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sargan's avatar
sargan
Explorer | Level 4
5 months ago
Solved

Why are people getting a prompt to create a Dropbox account when I share link to a folder?

Scenario, I put a file on my DropBox in a public shared folder.  

I click on 3 dots and select share, options show it’s set to  - anyone with link can view
I then share this link   ..... example:

[Removed as per Community Guidelines]

However users don’t get the file or access to it, what they get is an 'window'  to create a DropBox Account.

It ought to be simpler for users to get to view access, or download … people are reporting they can’t access files due to Dropbox wanting accounts created … which they don’t want to do, too many bogus sites around, and people are reluctant to use their data to open accounts.

Can you share without forcing creating a Dropbox account.

  • Hi sargan, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    When you access the shared link to the folder, from an incognito window while not signed into your account, do you see a link at the bottom to open the folder without having to create an account?

    It should allow you and other users to view the shared link on the website directly.

    This will help me to assist further!

6 Replies

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  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 months ago

    Hi sargan, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    When you access the shared link to the folder, from an incognito window while not signed into your account, do you see a link at the bottom to open the folder without having to create an account?

    It should allow you and other users to view the shared link on the website directly.

    This will help me to assist further!

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 months ago

    Hi sargan, just checking to see if you saw our last reply. 
    If you still need any help, feel free to reach out to us with the information we requested.
    If your issue has been solved, let us know what worked for you!

  • Roga41's avatar
    Roga41
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    5 months ago

    Hi sargan,

    Yes, you can share files without forcing to create a Dropbox account via the Dropbox Transfer feature. When you send a transfer, the recipient receives a shareable link that they can click to download the files. The recipient doesn’t need a Dropbox account to access or download a transfer.  

    Please refer to these links for your guidance: 

    What is Dropbox Transfer: https://help.dropbox.com/share/dropbox-transfer

    How to Create and Send Transfer: https://help.dropbox.com/share/create-dropbox-transfer

     

    Hope this helps

    :) 

     

  • sargan's avatar
    sargan
    Explorer | Level 4
    5 months ago

    I'm still unsure here.
    If I go into dropbox and on file/folder right-click and I get option Dropbox>share     and that creates me a link to share .

    It adds comment "Anyone with this link can view"      This isi the way I have always shared DropBox files

    Are you saying this share method is not correct, and that to share a file, I need to use 'Transfer' not share ?

    I don't want them to be able to edit ot delete - just view.

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    5 months ago
    sargan wrote:

    I'm still unsure here.

    Have you tried Jay's suggestion yet? There's usually an option to bypass the account creation, either by clicking the link that Jay's referring to, or just closing the modal and continuing to the file.

    Jay wrote:

    When you access the shared link to the folder, from an incognito window while not signed into your account, do you see a link at the bottom to open the folder without having to create an account?

     

  • sargan's avatar
    sargan
    Explorer | Level 4
    4 months ago

    If I open an incognito window .. shared file does open ... there is no message across the bottom of the screen.

    However, that is not the action when shared on Facebook groups

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