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CTorres
20 days agoExplorer | Level 3
After the new desktop app update, all folders got the "people" icon on them
What is this forced folder icon change, Dropbox? No option, no control.
Dear Dropbox Team,
What the heck is going on?
With the latest update, Dropbox has changed how every synced folder looks on my system by adding a persistent “people” icon — even on private folders. It’s confusing, visually disruptive, and most importantly: I have no way to turn it off.
This isn’t just cosmetic. You've removed a clear visual indicator I relied on to quickly distinguish shared folders from private ones. Everything now looks the same, and that’s a serious downgrade in usability.
I’ve tried everything I could think of to restore control:
Removed the ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers registry keys — no effect.
Renamed the DropboxExt DLLs — nothing changed.
Looked for the old integration toggle in Dropbox settings — it’s gone.
Even checked for workarounds in system tweaks — no luck.
It seems like this overlay behavior is now baked into Dropbox’s runtime integration with Explorer, and that’s extremely frustrating. I don’t appreciate losing control over how folders appear on my own computer, especially with no clear setting to disable the change.
Please give users an option to turn off this new icon overlay. I’ve been a long-time Dropbox user, and I expect transparency, clarity, and — above all — control over how your software behaves on my system.
Thanks for listening. I hope this is taken seriously.
5 Replies
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- CTorres18 days agoExplorer | Level 3
No they don't show until I turn dropbox on...
- Mark19 days ago
Super User II
That image helps lots!
Those images are not from Dropbox (the icons it uses are here: https://help.dropbox.com/sync/sync-icons )
That is a shared icon from Windows itself and nothing at all to do with Dropbox.
See here for info.
- Rich20 days ago
Super User II
CTorres wrote:
I do believe other people have had similar issues.
This is the first post I've seen about the overlay icons changing for all folders after an update.
Are you sure that those overlays are from Dropbox? Exit the Dropbox application and then refresh the Explorer window. Do the icon overlays disappear? If they're from Dropbox, they shouldn't appear while the application isn't running.
- CTorres20 days agoExplorer | Level 3
Ok, I will go overthere and post, but I do believe other people have had similar issues.
- Mark20 days ago
Super User II
CTorres wrote:
With the latest update, Dropbox has changed how every synced folder looks on my system by adding a persistent “people” icon
That actually sounds like a bug. The people icon should only be on shared folders.
I'd suggest finding the version you have over here (Dropbox desktop client builds | The Dropbox Community) and explaining the issues there.
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