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Dropbox data space on Android
Hi everybody,
Dropbox app is actually taking 3gb on my phone (Samsung S7).
In dropbox online guide they suggest to free space deleting cache memory, but on my phone dropbox cache memory is only 32 mb at the moment, the apk is 160mb (more or less) while the 3 gb is dropbox user data!
I suppose if I delete all user data from Samsung Maintenance software I will lose also my dropbox account settings and in the worst chance also the data i loaded from the phone and now availables for other users.
If I delete single files from dropbox app, they are no more available on the account so... The question is:
How to free space on the phone deleting the files only on the local phone memory and not from the cloud? (please don't answer to delete cache memory :D)
Dropbox app is actually taking 3gb on my phone (Samsung S7).
In dropbox online guide they suggest to free space deleting cache memory, but on my phone dropbox cache memory is only 32 mb at the moment, the apk is 160mb (more or less) while the 3 gb is dropbox user data!
I suppose if I delete all user data from Samsung Maintenance software I will lose also my dropbox account settings and in the worst chance also the data i loaded from the phone and now availables for other users.
If I delete single files from dropbox app, they are no more available on the account so... The question is:
How to free space on the phone deleting the files only on the local phone memory and not from the cloud? (please don't answer to delete cache memory :D)
25 Replies
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- Daphne
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey there Sharir, thanks for reaching out to us here!
If you haven't already, please check out the info in this thread, to see if Lusil's suggestions help with this.
Let me know how it goes! - Hi will someone can please help me? My phone is full when I check what can I delete to release place I saw that Dropbox size on my phone is about 35 GB. If I will delete Dropbox from my phone, will it delete the files and pictures as well? How can I know that that it will save everything as it’s was on my computer? Thank you all (from me, someone who know nothing about technology 🙃)
YES, REALLY!? Let's find a better solution than re-installing the app.
Thanks for the reply. However, I have tried the clear cache option in the App and it makes no difference. Data is still many gb. There is a clear data option under android > setting > apps > dropbox (which shows data use as many gb) and also a clear cache option. The clear cache option does nothing. What will the "clear data" option do? It the only option to reinstall until they fix this school-boy bug? (probably being unfair to school boys, actually)
- So to clarify because this thread has fallen into confusion but has all the needed answers in it. I just used this thread to fix my problem which is the same problem others have had. Some of the confusion stems from the repeated requests to just uninstall /reinstall the app at the beginning of the thread
Summary:
1. In the settings *of the Dropbox app* on your phone, there is a "Clear Cache" button. Pressing that, within a minute or two, will clear out the huge amount of storage that the app uses.
2. This is different than the clear cache option in Android settings which will do nothing useful.
3. Why this is extra confusing is that "Clear Cache" in Android settings shows a small number and the data shows a big number. The big number in the android settings will drop to 0 if you "clear cache" in the setting of the Dropbox app itself. Hello. I'm trying to make sense of this thread and can see some frustration that the questions is not being answered. Let's change tack. We've established that the "Clear Cache" button in the app doesn't work to solve the memory gobbling issue. What does the "Clear Data" button do? Or "How do I stop Dropbox using many gb of storage, without losing my settings? Thanks.
- I wanna say I am glad to have made dropbox my main cloud backup and storage.
I can say that truly as I like dropbox a lot.
I kinda still need to pay for google drive till i done moving stuff or i dont get email.
But I have 2gigs storage taken up on phone too. Phantom and i hope u guys dont repeat the same thing u reoeating to others with this prob.
I venture the cause if this also causes dripbox to eat however much free soace on my root oartition on my lubuntu pc.
I also have no files available offlune.
I delete my cache all the time. I actually do. So many if these "cache cleaners" are scams.
I am gonna uninstall dropbox from my pc and phone. This is sloppy as all get out and unprofessional. Tge advice given in this thread is laughable and frankly Im kibda dismayed.
I will use third party apps and web browser to use dropbox and I am still in love, hopefully iys not just honeymoon. Hopefully the novelty wont wear off. Dropbox dropbox the one that i adore
but i read the same useless advice "officially" being repeated and I just gotta wonder what the heck is up guys
<3 anyhoo
Lusil wrote:
Nic11 wrote:
but I will lose all my settings
Rather, as noted above by several members, the solution is that there is a "clear cache" button in the settings of the Dropbox app itself, not the android settings. I was delighted to find their responses below when trying to find out how to clear out the mysterious 11.6 GB of storage space that Dropbox was taking up on my android. One note, it will take some time for the cache to clear and may lock your phone up a bit. The more data it has to clear, the longer it will take, but your phone should return to normal operation once it is done. It took about 2 minutes for it to clear all of that data. Apparently when you make files available offline and then stop making them available offline, the app doesn't actually delete the data off the phone, and basically becomes part of the cache. It is still in storage until you clear the cache. It took my phones storage from 98% to 66%. Very happy. Thanks to Jb2020, Dwayne A., and Michael M.224 for the correct solution and verification.A side note- If a moderator can do so, or the OP happens to return to this post, I would suggest the solution be changed. Reinstalling the app will work and apparently was the solution that worked for the OP, but is not necessary in most cases.
This does appear to be the best solution, thank you Dwayne.
NOTE: The trick is to recognize the Clear Cache selection is in the DROPBOX app and not the Android Settings.
It seems to take a few moments (30 secs?) for it to complete the clearing during which my tablet was not too responsive.
- This is the solution.
Dropbox stores previously downloaded files in a "scratch" folder in the main storage. When you remove all offline files in the app, these files remain. If you clear the app cache via your android settings, these files will remain. The only way to clear those additional temp files is by going to the clear cache option within the Dropbox settings within the app itself.
