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On iOS devices, having “ iCloud photos” and “optimize storage” turned on causes photos on the device to be replaced with low quality versions. Is this the same situation with the Dropbox app?

Mariana Beaumont
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  • This is yet another in a series of "will x reduce my picture quality?" Why don't you just store them on a hard drive, then you're in charge of what happens to them? – Tetsujin Mar 12 '20 at 10:45
  • @Tetsujin to transfer images from a mobile device to a hard drive (automatically) one needs to jump through quite some hoops. Dropbox simplifies those steps tremendously. I think it's a valid question, but could perhaps be broadened to something like "what iOS sync app does not reduce the quality of photos stored on the device?" – Saaru Lindestøkke Mar 12 '20 at 11:29
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    @SaaruLindestøkke - Launch Image Capture, set destination, hit Go. Done. This is the 8th question along similar lines. There is a distinct lack of learning going on here. – Tetsujin Mar 12 '20 at 11:59
  • Launch Image Capture what if one is on Windows? Linux? And this requires that the user remembers to do this periodically. Also, if you feel this is a duplicate, can we not mark it as such? There is a distinct lack of learning going on here, by whom? I don't think we can treat all the users with this question as a single entity that does not learn. – Saaru Lindestøkke Mar 12 '20 at 12:50
  • You could just turn off optimize storage. It’s not like you lose access to the full resolution images in any case. – Eric S Mar 12 '20 at 16:52
  • I am with Tetsujin. I want full control of my images. ( Clouds are transient, who chose that name? ) It sounds like icloud is storing your photo files "in the cloud" yet only placing a low quality thumbnail/version on your device, correct? Have you asked dropbox how they handle that process ? Is dropbox the best platform for photos on your phone? If you want the full size on your phone then why send them off your phone? – Alaska Man Mar 12 '20 at 19:41
  • DropBox is a file storage service, vice a picture service. They do not alter your files. Now they do generate a hash and if the hash is a duplicate of a file or picture then rather than store the same thing twice, they just link to the single version they already have, but this is utterly transparent to the user. – user10216038 Mar 12 '20 at 20:02

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No. Dropbox uploaded JPEGS are bitwise identical to the ones on the phone. I do not know what it does with HEIF images.

In any case, Dropbox won't change the images on the device itself. Also, DB doesn't even have an “optimize storage” option.

ths
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