Cloud services and the Apple ecosystem get along very well. Both on iPhone, iPad and Mac, we have a multitude of services with which to have remote storage space. But there is a very popular service, Dropbox, which is having problems on Mac and it has already been confirmed that a Downgrade is coming. So in this post we explain what you can face and what functions you will lose.
Dropbox on Mac will drop one of its best features
Dropbox is one of the first clouds to become more popular. And one of its most outstanding functions is that of being able to store our Dropbox folder on an external memorysuch as a USB, SD card, or hard drive or SSD. Without the need to have our files in the computer’s memory, and to be able to access them when we connect the unit.
As Apple updates the macOS operating systems, functions are added and others are restricted, in favor of the security and stability of the system. The 9to5Mac portal echoes the news, and it is that Dropbox for Mac will no longer have support for external storage units.
The new security update for macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura will prevent users from storing the Dropbox folder (and all files) on an external drive. But this is not the fault of Dropbox, but of the security and privacy systems that Apple has incorporated into these new versions, and restricts access to cloud files on external storage.
All cloud app content will be relocated to a specific folder named ~/Library/CloudStorage so that in this way, macOS has control in the same location, the files and data of third-party cloud services. Even so, despite the limitation, Dropbox has promised to release a new update that provides stability and support for new versions of macOS. Dropbox will continue to be functional, but losing one of its most important features for users. In addition, Dropbox comments on some issues that Mac users may face:
- Sync issues with .fcpxml (Final Cut Pro) and .logicx (Logic Pro) files
- Not being able to sync our Mac photo library with third-party cloud services
- When we open a file online, it will automatically download to our Mac and take up space. But the macOS system is not going to show that additional space occupied.
These file synchronization issues are just a few that have cropped up as Apple has released security patches, updated its operating systems, and released proprietary APIs. But for users who have their Dropbox data on an external hard drive and are using Mac, These are the most affected, because of Apple’s protectionist policy with their operating systems.
On the other hand, the iCloud cloud service, being owned by Apple, does not face these problems of space and synchronization between the Mac and the servers. And it is that, although Apple opens its systems and functions, on the one hand, from behind it is closing doors so that, either we use iCloud for specific (and most necessary) functions or, we use iCloud + that offers more storage space.