Yet another use for Dropbox?

We occasionally ask our users to tell us about their Dropbox experiences. While we are continually flattered by people who praise us for rescuing their homework and work presentations, we're especially touched to be a part of the significant moments of peoples' lives, whether it be graduations, weddings or births.

The Dropbox team is no exception.

Though we've certainly had our share of rescues-via-Dropbox, we're still caught by surprise when these moments hit close to home. Our CTO Arash Ferdowsi was born and raised in America, but his family has roots in Iran. Arash and his family occasionally make trips back to visit, but his aunt and cousins, the Nahids, made the most recent visit to Tehran near the beginning of June.

On June 12, the disputed Iranian presidential election results set off a string of protests around the country. At the height of these demonstrations, e-mail, text messaging and web services such as Facebook and Twitter were unavailable. With no other means to communicate with family back in the States, Ms. Nahid then thought to use Dropbox as a solution, which luckily was still accessible.

Using a .txt file in a shared folder with family, The Nahids were able to devise a faux messaging system to leave updates about the ongoing situation in Iran and allow others to know they were safe.

We're relieved to know that the Nahids are alright and also glad that Dropbox was able to pull through as a communication solution for their entire family. As the situation continues, our thoughts and prayers go to the safety of all the people in Iran.