Dropbox today updated its app for iOS, adding features and offering users some extra storage. This comes on the same day as reports have surfaced that Dropbox will be eliminating public folders from their service.

The iOS update includes the ability for iPhone and iPad users to automatically upload photos and video over either Wi-Fi or data. To encourage Apple fans to use this new capability, Dropbox is offering, in 500 MB increments, 3 GB of extra storage space to users to activate the automatic uploading feature. To take better advantage of the new feature, users are now able to upload files of any size, and can now move and delete sets of files. The gallery view in Dropbox now allows users to see all of the pictures and videos they have uploaded, regardless or whether they were uploaded automatically. The app is available for free in the Apple App Store.

As for the public folders news, it was first reported by German site Mobi Flip that Dropbox developers were receiving an email from the company stating that new Dropbox accounts will not be able to create public folders after July 31. It is stated in the email that currently existing public folders will be left alone, and will continue to function. This email was sent to developers because many apps that use Dropbox make API calls to a user’s public folder, which obviously won’t exist for new users in a couple of months.

Dropbox is dropping public folders in favor of a new public link feature it announced in April. Mobi Flip speculated that public folders used for hosting copyrighted or malicious content may have been part of the reason for the change. What is clear is that, even with bandwidth limits, non-dropbox users who download from public folders are costing Dropbox money. The new link feature directs those who click on a link to a Dropbox page, where the linked content can be securely displayed by Dropbox.

(via Mobi Flip)