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Forum Discussion
John W.87
8 years agoNew member | Level 2
How to free up space in your Dropbox account
I've unshared many folders, permanently deleted lots of files but dropbox still reports that it is full. How can I free up space? I've already followed dropbox instructions with no results
- 8 years ago
Permanently deleting files isn't needed to clear space. Simply deleting them is enough. Files in the Deleted Files section do not count against your storage quota.
If Dropbox is saying your account is full, then it's still full. You need to remove enough files to bring your account back below your quota before that message will go away. It could be that you're still a member of a large share that just keeps filling your account as you make more room.
You can verify your storage usage on your Account page. It will show you a breakdown of what's using your storage (regular files, shared files, etc.), which hat may help you identify files that you can remove to free up some more space.
Lusil
Dropbox Staff
7 years agoHey AndyPants, welcome to the Dropbox Community!
In general, you can calculate the size of folders from the website by following these steps.
When you remove personal or shared content from the website, it's reflected on your Plan tab, but you can also earn storage to increase your quota.
If you find that the shared folder doesn't take up much space but your account is reporting that it is, please don't hesitate to nudge me back here. Thanks!
okin33
6 years agoNew member | Level 2
I'm having the exact same issue. I have Dropbox linked to my Linux laptop. From there I can see that I'm using exactly 5.8GB of space (well below my 7.75GB of space available) however the Dropbox website insists that I'm out of space and reports that I'm using 8.83 GB on the plan page.
Here's the kicker: if I use ncdu to examine the space used by my Dropbox folder on my linux laptop and include hidden files, which includes the .dropbox.cache file, it reports the EXACT SAME VALUE OF 8.83GB.
This means dropbox DOES include the cache as used space, despite what they say. Which is horrendous way to get people to buy more overpriced storage.
The worst part is, I deleted the cache locally on my linux machine, but the space still stays used on the Dropbox website. Two thumbs down for Dropbox
- Rich6 years ago
Super User II
okin33 wrote:
This means dropbox DOES include the cache as used space, despite what they say.
The .dropxbox.cache folder is NOT included as part of your storage space. Only the files in your account online are counted against your storage, and teh cache folder does not sync. The cache folder will also be different sizes on each computer. It has nothing to do with space calculations.
If the website is showing 8.83 GB of used space, then you're account has 8.83 GB of files in it. If you're only going to check file sizes on your local comptuer, make sure the Selective Sync and Smart Sync settings are set so all files are local. If there are any folders or files that aren't syncing locally, they're still in your account and taking up space. Also look for shared folders that you're a member of, that might not be syncing fully (due to you being out of space).
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