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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
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.
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- Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Hey 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!
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
- Rich
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).
Thank you for the community message. Please can you help. I can't seem to identify the folder & file sizes to commence maintenance of getting rid of large folders/files. Thanks
- Lusil
Hi SGHelp1, thanks for nudging us on this thread.
If you're trying to find the size of files and folders from the website, you can have a look at this article which has the relevant steps.
Give me a nudge if you have any other questions, cheers!
Great!
im looking on my account page but cannot see anywhere it tells me how much space I have. I'm having the same issue. I was told I didn't have room so I deleted 500 cell phone quality images and 20 RAW files and I'm not on anyone else's shared files. It's been a week so it's updated, and still I'm told it's too full. If those fit, why wouldn't one cell phone quality image fit??
If I look at the size of the dropbox folder on my PC ist is 1.5GB yet when I look at my account on Dropbox.com is shows 169GB... Is there a delay between the time I delete files/folder and it is refiected in my storage consumption report?
i have a paid subscription, been saying its getting full over the last few weeks, so I deleted a heap of gear yesterday, estimate 1 third of capacity now this morning its saying sycing has stoped until you upgrade. It appears that its trying to con you into upgrading.
