How can I locate a Dropbox account if I've forgotten the email address it's connected to?

[HillaryCastillo]

My mac hard drive just died.  I just got my computer back and tried to login to drop box.  The account that I thought I was saving everything to hasn't been updated since 2015.  I believe there was another account that my mom must have created that we were unaware of.  I have tried every email imaginable and I can't find my files.  Is there a way that dropbox can see what accounts have been accessed from my ISP address?  Need help now!

[Rich]

Start with the following help article:

• https://www.dropbox.com/help/account/find-account-email

If that doesn't help, you can try contacting Support but I don't know what information they will be able to tell you without verification of your account information, which is done through the email address associated with your account.

Open your ticket here: https://dropbox.com/support
Track your ticket here: https://dropbox.zendesk.com

Replies take approximately 1 - 3 business days with Plus, Professional and Business users getting priority (longer for Basic users).

[Jane]

Hey HillaryCastillo, thanks for reaching out on the Dropbox Community on this account-specific question! 

As an initial point of reference, you may keep in mind that you can monitor your content from your “Events” page, where you can check all file additions/ deletions/ edits in shared folders. Have you been able to check for your uploaded files there? 

Secondly, were you using the desktop application to sync your files to your account online or were you uploading your files directly to the website? 

 Once I have these details I’d happily send you the most relevant next steps to follow in my next post. I’ll be awaiting your next reply here!

[HillaryCastillo]

Hi Jane...it was from the desktop app.  There were two icons for dropbox.  The account we thought everything was saving to hasn't had any new files added since 2015.  There was another account that everything must have been saving to that I don't have information for.  (background...this was mother's business computer.  I took over her business when she passed last year and now we're at a loss)  If there was a way to see if two accounts were being accessed from my ISP address that would help.  Is that something that is possible?

[Mark]

It isnt I'm afraid.

All I can suggest is searching ALL your email to see if you have ANYTHING from @DoLPHin3 or similar as you may find emails that have been sent to the email.

The other possible option is do you know if it was a free or a paid account? Paid accounts *may* have a glimmer of hope, free not so.

[Jane · Accepted solution]

Thanks a lot for clarifying in more detail HillaryCastillo & I’m sorry to hear about your loss & any frustration this may have caused you. 

Mark & Rich are pointing you towards the right direction at the moment based on your description, let me explain in a bit more detail below. 

You may keep in mind that in case there were two Dropbox folders on this device but only the one was syncing, then the remaining one was merely a regular folder on your computer. It seems as if your Dropbox account was unlinked at some point & she had opted to sync her files to her account instead. 

That being said, please note that we can only provide account-specific info to the email address holders, hence your best bet at the moment would be to try gaining access to her email as Mark suggested above. 

From there, you may have a look at this resource here, as we could help you regain access to the content on our end, once you provide us the relevant evidence that you have the legal right to access these files. 

I hope that my suggestions are helpful to you & of course I’m always here if you have further questions! 

Mod noted: edited to update links in post [last update 2023]

[rlew1]

This is not a solution!  I have two drop box accounts, for some unknown reason, and one is accessible remotely, whereas the other is only accessible on my computer.  I need to find whatever email it is connected to in order to make the account more accessible.  Your answer punts back to "find your mom's email.'  There has to be another way in.

[Jane]

Hey @rlew1, I understand that this isn’t the solution you’re looking for, however I’d still like to see whether the issue you're currently facing bears any resemblance to the OP's description, in order to further advise. 

If it's not too much trouble for you, can you elaborate a bit on the issue that seems to be troubling you regarding the two email addresses? Any detail &/or visual aid you could include on this discussion would be very helpful (omitting personal info please) & rest assured that I’m here to help you get going with that as much as I can on my end. Thanks!