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My account was deleted after being removed from Business team
A couple weeks ago someone from another company invited me to their Dropbox Business Team. I clicked on the link, but I didn't realize it was going to add me to their group so I contacted Dropbox abo...
796973635 wrote:
... was told to have the Team Admin follow steps to change my account to a basic account. I sent the Team Admin (person from another company) the instructions and I got an email saying my account was deleted.
If your account was deleted, then the team admin removed you from the team without following the steps to convert your account back to an individual account. Only the team admin will be able to restore your account, but they only have seven days to do it from the date of deletion before the account can no longer be restored. Once your account has been restored, the team admin will need to convert it.
Please note that Dropbox cannot recover your account in this situation. Only the team admin will be able to do it.
Rich
Super User II
Super User II
hg56lu wrote:
Thereâs no reason why they shouldâve been able to gain access to my files. They didnât have permissions to view them while I was linked with their team so why are they able to now?
They did, sort of.
When you're part of a Business team, the team admin always has the ability to sign in as any other account that's part of the team, meaning they always had the ability to access anything in your account if they wanted to.
There are two options when joining a team. The first is to use your existing account to join the team. The second is to create a new account, your existing files are moved into the new account and you join the team with your existing account. This keeps all of your files completely separate in a new account and no one can access them.
The first option, which is what you seem to have chosen, merges your account into the team account. In doing so, the team now owns your account. Your files are kept separate and no other team user can see them, but the team admin has the ability to sign in as you if needed. In this manner, they always had access to your files. They just might not have taken advantage of it.
The issue then comes when you're being removed from the team. The account isn't yours, so if you're removed from the team the account is simply deleted, and the team admin can assign the content of your account (which they own) to another user. If they had converted the account back to an individual, then your files would have been exactly how you left them and no one would have had access, not even the team admin.
They have access to competitors files, itâs a massive breach of privacy
This comes down to not understanding the options that were available when joining the team. If you had chosen to move your files to a new account when you joined the team, they would never have had access. I don't mean to say that the fault is yours, just that there's not a clear understanding of the options you were selecting, and that's on Dropbox for not making it completely clear. This has been an issue for a while.
"but the team admin has the ability to sign in as you if needed. In this manner, they always had access to your files. They just might not have taken advantage of it."
How are they able to sign in to my account? I use my own personal email and password, and recovery is sent to my email.
I guess in future if im asked to use dropbox ill ask them to set up an email address for me to keep it separate. I've requested they now delete all my files but tbh im concerned that they wont, and theres no way of me knowing
- Rich
hg56lu wrote:
How are they able to sign in to my account? I use my own personal email and password, and recovery is sent to my email.It's a function of Business team accounts. The team admin doesn't need your credentials. They can simply select "Sign in as user" within their admin console. Remember, when you merge into a Business team it's not your account anymore. It's now managed by the team admin.
I guess in future if im asked to use dropbox ill ask them to set up an email address for me to keep it separate.Very sensible, and choosing the other option when joining a team would accomplish the same thing; move your files to a new account that only you control, then merge your existing (now empty) account into the team.
