Does Deleting Files in a Shared Dropbox Folder Affect Other Users?

[TSN79]

I'm often involved in projects where Dropbox is used to share documents, and members are invited in order to gain access to a folder established by one of the members (not me). I recently got a message that my Dropbox quota (2 GB) is us up. I don't sync anything locally, I only use the documents online. If I delete the documents online in order to free more space, won't I be deleting them for everyone else as well? Or doesn't it work that way...?

 

[Mark44]

If you delete a file on Dropbox, then any links to the file will no longer be valid. If someone has downloaded a copy of the file before you deleted it, then they will still have that file.

 

[TSN79]

I read somewhere that it matters if I "own" the shared folder or not. If I don't, then all I do is delete my copy of the file. But if I do then I'll delete it for everybody. Does that sound right?

 

[russ_watters]

I read somewhere that it matters if I "own" the shared folder or not. If I don't, then all I do is delete my copy of the file. But if I do then I'll delete it for everybody. Does that sound right?

No, it doesn't sound right. The box is just a box. It's either full or it isn't. It isn't different states for different people at the same time. If you remove things from it, it will no longer be full.

Try thinking of it more like a physical box. It really isn't more complicated than that.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

I read somewhere that it matters if I "own" the shared folder or not. If I don't, then all I do is delete my copy of the file. But if I do then I'll delete it for everybody. Does that sound right?

Yes, you are right. According to Dropbox,

What happens when I delete a shared folder?
If you delete a file from a shared folder, any member of the folder can restore the file.

If you own the shared folder:

• After you permanently delete it, the folder is deleted from the Dropbox accounts of all members and their access is permanently removed
• If you want to leave members with a copy of the folder, you can just unshare it instead

If you don’t own the shared folder:

• Permanently deleting it removes the folder from your Dropbox account
• All other members of the folder still have access