Backblaze has stopped backing up OneDrive and Dropbox folders and maybe others

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Backblaze changing what gets backed up (silently)

  • Many commenters are disturbed that Backblaze Personal now excludes OneDrive/Dropbox (and likely iCloud, others) via mandatory, hidden exclusion rules.
  • Users report no clear UI warning, no obvious setting to re‑enable, and only a brief mention in release notes.
  • Several people only discovered this when trying to restore overwritten or lost cloud‑synced files and finding nothing there.

.git folders and developer workloads

  • Strong backlash against excluding .git directories, which often contain the only history for local or private repos.
  • Conflicting reports:
    • Some say .git was backed up but hidden in the restore UI behind a “show hidden files” filter.
    • Others share support emails explicitly stating .git is excluded “by design” because of performance issues.
  • Net effect: developers can’t reliably assume their repos (especially history) are protected.

Trust, “unlimited” marketing, and backups vs sync

  • Widespread sentiment that a backup provider must be exceptionally transparent; silent behavior changes destroy trust.
  • “Unlimited” plans are heavily criticized as inherently unsustainable and prone to later quiet restrictions.
  • Long debate over what “backup” means:
    • Some say any extra copy (even Dropbox with versioning) qualifies.
    • Others insist on independent, long‑term, immutable copies (3‑2‑1 rule); sync alone is not enough.

Technical arguments around cloud folders and git

  • Several defend excluding OneDrive/Dropbox: placeholder “files on demand” can cause backups to download TBs of data, fill disks, and hammer network/cloud APIs.
  • Others argue that’s solvable (e.g., only back up locally‑materialized files, or provide explicit options) and never justifies hidden exclusions.
  • For .git, performance concerns are cited (many objects, packfiles, frequent rewrites), but critics note other tools handle this and that correctness should trump speed.

Experiences with restores and client quality

  • Multiple users report failed or partial restores: missing files despite “forever history,” corrupted data, mangled non‑ASCII filenames, or unstable clients.
  • These stories amplify concern that Backblaze may not reliably hold what it claims to back up.

Alternatives and DIY setups

  • Many plan to leave Backblaze, recommending: restic, borg, Duplicati, Kopia, Arq, rclone + B2/R2/S3/Wasabi/Hetzner/rsync.net, or Synology/other NAS with snapshots.
  • Common pattern: open‑source client, client‑side encryption, commodity object storage, regular restore tests, and explicit control over what is (and isn’t) excluded.