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Forum Discussion
dualice
4 years agoNew member | Level 2
Why do shared files count against my space use???
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage? Is this data counted twice? If someone who is sharing files with me is paying for this space, why should I have to pay as well just to access it? I am out of space, I have no intention of buying more space, and yet, when someone shares some files with me, I cannot access them and I am forced to buy space in order to access them. Why is this?
Thank you.
dualice wrote:
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage?
Because the files exist in your account.
When you have access to a shared folder, you're not accessing someone else's folder. You're accessing your own COPY of the folder within your account, and you need to have enough space available to hold that folder.
If you just need to view or download files that someone else is sharing with you, ask them to send you a shared link instead. A shared link is a view-only method of sharing and you don't even need a Dropbox account to access it.
144 Replies
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- Zein awada3 years agoNew member | Level 2Hello, so my manager at work subscribed to a certain plan on dropbox, after that he made shared folder with me(I don’t have subscription). He uploaded large files that exceeds my storage, but still didn’t understand why I’m not able to access the files(please note I download via the application on windows not the browser) so the question is should we both have subscription? Cause this doesn’t seem to be logic for me! Or is there a way where he the one who already have subscription can upload files on shared folders and I download those files normally on my PC
Thanks. - Anandarup3 years agoNew member | Level 2
Hi. I have received edit request of a folder, which has 2000 GB space. But when I am trying to upload files, I can't upload files more than 2gb of space. I have a basic account. but the owner of the folder is a subscriber of a paid plan. What am I doing wrong?
- brandonbrant4 years agoNew member | Level 2
But then when I needed the files I would have to request access to that shared folder again.
What I'm hearing is if I want to collaborate and edit files from someone's shared folder, I will have to pay extra. There's no way around that. It doesn't matter if it's a word doc that 100kb, if that shared folder has more than 2GB worth of files I will have to have premium. And no one at Dropbox thinks that's an issue?
Thanks again for your help. I just deleted the account. Take Care.
- Rich4 years ago
Super User II
brandonbrant wrote:
That sounds like dropbox is throttling my capacity based off of things I can't control.
You can certainly control it. You can easily remove the shared folder from your account. Also, if you only need view and/or download access to the files, ask the owner to send you a view-only shared link instead.
- brandonbrant4 years agoNew member | Level 2
That sounds like dropbox is throttling my capacity based off of things I can't control. If a used folder gets 10 GBs of photos added to it, I need to be able to accommodate their data (i.e. spend more money just to be able to view them).
Thanks for the answer, I'm just going to cancel my account.
- Rich4 years ago
Super User II
brandonbrant wrote:
Do shared folders count against your 2 GBs of space?
Yes.
When you're a member of a shared folder you aren't getting access to data in someone else's account. You have your own COPY of the data in your account, so you need to have enough available space to hold that data.
- Rich4 years ago
Super User II
mardigrascat wrote:
I keep getting a message that I don't have enough storage space, but it's because other people are giving me access to THEIR Dropbox files.
When you're a member of a shared folder you aren't getting access to data in someone else's account. You have your own COPY of the data in your account, so you need to have enough available space to hold that data.
- mardigrascat4 years agoNew member | Level 2
I keep getting a message that I don't have enough storage space, but it's because other people are giving me access to THEIR Dropbox files.
- brandonbrant4 years agoNew member | Level 2
Dropbox is telling me my storage has reached capacity, but I only have 1 file and a shared folder (from a friend that has 5GB max). It says I need to update to be able to upload more. Do shared folders count against your 2 GBs of space?
- Rich4 years ago
Super User II
becca4 wrote:
I am trying to open a new file shared with me and Dropbox is telling me i am out of storage and need to upgrade. ... Maybe the file is more than 2GB but why would they prevent me from accessing it?
When you're a member of a shared folder you have your own COPY of the share in your account, so you need to have enough space in your account to hold the entire folder.
If you only need view/download access to the files in the share, ask the owner to send you a shared link instead.
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