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How can we improve Proton Drive?

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'Select folder not to sync to machine' has been merged into this idea

Sync file deletion between local and cloud storage

In the proton drive app, you choose folders to sync to the cloud. But when you delete a file from Proton Drive, its local copy is not deleted from your computer. However, when delete a local file, its cloud copy is automatically deleted.

This can cause problems, for example if you rename or otherwise edit a local file that is in a synced folder but whose cloud copy you have deleted, it's going to create a new cloud copy of it.

My suggestion: Adding two new toggles in the settings. One that would make it so that when you delete a file from your cloud, its local copy would be deleted too. And another one that would allow the user to choose whether the cloud copy of a file should be removed when the local version of this file is deleted.

This feature would improve the user experience by avoiding confusion and duplication of files, as well as saving storage space and bandwidth. It would also enhance the security and privacy of the users by ensuring that their files are deleted from both locations when they want to. Users would have the option to enable or disable this feature according to their preferences and needs.

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  • Alayna commented  ·   ·  Report

    For me the only thing stopping me from switching all the way to proton drive for my photos from google photos is that my main photo display I cannot archive certain pictures so that they wont show up on the main page, but only in the albums they have been allocated or the archive folder itself.

  • J commented  ·   ·  Report

    Local File Removal Option:

    Currently, Proton Drive does not provide an option to remove local copies of synced files while keeping them in the cloud. This feature would be highly beneficial for users who need to free up local storage space.

    Proposed Solution: Implement a "Remove from Local Device" option that securely deletes the local copy of a file after confirming it is synced to the cloud. Additionally, include an option to "Remove All Local Copies" which securely erases files by overwriting them with zeros or ones, ensuring data privacy.

    Local Encryption for Enhanced Security:

    Proton Drive files remain accessible on the local device even when the user is signed out, which poses a security risk. Introducing local encryption would ensure that files are only accessible when Proton Drive is active.

    Proposed Solution: Implement local encryption for Proton Drive files, requiring users to enter a PIN or use their Proton account credentials to access the files. This would align with Proton’s commitment to privacy and security.
    These enhancements would significantly improve the user experience and security for Proton Drive on Windows 11.

  • John commented  ·   ·  Report

    Hey, it's great to be able to save pictures on proton Drive. But more often than not, I'll take a picture of a ticket, or of a password or anything.

    These are not meant to stay on my gallery forever, they are, however, saved into Proton Drive. I think it'd therefore be nice to have the option to automatically delete the pictures from Proton Drive when they are deleted from the phone (hence the « sync, not save » title). Otherwise, I have to manually delete pictures both from my phone's storage and Proton Drive.

  • Maikerr commented  ·   ·  Report

    Totalmente esto es fundamental para mi ya que si borro una foto del movil no se borra del backup y al revés tampoco, se necesita con urgencia sincronización bidireccional.

  • FredP commented  ·   ·  Report

    Be able to choose in Drive to mirror your photos and files. If I delete a file or photo on my phone, it should also be deleted from Drive the next time it syncs.

  • Artur commented  ·   ·  Report

    Is it possible for the ProtonDrive app not to synchronise folders and files that are already in the cloud? I would like to use it on my work laptop only as a tool for archiving documents to the cloud. Not for synchronising everything I have on ProtonDrive to my work laptop.

  • John Moore commented  ·   ·  Report

    A simple solution would be an archive subfolder in the Proton Drive. This folder would not sync. Moving a photo to archive would then delete the photo on the phone. The photo would still be available for the album feature in Proton drive.

  • Fabien commented  ·   ·  Report

    I agree for 2 reasons:
    - I have more storage on Proton Drive than on my Mac
    - I'm using multiple devices and I don't want to sync everything, everywhere.

  • James Krieger commented  ·   ·  Report

    Yes this is soooo important. I'm having a problem right now where I synced my Onedrive Files to Proton. My Onedrive subscription ends soon and I can't download all my Onedrive Files to preserve them as I don't have as much HD space as cloud space. One my Onedrive gets unlinked, I'll lose any non-downloaded cloud files, and Proton will automatically assume those files are gone and delete them from the cloud. I need to be able to tell Proton not to delete from the cloud when the local files are gone, otherwise I'll lose my files on Proton too. I'm pretty surprised they don't have this option.

  • L commented  ·   ·  Report

    I agree this would be great - with the option to opt in/out or toggle request each time. as some people have said; it's great to be able to sync the photos on iphoto & drive, but you might want to delete them off the phone but not the drive sometimes to free up phone storage.

  • J.O. Meiert commented  ·   ·  Report

    It would be super-helpful to be able to mark files and folders so that they cannot be synced to other devices (and are therefore only present on the source system as well as at Proton).

    This could be useful for sensitive data that exist on the source machine, need to be backed up, but *also* need to be prevented from inadvertently landing on other (perhaps less trusted) machines.

    Implementation is left open here, but could happen in various interesting ways. The most “natural” way I’d see is to navigate to Proton Drive, select a file or folder, then mark it as “sync to Proton Drive only” or some such.

  • Jack commented  ·   ·  Report

    I was surprised to find this element missing. I got Proton Drive primarily for cloud storage of personal records and photos, with shared file access as a secondary role. It's redundant to have these files sync to the desktop folder, consuming a lot of resources client side. There are some files, such as recovery keys, etc. that a person does not want synced to devices. Presently my only option is to use the drive exclusively online without installing the desktop or mobile apps and continuing to use Sync for file sharing with family (all of whom are also Proton subscribers). Being able to create a secure vault within Proton servers would solve the problem.

  • [Deleted User] commented  ·   ·  Report

    As others have already mentioned, please implement a functionality that allows to store files in a "restricted" area of Proton Drive (e.g., for long-term backup of files that don't need to be synced locally). Sync.com's Vault feature would be very much desirable to see in Proton Drive. Thanks!

  • Berry commented  ·   ·  Report

    Critical for those of us who store photos in the cloud so they do not have to be stored on devices. Currently, I can upload from my phone to the cloud and then delete it from my phone, but the files are synced to my laptop, which defeats the purpose. I want cloud-only storage and to choose which files to sync, such as the Vault system with Sync.com where photos are put into the "Vault" and not synced with any device or laptop.

  • F commented  ·   ·  Report

    I would also greatly appreciate a system by which we can manage synchronizing deleted photos!

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