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How to Make Dropbox Portable (and Never Install It Again)

by Bernard Sinai · Published January 15, 2014 · Updated July 11, 2018

The introduction of cloud storage and Dropbox is one of the greatest things to have come from the internet. However, it can be a bit tedious especially if you need to install it on several different machines – and then download your files again.

Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Dropbox, let me do some introductions.

Dropbox is a file hosting service founded in 2007 that offers cloud storage and file synchronization through a client application. Well – you don’t really need to install the application but it makes life easier.

The only problem is you may have to install the client application on every device you use and then you will need to download all the files to that client device. Fortunately, you can avoid this hassle by installing Dropbox on a USB flash drive!

Well, isn’t it ironic? Drew Houston conceived the idea of Dropbox after repeatedly forgetting his flash drive while a student at MIT.

Creating a portable Dropbox USB client allows you to use any temporary computer without having to install it. This also means you don’t take up storage space on a computer that is not yours like in the library for instance.