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Fairsarae's avatar
Fairsarae
Helpful | Level 6
3 years ago
Solved

view only link for everyone says Join Folder, Copy to Dropbox, Download. I DON'T want Join Folder.

I create printables I share on Etsy, and because the files are so large, I send a dropbox folder link. It USED to be that the page the link went to would have the choices at top Copy to Dropbox and D...
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  • JasonSilverDBX's avatar
    JasonSilverDBX
    2 years ago
    🗯 Important Update: Removal of the Join Folder Option from View-Only Shared Folder Links 🗯
     
    We introduced the capability to join a folder directly from a view-only link to make collaboration even easier.  While well meaning, we don’t always get it right.  We've heard your concerns, and after careful consideration, we've decided to remove this feature.  This change will be implemented within the next couple of days by mid March.
     
    Going forward, recipients visiting a view-only folder link will no longer see the option to Join Folder. No action or setting modification is required on your part. This change affects both new and existing view-only folder links.
     
    Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we encourage you to share any further thoughts or questions you might have.
JasonSilverDBX's avatar
JasonSilverDBX
Icon for Dropbox Product Manager rankDropbox Product Manager
3 years ago

Hi personanongrata and JuliusIncestus ,

 

 

I am a Dropbox Product Manager for our sharing capabilities and am overseeing the introduction of our new shared link architecture.  You can read a bit more on the changes to Folder Links with View Only access in this post here.   The ability to Join Folder from a shared link is meant to allow for easier collaboration.  We did make sure to adjust link settings so you would be able to prevent Join Folder by disabling downloads and folder joins with one simple setting toggle. 

 

Note, only the view link is able to disable download/join.  Edit links, by their nature, are meant to allow recipients to collaborate so don't include this setting.


Now two things I see here.  First, it looks like you may be intending to create view links instead of edit links?  If that's true, then you might want to update your default sharing settings.  See this help center article for more details.  Second, JuliusIncestus in your case, you want to disable joining, but not downloads.  That is not possible right now.  I am curious though to hear a bit more about why?  Maybe you have a unique (or not-so-unique) situation, or maybe there is a better way to use Dropbox to meet your needs.

 

 

27teacups's avatar
27teacups
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago

this is an extremely normal use case for a file sharing service. why do i want to ask every single one of my hypothetical newsletter recipients to send me their personal information? Because that's what happens when someone Joins Folder. It sends me their Dropbox name and email address.  The first time I sent out one of these new links, I was extremely embarrassed and alarmed to find myself in posession of personal information I was not expecting when 2 of my recipients Joined Folder. That was in July and I was able to work around it to get the old type of link at that time. Now I have the same issue, my former fix isn't working, and you're telling me that this mandatory privacy disaster is intentional? I collab on Discord and other username-based platforms where we are not expecting to exchange this level of private information so to have Dropbox solicit it on my behalf without my permission, with no way to prevent it and still do the 1 thing i pay Dropbox for (download) means I need to stop paying Dropbox and find another host. I'm really upset with this. I think my annual renewal payment was recent and now I find out you removed the one feature I pay it for.

  • janice259's avatar
    janice259
    Helpful | Level 6
    3 years ago

    Will Dropbox ever respond to our pleas???

    • Kommandant86's avatar
      Kommandant86
      Helpful | Level 6
      3 years ago
      I don’t think so 😕

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