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Dropbox app doesn’t open directly when opening links from Messenger
I am experiencing the same issue as the one listed below which doesn’t seem to have a resolution (and I couldn’t add my comments there). When I click a Dropbox link in Facebook
Messenger it gives me a message “get the app or continue to the website”. It also states it will pass a link to the file, across to the app. I already have Dropbox installed so I’m not sure why it isn’t doing this anyway. If I click got to the app it takes me to the App Store which shows that Dropbox is already installed and only has the “open” option. When I click open, it opens my Dropbox but doesn’t bring the file in question.
Here is the original issue raised regarding this.
https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-files-folders/I-have-an-issue-with-shared-links-and-Facebook-s-messenger-Any/m-p/434805
Thanks
Hi! My name is Harry. I'm an engineer working on Web Previews. We're responsible for shared links, so getting shared links sent on Messenger to open in the Dropbox app is part of our purview. I recently published a fix that should make links shared on Messenger and Instagram open in the Dropbox app instead of the mobile website. The fix is working for us internally.
Are you still seeing this issue? Have you tried creating a new shared link, sending that on Messenger, and then opening that link? We found that some shared links generated before the fix was published don't work due to the way Facebook saves metadata about the link.
9 Replies
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- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey CaptainHowie, thanks for posting in our Community!
This is indeed a strange situation.
If you're not on a free Basic account or have less than 3 devices linked to your account, can you try uninstalling the Dropbox app, restarting the device and then reinstalling it, to see if that helps?
Let me know what happens! - Hi there
Thanks for your response. Your comment suggested deleting and reinstalling if I wasn’t on a basic account or had less than 3 devices. Unfortunately neither of these apply as I AM on a basic account and DO have 3 devices connected to my account. Please advise suggested next steps. Thanks - HannahThanks for the update.
I'm afraid uninstalling and reinstalling is a very important troubleshooting step.
If you have 3 devices you're fine to do it! The problem would be if you had more than 3, as 3 is the limit for free accounts.
Let me know how it goes. - Me too. So frustrating
- I’ve had this same issue for years, and have told every photographer/producer my band uses to please not use Dropbox for the same situation. So annoying. Uninstalling the app and reinstalling worked for me today. So thank you for the advice here. Hopefully the issue doesn’t creep back in as I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled again before.
Alright, I've found a workaround: When opening the link, you're greeted with the incorrect dialogue saying that you need to download the app. In the lower right corner, there is a "share" button. Press and choose "Open in Safari". Now the app will open.
I don't know who's fault it is – Messenger or Dropbox – that Messenger doesn't recognize that Dropbox is installed, but I just spent 20 minutes of my life debuging this that I won't get back. Hope someone else has use for this.
jstdbxDropbox Product Manager
Hi all, we appreciate you reporting this. Some apps have custom ways of handling links that make it more challenging to deliver the optimal experience.
To help us troubleshoot, if you were to paste the Dropbox link into the Notes app on our iPhone or iPad and click on it from there, does it behave as expected?
Additionally, are there links from other apps that you use in Messenger that behave the way you expect? If so, what are those?
Thanks again 🙂
- I have now tested both Spotify and Reddit with links sent in Messenger - which both uses an ”Open App” function - and those work as expected. But Dropbox doesn’t.
I tried creating a new Dropbox link myself (the one I received last was from a customer), and it has the same error. I tried several apps: Notes, Google Keep, Whatsapp, Slack and Messages, and the Dropbox link successfully opens the Dropbox app from there.
The conclusion is that something is wrong with the connection between Messenger and Dropbox. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe Spotify used to have the same issue specifically in Messenger, so there might be something Dropbox devs have overseen in this particular app.
It is VERY important that opening links inside the Dropbox app works from all the common communication apps (Messenger, Whatsapp, Slack, Teams) on all iOS devices without having to deal with any special integrations, as communication with customers is very common in these cases. 
harrydbxDropbox Engineer
Hi! My name is Harry. I'm an engineer working on Web Previews. We're responsible for shared links, so getting shared links sent on Messenger to open in the Dropbox app is part of our purview. I recently published a fix that should make links shared on Messenger and Instagram open in the Dropbox app instead of the mobile website. The fix is working for us internally.
Are you still seeing this issue? Have you tried creating a new shared link, sending that on Messenger, and then opening that link? We found that some shared links generated before the fix was published don't work due to the way Facebook saves metadata about the link.
