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Prevent File Sharing
I have Dropbox Plus and it has come to my attention that the link I sent to one individual was copied and sent to an individual I did not give access to. That individual is able to view my documents without my permission. How do I prevent this from happening?
- You cant I'm afraid - everything on the internet (not just Dropbox) is shareable if they have the link. So, the only way to stop it is to make sure the other person doesnt pass it on.
You could add passwords etc. to the link or file, but, that doesnt stop the other person sending it.
You could also put it in a Shared Folder and restrict sharing on the folder, but, the other person just needs to make a copy of the file and they can share that. Or, even if you do all of the above the first person could quite easily download the file and reshare it without you knowing via a shared link they make. You need a Professional or Business account in order to set a password or expiration on a share link. Remember, in addition to what Mark has stated above, there's nothing stopping a person from sharing not only your link, but the password for that link as well.
As soon as you share something with someone else, you lose total control of it. That's nothing to do with Dropbox. It's just a fact of sharing, on any platform.
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- Mark
Super User II
You cant I'm afraid - everything on the internet (not just Dropbox) is shareable if they have the link. So, the only way to stop it is to make sure the other person doesnt pass it on.
You could add passwords etc. to the link or file, but, that doesnt stop the other person sending it.
You could also put it in a Shared Folder and restrict sharing on the folder, but, the other person just needs to make a copy of the file and they can share that. Or, even if you do all of the above the first person could quite easily download the file and reshare it without you knowing via a shared link they make. How do I restrict sharing of the folder? Do I have to have Dropbox Pro?
- MarkSee https://www.dropbox.com/help/files-folders/shared-links
And you'll need a Professional or higher account to do it Thank you for the help
- MarkYou are welcome.
But just to add. Please remember that NOTHING can ever stop somebody who wants to pass something on. Even with sharing controls So, even with Dropbox Prof, an individual can share a link to a shared folder? I understand the individual can download a file and share the file; I just don't want someone sharing the link to a folder.
- MarkYou can set it so that they cannot share THAT ONE SPECIFIC folder.
But there is *nothing* to stop them copying the files to another folder and sharing a link to that. I understand that; I am just trying to figure out the folder link security. Do I need Prof to secure the folder or does Plus do it as well? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to figure this out before I make any recommendations.
- Rich
You need a Professional or Business account in order to set a password or expiration on a share link. Remember, in addition to what Mark has stated above, there's nothing stopping a person from sharing not only your link, but the password for that link as well.
As soon as you share something with someone else, you lose total control of it. That's nothing to do with Dropbox. It's just a fact of sharing, on any platform.
