cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Share your feedback on the Document Scanning Experience in the Dropbox App right here.

Plans and Subscriptions

Ask the Dropbox Community for help if you have questions about your Dropbox plan or subscription. Find solutions and share advice with members.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

If I pay for a plan to send files to my son, does he also have to pay

If I pay for a plan to send files to my son, does he also have to pay

robertpri
Explorer | Level 3

see title

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Rich
Super User II

@robertpri wrote:

So, please clarify in one word: Does Dropbox encrypt my files?  Yes? No?


It's not that simple, but the short answer is no, Dropbox does not encrypt your files. Any files that you send or download from your account will be received or downloaded as you originally sent them. Dropbox does not alter your files.

 

That said, yes, Dropbox does encrypt your files as they're being synced to Dropbox. The way Dropbox works is that each one of your files is split into individual 4MB chunks. Each of those chunks is hashed and encrypted before being sent to the Dropbox servers where they're stored in their chunked form. When you sync with other devices, the device receives those file chunks, decrypts them and reassembles them back into your original, unaltered file.

 

So yes, Dropbox encrypts your files as part of the sync process, but it doesn't encrypt the end-state file. If you send a file to someone, they're going to receive your original, unaltered file. Dropbox does not alter your files.

View solution in original post

8 Replies 8

Nancy
Dropbox Staff

Hey @robertpri! Welcome aboard the Community. 

 

That really depends on the way you share your files with him. 

 

If you share a folder with him, and he’s on a free Basic plan and your files are more than 2GB in size, he’ll need more space to add them to his Dropbox account. 

 

What you can do instead is share a link with him, which doesn’t take up Dropbox space, and send it over. This way, he can download your files, or you can grant him with edit permissions to it, in case he needs to make some edits.

 

Hope this helps! Let me know, if you have other questions, though.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

robertpri
Explorer | Level 3

I sent the small encrypted file but dropbox sent him a msg saying it could not recognize the encryption.  Ah, that is the purpose of encryption. I just want the file sent. Simple.  The format was a .doc file. Nothing complicated. 

Jay
Dropbox Staff

Hi @robertpri, were they able to receive the file you sent successfully?

 

Which method did you use to the send the file to them?


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

robertpri
Explorer | Level 3

Sent two encrypted files to sons using dropbox link and also email method. None of the files can be decrypted. Does dropbox further encrypt the already encrypted files?  Making them gibberish

Nancy
Dropbox Staff

Hi again, @robertpri. When uploading files to the Dropbox server, there are encryption protocols indeed. However, this shouldn’t affect your actual files.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

robertpri
Explorer | Level 3

Confused here. Your reply clearly indicates my files are encrypted.  But, on that page you referenced, is this:

"Dropbox doesn't offer client-side encryption. Dropbox also doesn't support the creation of your own private keys. However, Dropbox users are free to add their own encryption."

 

So, please clarify in one word: Does Dropbox encrypt my files?  Yes? No?

Rich
Super User II

@robertpri wrote:

So, please clarify in one word: Does Dropbox encrypt my files?  Yes? No?


It's not that simple, but the short answer is no, Dropbox does not encrypt your files. Any files that you send or download from your account will be received or downloaded as you originally sent them. Dropbox does not alter your files.

 

That said, yes, Dropbox does encrypt your files as they're being synced to Dropbox. The way Dropbox works is that each one of your files is split into individual 4MB chunks. Each of those chunks is hashed and encrypted before being sent to the Dropbox servers where they're stored in their chunked form. When you sync with other devices, the device receives those file chunks, decrypts them and reassembles them back into your original, unaltered file.

 

So yes, Dropbox encrypts your files as part of the sync process, but it doesn't encrypt the end-state file. If you send a file to someone, they're going to receive your original, unaltered file. Dropbox does not alter your files.

apfund
Dropbox Product Manager

Hi there, 

if you are still interested in additional encryption, I have an update for you:

We have launched our end-to-end encryption last month. More details can be found here and here
High level overview: 
You can now add end-to-end encryption to team folders. The functionality is available for our Advanced, Business Plus and Enterprise customers at no additional costs. 

If there are any questions, please let me know!

Need more support?
Who's talking

Top contributors to this post

  • User avatar
    apfund Dropbox Product Manager
  • User avatar
    Rich Super User II
  • User avatar
    robertpri Explorer | Level 3
  • User avatar
    Nancy Dropbox Staff
What do Dropbox user levels mean?