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I no longer see the option to leave a copy of the shared folder I'm unsharing to its members.
My question is what happens when I "remove" a share email. And what happens if I just delete the folder without removing the shares first?
In previous versions of Dropbox I was able to un-share a folder (I am the owner) with the option to let other users keep the contents. I could then delete the folder without removing their content.
Today (March 2025) I am not finding those options. It appears I can only remove shared emails with no option for them to keep their copy of the files?
I am reporting that the support team answered/solved the issue. If the parent folder is shared the sub-folders inside cannot be unshared. In my case the parent folder did not appear to be shared, however a while back I inadvertently shared the parent folder, immediately noticed the mistake and removed the share email. Apparently the parent folder is still tagged as shared by Dropbox.
With this knowledge my solution was to create a new unshared folder and move the folders I want to unshare into this folder. This has solved the problem as I can now unshare the folder and leave the files on the remote computer.
15 Replies
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for posting here, edrob!
When saying âshare emailâ, are you referring to the members of your shared folder perhaps?
If you just temporarily delete the folder from your Dropbox account, itâll still remain shared with the rest of the members.
As for the option you donât see, are you following these steps to unshare the folder?
Can you send me a screenshot of what you see after clicking on the âUnshare folderâ button? The option to leave a copy to the removed folder members should appear after that (the same applies if you try to remove an individual member from the shared folder).
Keep me posted for any updates.
Thank you for your reply, Nancy.
I think you have confirmed my concern that if I remove email addresses that are linked to a shared folder I own, the content will be removed from the remote users computer. Also if I just delete the folder from my computer it will be removed from the users computer.
In older versions of Dropbox (a few months ago) I was able to unshare a folder and was given the option to leave content on the remote computer. It seems this option has been removed. This is unfortunate because I am sending photographic files to clients almost daily and I need to cull older folders from my computer so they don't accumulate in my Dropbox account over the years I've been doing this.
Your link "are you following these steps" shows me instructions that state:
"When you unshare a folder in Dropbox, the files are permanently deleted from each member's account and removed from any linked devices when the Dropbox desktop app syncs again."This is turning into a feature request to re-establish the ability to unlink a folder and still keep content on the remote computer.
Thanks,
EdFollow-up on my previous post.
If I follow these instructions:
- Log in to dropbox.com
- Hover over the folder youâd like to unshare and click Share.
- Click the gear icon in the bottom right.
- Select the Folder settings tab.
- Click Unshare folder.
On number #4 I get this dialogue box and I don't even have the option to unshare the folder. I am on Firefox if that matters.
Thank you to everyone whom has help in investigating my issue. I'm heading to support.
I am reporting that the support team answered/solved the issue. If the parent folder is shared the sub-folders inside cannot be unshared. In my case the parent folder did not appear to be shared, however a while back I inadvertently shared the parent folder, immediately noticed the mistake and removed the share email. Apparently the parent folder is still tagged as shared by Dropbox.
With this knowledge my solution was to create a new unshared folder and move the folders I want to unshare into this folder. This has solved the problem as I can now unshare the folder and leave the files on the remote computer.
