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jezhawk's avatar
jezhawk
New member | Level 2
2 years ago

How do I stop people from sharing a folder I've shared with them?

Hiya, 

I'm trying to set up something where people can access a shared folder of content, but I do not want them to be able to share or copy the link to the folder. Is this possible? It seems so simple, but I can't seem to find out how to do it.

 

I've adjusted permissions and such so people go in via password and can't edit the folder, but primarily I don't want there to be a copy link or share button when they are accessing the content, I only want them to see a download button. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

4 Replies

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hey jezhawk - thanks for using Dropbox and happy Monday!

     

    I'm afraid it's not possible to prevent members of a shared folder from sharing the folder at this time. You can only set an expiration date, set a password for access or disable downloads. For more information, you can have a look here

     

    Instead of shared folders or links, have you considered using a Dropbox Transfer perhaps? 

     

    Keep me posted! 

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    No biggie jezhawk - let me know if anything else comes up! 

  • JasonSilverDBX's avatar
    JasonSilverDBX
    Icon for Dropbox Product Manager rankDropbox Product Manager
    2 years ago

    Thanks Walter for the helpful reply to @jezhawk.  I just want to add one thing.

    If I understand your use case correctly, you want people to be able to access a shared folder of content, but not be able to share it further.  In other words, you want to limit sharing of your content to a specific set of people.  

    Dropbox does allow you to do this by sharing directly with specific people:
    1.  Open sharing settings from the share model (Share this folder window where you enter emails or copy link).
    2. Under Folder Settings, set Manage Access so only the owner (you) can add people to the folder.

    3. Under Link for Viewing Settings, either delete the link or set Who has Access to Only People Invited.  
    4. Now you can invite people by email to the folder.

     

    This will limit access to the folder only to those emails you have invited.  They will need to sign into an associated dropbox account to confirm they have been invited.  They will not be able to invite others to the folder, and if they attempt to create or copy a link, that link will also limit access to only people invited.

     

    Hope that helps!

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