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Forum Discussion

SteveInGB's avatar
SteveInGB
New member | Level 2
8 years ago

Hide folders from view on mobile app

Here is my use case: I have a large number of files and folders on my DropBox account that I want access to from my mobile devices. I want my wife to have access to a single folder (the camera uploads folder and it's sub folders which I use for organization) and no other folders or files. It seems some people are trying to do this with selective sync on the mobile apps, but that's not what I'm looking for. I effectively want to hide all other files and folders from a specific mobile device, how can this be done?

 

Do I have to set my wife up with her own account and share my camera uploads folder? I don't need an additional account or the space associated with it, can a "free" account that shares my folder, work without using space on the separate account?

 

For an added twist, I wouldn't mind hiding certain folders from my own mobile device as I will never need to view or access them from the mobile devise.

 

On a side note, the photo view in the app is okay, but I prefer to see my photos organized by folder, not date as that makes it vaslty easier to find a particular photo from a particular event.

 

Thanks!

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    8 years ago

    SteveInGB wrote:

    I respectfully disagree, as I mentioned I have a lot of files that can't be viewed or are useless on the mobile device so why would I need to see them there.


    I was commenting based on your stated use, which was to hid folders from your wife's mobile device. In such a case there would be no reason to have that ability since Dropbox wasn't intended to be shared like that.

     

    With regards to the photo view, is there a way to at least make it use my folder structure in lieu of the "timeline" view?

    You can view your photos in the Files view which would show your own folder structure, but the Photos view will always use either the Timeline or Albums.

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    SteveInGB wrote:

    I effectively want to hide all other files and folders from a specific mobile device, how can this be done?


    It can't be. Accounts are not meant to be shared like that so there are no security settings on folders or options for hiding folders. A single Dropbox account is meant for an individual, so there would be no reason for such features.

     


    Do I have to set my wife up with her own account and share my camera uploads folder?

    You could, but her Camera Uploads process cannot be pointed to your Camera Uploads folder. And photos or videos uploaded using the Camera Uploads process would go to her own Camera Uploads folder.

     


    can a "free" account that shares my folder, work without using space on the separate account?

    No. Any member of a shared folder needs to have enough space in their account to hold that folder.

     

    • SteveInGB's avatar
      SteveInGB
      New member | Level 2

      Rich wrote:

      SteveInGB wrote:

      I effectively want to hide all other files and folders from a specific mobile device, how can this be done?


      It can't be. Accounts are not meant to be shared like that so there are no security settings on folders or options for hiding folders. A single Dropbox account is meant for an individual, so there would be no reason for such features.

      I respectfully disagree, as I mentioned I have a lot of files that can't be viewed or are useless on the mobile device so why would I need to see them there.

       

      With regards to the photo view, is there a way to at least make it use my folder structure in lieu of the "timeline" view?

       

      Thanks 

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        SteveInGB wrote:

        I respectfully disagree, as I mentioned I have a lot of files that can't be viewed or are useless on the mobile device so why would I need to see them there.


        I was commenting based on your stated use, which was to hid folders from your wife's mobile device. In such a case there would be no reason to have that ability since Dropbox wasn't intended to be shared like that.

         

        With regards to the photo view, is there a way to at least make it use my folder structure in lieu of the "timeline" view?

        You can view your photos in the Files view which would show your own folder structure, but the Photos view will always use either the Timeline or Albums.