Hide the members of a shared folder

[Dreue C.]

Hi,
My company uses Dropbox (free and company versions) to share files with external people of the company. We would like to know if it's possible to hide the name and the email address of the members of the folder to the other members. And if it's not possible yet, I think it would be a good idea to improve Dropbox, don't you think?

[Jay]

This idea has been closed as it has reached the end of the Share an Idea process.

[lotsasmiles]

For any searching on this thread, I wanted to pass along the information that Google Drive does let you do this very thing (hide other members of a shared folder).  In fact, it does this by default.  They also give you 15GB of free storage.  The downside: it's not as widely used, and some might be turned away by the Big G (though users can create a free Google account without a Google address).  Also, editors still have this visibility.

[rdsxray]

LOL. Been watching this thread and find it comical that it has been going on over 2 years. Its simple, Dropbox was created mainly for a place where company's can easily share documents and files internally if desired, without the possibility of someone sharing documents with the outside world (if desired), so the data is protected. The link is a way to share a file, but sharing company data with the outside world may not be what a company wants. I know I would want to know I can lock down the data to keep it secure if it were my company, wouldnt you? If you want a personal "free share" account go to Google Docs. If you want a place to securely share your data but keep it confined within the walls of your business, Dropbox is the answer...;)

[ChadB]

Thanks for the advice lotsasmiles.

This week, I downgraded to the Free Drop Box service and I went to Google Drive which has the functionality I was looking for - a place where users must be logged into an account to access our files, but cannot see the names of other users who also have access. As an added bonus, the storage available for the free service is more than what I currently require, so now I'm saving money.

This way the users (who are often competitors) have anonymity and I have a means to control who has access to what (I control access to individual accounts). Shared links in Drop Box provides the anonymity, but no form of access control other than resetting the password and notifying all members, or setting up many redundant directories and links.

[ChadB]

@rdsxray - "If you want a personal "free share" account go to Google Docs. If you want a place to securely share your data but keep it confined within the walls of your business, Dropbox is the answer..."

I'm confused by this statement. Aren't both cloud-based storage services with different sharing features?

Also, I don't think you're seeing the point being made by several posters in this thread. It's hardly comical. Perhaps more users will vote with their wallets.

[rdsxray]

ChadB,

It should be very clear why Dropbox is setup the way it is, as it is mainly a service for companies. There are millions of employees for companies that use Dropbox. The features most in this thread are complaining about are features ALL businesses want in their file backup/share solutions. If not for the feature set that exists, company data could be freely shared with unknown sources without their knowledge. Get it now?

[rdsxray]

Again, if you personally want to "freely" share data with whoever you want and without restrictions, Google Docs will get that done for free.

[Semalu]

Did this question ever get answered. This is a serious issue for Dropbox as the inability to hide members of a shared folder is in violence of contractual agreements. The lack of this feature alone makes Dropbox unusable for business. So ssign me uo to the tem that cannot believe Dropbox STILL does this. That lack of responsiveness to a very serius issue with their customers is another reason not to use Dropbox for anything but storing pictures of your pets.

---

@Dreue C. wrote:

Hi,
My company uses Dropbox (free and company versions) to share files with external people of the company. We would like to know if it's possible to hide the name and the email address of the members of the folder to the other members. And if it's not possible yet, I think it would be a good idea to improve Dropbox, don't you think?

---

[myrnapap]

How can I tell who is  viewing my files. I see icons on the right side of the screen but I don't see everyone.

[Lusil]

Hey peeps, thanks for your feedback!

This idea is going to need a bit more support before we share your suggestion with our team.

For this reason, we’ve updated the status to encourage more users to back you up!

If you have any other questions or ideas about features that you'd like to see implemented in the future, just give us a shout. Thanks!

[nasfrn]

Yeap, you need to add this feature asap. Shared Link doesnt work if you need to share files permanently (and update them as well frequently)with different parties (clients and none) and let them have access on them on their mobile device (app). This the issue in our company. We are using dropbox to share sales material with both internal sales force and clients' sales force who are on the go and should just be able to view the material on their app. Even if we shared a link with the corresponding files and they saved the files on their app they would need to resave it on their app with each change (in order to have the latest material). As you understand this not efficient at all as well as creating shared folders for each one of them and copy paste every change in each folder from our side. It doesnt make any sense at all. We are in 2020. Simple as that. Just add the "hide members" selection feature - it can't be that hard for a company like dropbox.