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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.
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- Mark
Super User II
Dragor699 wrote:
Even though I'm paying for the storage.
What gives?? Thanks
You are paying for your storage. Not theirs. Therefore if they are in the shared folder they need enough quota to use it. If they dont have it syncing stops and people delete things I'm afraid.
They need to get more space, or, use things like Shared links instead.
That's a shame.
I'm paying premium prices so I can host my own files and provide other people access. I guess it just doesn't exactly fit my needs.
I have not used my Dropbox account since 2015-16. My account was well under 2GB when I last used it and now it says I have 6.5Gb of files! How does this happen? I did have 2 friends accounts linked to it, but now I can only see 1. I do not have contact with these people any more, 1 user is not linked anymore (trent) and the other one (harley) is still there. I cannot remove the other linked friend(harley). What is going on? I feel like you're trying to scam me to buy the upgrade, because how can I get 6.5Gb of files on account that I have never ever upgraded??? I can't even see where this extra 4Gb is coming from!
Edit: I found a folder full of photos that are not mine or harleys and have no idea where they come from. They're a kids school photos of people we have no association to and they were uploaded in 2019. How does 5GB of photos get uploaded to a basic account anyways?
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Sooty, thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.
A shared folder will take up space in the accounts of all the members that have edit permissions on the folder.
It sounds like the folder in question was very small, with just a few files back when it was shared or added to your account.
Then files added to the folder accumulated, thus making your account over quota.
However, I'm happy you were able to locate the culprit and remove it from your account.
I hope this clarifies things, but let me know if you have any questions.
- Hi. So, I've never used Dropbox before and I have the basic plan. I really can't afford to upgrade to the price of some of the plans they recommend me, but my boss is trying to share with me his YouTube Shared Folder of his videos so I can edit them for his YouTube channel. I have not been able to access them because it tells me my Dropbox is out of space even though I have nothing in it. Is there any way that he can send those files to me or send me the folder so that I don't have to pay in order to get them? I literally have to click add to Dropbox just to be able to open the folder, but I don't want to have to pay for a plan when I already need to pay for editing software. Can anyone help me out here?
- Hannah
Hey Vrdenton, thanks for reaching out to our Community.
I moved your post to this thread, which is relevant to your issue and has some info on what you can do.
Basically, since shared folders take up your own space as well, your boss could send you a "can view" link instead.
This will allow you to access and download the files.
And if you need to upload the edited versions to their account, they can send you a file request instead.
I hope this helps!
Hello, I have a question reagrding access to dropbox. Our customer has 2TB DropBox account. His employees have free 2GB accounts. If the customer share a folder bigger then 2 GBs for his employees, they cant edit that folder. Is that normal behavior or there is a way ho to edit folder bigger then 2GBs?
Thank you
- Megan
Hey there, Zbynek, welcome to our Community!
Do they have a problem editing the folder, or generally an issue adding the folder on their Dropbox account?
Even if your customer has a 2TB account, when he shares the folder with the rest of his employees, they need to have enough quota on their Dropbox account to add it, and make any changes there.
Essentially the shared folder takes up space on both the recipient's, and the sender's Dropbox account.
I hope this clarifies!
Dropbox is telling my I am at capacity for storage. I am only accepting folders from a coworker that pays a for a professional account which is suppose to give me ample storage. What do I do besides signing up to for my own account to access these folders.
- Rich
talisha80 wrote:
I am only accepting folders from a coworker that pays a for a professional account which is suppose to give me ample storage.
That's not how it works. If you're a member of a shared folder, you have your own copy of that folder in your account, so you need to have enough space available in your account as well.
https://help.dropbox.com/storage-space/shared-folder-count-against-storage
If all you need to do is view or download the files, ask your co-worker to send you a view-only Shared Link instead.
