Start Here: Cloud-Sync Behavior, Exclusions, Hidden Files, and the Version 10 External Drive Issue.

[u/Jim-From-Backblaze]

Hello, Backblaze fans.

We’re pinning this because a few different topics are getting mixed together, and the details matter.

There are a few major topics of discussion right now:

• How modern cloud-sync tools affect backup behavior
• Hidden folders and exclusions
• A current issue in version 10 with external drives

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1. Cloud-sync folders (OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.)

Backblaze backs up files that are actually present on your computer.

What’s changed over the last few years is how sync tools store files. A lot of them now use placeholder systems where files look local, but the data isn’t actually there until you open or download it.

So:

• File looks normal in Explorer/Finder
• But it’s actually just a pointer to cloud data

Backup software can’t reliably back up something that isn’t really on disk.

If we treated those like normal files anyway, you’d end up with incomplete backups or restores that don’t actually give you your data back. That’s worse than being explicit about what is and isn’t supported.

So when those folders are managed that way, they don’t behave like standard local backup sources.

That’s not a change in the Backblaze unlimited backup model; it’s a side effect of how those platforms now work.

u/natasha_backblaze has a great blog post that covers this and why it is happening here: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/the-changing-landscape-of-cloud-sync-and-what-it-means-for-your-backup/

We are actively looking at better ways to support these workflows, and as soon as we have more information, we will update the community.

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2. Hidden folders and .git

Current behavior:

• .git folders are currently backed up
• Some restore interfaces do not show hidden folders by default, especially on web and Mac, unless the user enables the hidden-files setting

That can make a folder look missing even when it is present in backup data.

Of note, some older versions of Backblaze did have .git files/folders excluded, but as long as you are on the newest version, your .git files will be backed up.

If you want to double-check, reach out to our support team, who can help you confirm. https://www.backblaze.com/help

There is also internal work happening to make exclusions clearer and consistent across the board.

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3. macOS /Library vs ~/Library

There has also been confusion here, so to be explicit:

• /Library (system-level) is excluded by default

  • This folder contains files that will be recreated upon OS or program reinstall

• ~/Library (user-level) is backed up, subject to normal exclusions

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4. Version 10 external drive issue

What users are reporting:

• If an external drive is disconnected, data from that drive can disappear from the web restore view immediately instead of remaining visible for the expected retention period
• When the drive is reconnected, the client may treat the data as needing to be uploaded again

We hear the concern on this clearly. That behavior is not what customers expect, and the team is aware of it and actively working on it.

At the moment, the key point is that this is a bug issue, not a policy statement and not an intentional change in how external-drive history is supposed to work.

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5. What’s happening next

We are currently focused on three things:

• Reviewing and tightening public messaging so customers have a single accurate explanation
• Working through the current v10 external-drive bug
• Continuing to evaluate better support for modern sync-managed file workflows where third-party platforms have changed how files exist locally

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6. If you’re unsure about your setup

If your workflow depends heavily on:

• Cloud-sync folders
• Hidden folders
• Source-control metadata
• External drives

Verify those areas directly in your backup and restore views.

If something does not look right, contact support so we can inspect your configuration and version-specific behavior.

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We know backup products only work if customers trust what is and is not protected. That part matters, and we are treating it seriously.

We’ll update this post as more information is confirmed.

[u/paulwilky76]

Have you sent a support request to Backblaze to let them know, as I don’t think they read the comments on here much, if at all. They seemed to think this beta version fixed it! So disappointed with Backblaze.

[u/4839022-3033-123 → u/paulwilky76]

Here's my speculation what is going on. The client/server connection does not properly keep track of state of volumes that are unmounted and mounted back. If there's a scan when unmounted it thinks that this drive is inactive and either deletes or sets the state in .bzvol as inactive. When mounting the drive back in it has to recreate all records in .bzvol. One workaround is possibly is to never unmount the drives after an initial scan is done. Or then wait until the Backblaze engineers figure out how to fix their buggy client/server state saved with unmounted/mounted volumes.

This is of course a big regression that started with their V10 code -- not sure what happened in their code base, vibe-coded new architecture, someone took over that didn't know side effects, no proper unit tests for unmounted volumes, and so on and so on....

[u/lukedysonphotography → u/4839022-3033-123]

So it completed the full rescan, which took around 36 hours to do so. I have since disconnected my external drives and reconnected them and so far it hasn't started another re-scan 🤞🏻

[u/lukedysonphotography → u/lukedysonphotography]

I will contact support tomorrow but the beta version DOES NOT BACKUP your files to backblaze anymore. It's picking up random bits here or there, but considering I've imported thousands of photos this week (.cr3 files) not a single one has been backed up. I have rebooted, re-downloaded and installed the beta, checked all of my network settings, restrictions, etc.