The desktop app will no longer be available for XP users

Apr 21, 2016 08:42 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP on April 8, 2014, and since then, the whole world, including here software companies, consumers, and enterprises, is slowly moving away from this OS version.

After Google, who officially abandoned Windows XP with the latest version of Chrome browser, Dropbox is doing the same and announces that, starting June 26, its desktop application will no longer work on the 15-year-old operating system.

The program will be removed from the page, so users will no longer be able to download it while signing into an existing account or creating a new one won’t be allowed.

“On August 29, 2016, the Dropbox desktop app will no longer support Windows XP. On this date, you will be automatically signed out of any Dropbox accounts linked to a Windows XP computer. You can sign in again once you update to Windows Vista or a later version of Windows,” Dropbox explains.

Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!

Dropbox says that the only option that Windows XP customers have is to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, such as Vista, 7, 8, or 10. Their files won’t be impacted and will remain secured in the cloud and can be accessed once again after they install a new Windows version.

An alternative option for those who want to stick with Windows XP is to access their accounts via dropbox.com in a browser or from a mobile device.

“We regularly release new versions of the Dropbox app with additional features, better performance, and enhanced security, and these versions are not always compatible with older operating systems. Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP in April, 2014. We are ending our support of the Dropbox app for Windows XP to keep our product offerings in-line,” Dropbox states.

At this point, Windows XP is still running on some 10 percent of computers around the world, but its share is dropping continuously, especially as more companies remove support in their apps for this old OS version.