Dropbox Pro goes big with 1TB of storage, password protected shared files and remote wipe of devices

Dropbox just announced that Dropbox Pro will be consolidated from three pricing structures to a single price point of $9.99 a month with 1TB of storage. Plus, it’s introducing features that’ll make sharing files and links more powerful.

The new Dropbox Pro features the ability to add view-only permissions to shared folders, passwords for shared links, and expiration dates for shared links. On top of that, users will be able to remotely wipe a device with a Dropbox account and all the files associated with that account.

The view only permissions feature should solve the problem of sharing a folder with someone and having them either delete the contents or change the files inside the folder without your permission. Files in the folder cannot be edited and can’t be moved within the folder. They can be however dragged out of the folder and a copy is made.

Passwords for shared links makes sure only the person intended to see the files. When sharing a file from the Dropbox site, via the sharing settings you can set a password and determine how long a file will be available to a person or persons you are sharing it with. The defaults are one day and one week, but you can set any date you like.

Remote wipe gives users piece of mind when a device, either a computer or mobile, goes missing. From any computer users can log into their account and access their devices. From there they can unlink a device from an account and remotely wipe all the data associated stored in the Dropbox account.

By upgrading the storage of all pro accounts to 1TB, Dropbox is striking back at recent cloud storage solutions from Google and Microsoft. Google offers 1TB for $9.99 while Microsoft offers OneDrive 200 GB accounts for $3.99 a month.

But Dropbox is interested in more than just competing on price and the amount of storage given to users (although, today’s announcement does make it more appealing to customers shopping for cloud storage), it’s about making the service that “just works” for all levels of users. Head of Product, Dropbox Pro, ChenLi Wang said, “Simplicity and ease of has a core part of our DNA or philosophy in how we design and build products.”

Recent updates to the service’s apps, including quickly adding a computer to your account via the mobile app, demonstrate that it’s trying to simplify all aspects of its service for users. Simplicity is nice, but value is what gets new users.

Pro users should have immediate access to 1TB of storage and the mobile apps have already been updated with the new features. The features were hidden and this morning Dropbox threw a virtual switch and turned them on.

Now that pro users have 1TB of storage, I asked Wang about machines with less than 1TB of storage. Would Dropbox be allowing users in the future to allocate what’s synced storage and what resides completely in the cloud. Wang said that the company continues to think about advanced sync functionality.

Until then, you have to figure out what you’re going to shove into the company’s virtual, 1TB-sized well.