[shostack]

Without being overly familiar with that specific tactic, on the surface I think it is actually much more benign.

Incentivizing users to add their first file and install it on their phone (where it will likely want to slurp up photos, videos, etc. to back them up there) isn't a bad thing IMHO. It drives immediate engagement with the core product experience, and I'd be shocked if they didn't have data saying that people who upload at least one file and have the app installed on their phone convert to paid at some rate above people who don't. Thus, by incentivizing that behavior, they can likely boost conversion rates AND make users happier by getting more familiar with the service. Sounds like a win-win scenario to me. I wonder how many users sign up but don't ever use Dropbox.