Photos 1.0: warn or prevent the user from storing their library in Dropbox

Originator:bewebste
Number:rdar://20902778 Date Originated:11-May-2015 12:28 PM
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:iLife Product Version:Photos 1.0 (209.52.0)
Classification:UI/Usability Reproducible:Always
 
Summary:
Because of the way the Photos library internal format works, with SQLite database files, and the way Dropbox syncs data between machines, using Dropbox as a way to sync a library between machines is unsafe and can result in data loss. Photos should at least warn the user of this, and possibly prevent them from opening a library on Dropbox altogether

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create or copy a library into your Dropbox folder on one Mac, and open it in Photos
2. On a second Mac logged into the same Dropbox, wait for the library to be copied over, then open that library in Photos
3. Create an album in Photos on the first Mac, then create a second album on the second Mac
4. Quit both copies of Photos, and go get a coffee while Dropbox syncs a bunch of stuff back and forth
5. Open both libraries and at best, witness one of the two albums having been wiped from existence. At worst, get an error from Photos saying it has to repair the library database.

Expected Results:
The user shouldn’t have been allowed to open the library in a second copy of Photos, or perhaps even the first copy of Photos, in the first place.

Actual Results:
General carnage

Notes:
Photos already disallows creating a library on iCloud Drive, presumably for similar reasons, though the error message given to the user in that case is far from ideal (radar 20900655). Dropbox (and other similar syncing solutions) should be treated the same.

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