You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

Alexander-1973's avatar
Alexander-1973
New member | Level 1
2 months ago

Shared folder empty on devices and online

There is a folder that our band members use to sync songs, images, lyrics, etc.

It recently turned up completely empty for all of us, on our devices and on dropbox.com.
None of us remembers having done anything, let alone having deleted everything.
What can we do to get our files back?

Best regards, Alex

  • Alexander-1973's avatar
    Alexander-1973
    New member | Level 1

    Wow, thanks, that brought me on the right track.
    In the events page I can actually see that a "Dave [removed]" deleted all the files: 

    I have no idea why he would have access to this folder. He is not in our band.

    How can this be reversed (if at all 😬) - and be prevented in the future?

    Best, Alex

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    Alexander-1973 wrote:

    I have no idea why he would have access to this folder. He is not in our band.

    He must be a member of the shared folder. The owner of the folder should review the current members and remove the members that should no longer have access.

  • Alexander-1973's avatar
    Alexander-1973
    New member | Level 1

    Hey Rich,

    Thanks for your support. But regarding Dave: He is definitely not a member of the shared folder. But one of our band members gave his girlfriend **Read access** to the folder, years ago.
    On the other hand: Would he be able to delete the folder contents with a link?
    And if so: Is there any chance of getting the folder back?

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey Alexander-1973, for someone to be able to delete files off of a shared folder, they must be a member.

      If you see the files in your events page, you should be able to restore them from your deleted files page.

      Also, if you click on the "share" button next to the folder on dropbox.com and then on "who can access", you'll see all the members; do you see this person?

  • Alexander-1973's avatar
    Alexander-1973
    New member | Level 1

    Dear Hannah, 
    thanks for your reply.

    The files do not show up in the deleted files page - probably because they were deleted more than 30 days ago?
    If so, my question would be: If I upgrade my plan to professional, would that make them re-appear in this page so I can restore them or ist it too late now?

    > Also, if you click on the "share" button next to the folder on dropbox.com and then on "who can access", you'll see all the members; do you see this person?

    I am 100% positive that the person "Dave ..." is not a member of this folder (anymore), I checked several times. I see all our band members and another person with read access, but not the person who deleted the files.

    By now I established that he had access to the folder though (he's an acquaintance). 
    Would it be possible for him to have deleted all the contents and then have left as a member by himself (i.e. he was not removed by one of us)?

    Best regards, Alex

    • Megan's avatar
      Megan
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey Alexander-1973, let me jump in here! 

       

      I'm afraid that version history and recovery of content doesn't work retroactively, so upgrading your plan won't make a difference. 

       

      And yes, it's possible that he was added and later on left the folder. 

       

      If you need something else, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help every step of the way. 

      • Alexander-1973's avatar
        Alexander-1973
        New member | Level 1

        Hey Megan, so you are saying that there is basically no way anymore to get these files back. 
        Right?

        That is certainly a big disappointment.

        Thanks for your help!