards to the iTunes Match "Honeypot" discussion, that a warrant to search the cloud storage provider's servers would be hard to obtain without other, independent, evidence establishing probable cause for copyright infringement. Such legal restraint would obviously not apply to the secret police of an oppressive government who could potentially gain access to
3828-426: The question of confidentiality and availability , and may be expressed with questions of the kind: Will the user be able to continue accessing their data? Who else can access it? Who can change it? Whether the user is able to continue accessing their data depends on a large number of factors, ranging from the location and quality of their internet connection, and the physical integrity of the provider's data center, to
3894-460: The same device, with each of the folders being "properly labeled for personal or work, and come with its own password, contacts, settings, and files". Furthermore, Dropbox announced shared audit logs, remote wipe for business administrators, and account transfers, as new features of its Business offering. In January 2017, Dropbox introduced "Smart Sync" for Business and Enterprise customers, a feature that lets Windows and macOS users see all files in
3960-555: The service to other people, and if those people start using the service, the user is awarded additional 500 megabytes of storage space. Dropbox Basic users can earn up to 16 gigabytes through the referral program. The Dropbox Plus subscription (named Dropbox Pro prior to March 2017) gives users 2 terabytes of storage space, as well as additional features, including: In November 2013, Dropbox announced changes to "Dropbox for Business" that would enable users to connect both their personal Dropbox and their business Dropbox to
4026-429: The site's editors and writers were criticized for possible ethics violations . These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms that the site had covered created a conflict of interest . The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy , moved to another technology investment based media company. In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt
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#17328474672494092-452: The upload or download time by up to 2 times. In August 2015, Dropbox announced the availability of "Universal 2nd Factor" USB security keys , providing two-factor authentication for logging into its services. Dropbox received initial funding from seed accelerator Y Combinator . Dropbox also raised US$ 1.2 million in Series A funding from Sequoia Capital in 2007, that "along with interest (on that amount) converted to equity as part of
4158-452: Was " get dropbox.com" until October 2009, when it acquired its current domain, "dropbox.com". In October 2009, Evenflow, Inc. was renamed Dropbox, Inc. In an interview with TechCrunch 's "Founder Stories" in October 2011, Houston explained that a demo video was released during Dropbox's early days, with one viewer being Arash Ferdowsi. Ferdowsi was "so impressed" that they formed a partnership. In regards to competition, Houston stated that "It
4224-602: Was folded into the main TechCrunch.com site in October 2012. Boundless (formerly Verizon Media Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of the TechCrunch's parent company, closed TechCrunch Japan in May 2022 according to its "global strategy". Following the acquisition of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon , TechCrunch was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In August 2020, the COO of TechCrunch, Ned Desmond, stepped down after eight years in
4290-448: Was reported to be Dropbox's largest to date, at a reported $ 230 million. In March 2021, Dropbox announced the acquisition of DocSend. DocSend offers a secure document sharing and analytics product. In October 2021, Dropbox announced that an agreement to acquire universal search company Command E has been signed. In November 2022, Dropbox announced that an agreement to acquire several key assets from Boxcryptor has been signed. Boxcryptor
4356-410: Was rewritten from JavaScript to CoffeeScript . Dropbox originally used Amazon 's S3 storage system to store user files, but between 2014 and 2016 they gradually moved away from Amazon to use their own hardware, referred to as "Magic Pocket", due to Dropbox's description as "a place where you keep all your stuff, it doesn't get lost, and you can always access it". In June 2017, the company announced
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