How to clear the Dropbox mobile app cache on iPhone/iPad?

[Marcus D.9]

Using an iPhone 5C running iOS 9.1 and Dropbox 4.0.4. The iOS Dropbox app itself is only 55.8 MB in size, however my iPhone is reporting that Dropbox is using a total of 300+ MB in Documents and Data. I have zero files marked as "Offline" within the Dropbox app, so the app should not be storing any Documents or Data locally on my iPhone.

I realize the Documents and Data referenced are most likely the result of recent files being cached by the app, but if this is the case, is there any way to manually clear that cache? Or set a limit of cache size? Currently, uninstalling and reinstalling the app is the only solution I've found, which is far from what I'd consider a "solution". I have to uninstall the app, reinstall it, sign in, wait for 2-factor auth code to enter, set up my Passcode again, set up the Camera Upload again...just a horrible overall process just to clear out the cache.

There are other apps which allow you to either set a cache size, or some that include an option to manually clear the cache. Either one of these options would be better than nothing at all.

[Roger S.10]

It's discouraging to see a company dedicated to data storage ignoring a key issue like preserving space on iPhones. I'm having the same problem. I have no offline files, yet Dropbox consumes 1.0 GB of my 16 GB iPhone 5S. I've logged out and signed in again, but that did almost nothing to decrease the amount of space used by the app. I too will be looking at other storage options and will cancel my annual Dropbox subscription if this issue is not resolved soon. I don't even see an official response from staff, which is never a good sign.

[Transcribe O.]

Well, the MS OneDrive idea didn't work. I was defeated in my attempts to stop my little Windows 10 tablet from having files copied (against my wishes) from the cloud account onto my tablet's drive. And after 2 weeks of searching for solutions, I just have to move on. I've got a bunch of MOOC classes that I'm wrestling with installing software on the tablet, and there's neither the space on the tablet nor the time to mess with OneDrive. So as far as dropbox is concerned, I will just use it via the web and not have a dropbox app on the iphone. And as far as MS OneDrive, I just can't keep anything = nothing! on the cloud drive, because it is immediately copied over to the tablet. This is silly. Oh well...

[Matt B.50]

I'm confused why you are having issues Transcribe. Both Dropbox and OneDrive support selective sync. If you haven't selected the folders you want to sync from the cloud then of course it is going to sync all of your files. What did you think it was going to do? Decide what to sync for you automatically? You need to educate yourself on how these services work buddy.

[Roger S.10]

I thought the following e-mails between me and Dropbox Customer Support would be interesting to those following this thread.

FROM Me

TO Dropbox

Sep 5, 9:36 AM

Feedback:

There's needs to be a "clear cache" option for iPhone users. Below is my respond to a thread in the community forum.

Clearing Dropbox cache on iPhone

It's discouraging to see a company dedicated to data storage ignoring a key issue like preserving space on iPhones. I'm having the same problem. I have no offline files, yet Dropbox consumes 1.0 GB of my 16 GB iPhone 5S. I've logged out and signed in again, but that did almost nothing to decrease the amount of space used by the app. I too will be looking at other storage options and will cancel my annual Dropbox subscription if this issue is not resolved soon. I don't even see an official response from staff, which is never a good sign.

https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/204310276-Clearing-Dropbox-cache-on-iPhone?pag...

FROM Dropbox

TO Me

Sep 6, 11:30 AM

Thanks for writing in.

I understand you need to know how to clear cache on your iOS.

The best fix for this is to remove and reinstall the Dropbox app to clear out the settings that are continuing to cause this. Follow the steps listed in the link below to reinstall the application:

https://www.dropbox.com/help/346

Please note that you will have to once again make available offline and download any files that you have previously saved after reinstalling the app.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions about this.

FROM Me

TO Dropbox

Sep 9, 6:43 AM

Yes, I've received and reviewed the response. Thank you for getting back to me promptly.

I have not tried the recommended solution yet, but my initial reaction is that this is a very inconvenient approach to an issue that many Dropbox users for iPhone are experiencing (based on what I've read in several online forums).

I am sure you are aware that many other mobile apps that use significant amounts of limited storage have simple ways of allowing the user to clear the cache in order to free up much-needed space. Uninstalling and reinstalling the app is not convenient, particularly when I would like to be able to free up space quickly (and periodically).

Why hasn't Dropbox incorporated a feature to flush the cache when other apps found ways to add the same functionality? And why does no one respond to the official online forum? The lack of transparency on this issue is leading to frustration among many otherwise happy customers.

Again, thank you for your response.

FROM Dropbox

TO Me

Sep 9, 9:02 AM

Thanks for writing back!

I’m happy to explain how app data works for our app, and what you should expect as far as device space is concerned.

Items that you make available offline will take up space until they are removed. The Dropbox app also stores certain items in cache for a quicker loading experience in our app, such as previewing documents, PDFs, and photos. These items are only cached for a certain period of time, and then the app will clear this space automatically (based on when the file was last viewed and the amount of space you have on your device).

Currently, the only way to manually clear the app data being used is by deleting and reinstalling the app. Follow the steps listed in the link below to reinstall the application:

https://www.dropbox.com/help/346

Please note that you will have to once again make available offline and download any files that you have previously saved after reinstalling the app.

We’d like to have you try the steps above and monitor the space that the Dropbox app is using on your device. If you feel that it is too high, please take a screenshot of the Usage page in Settings, and write back to us with that information included.

Please let me know if you have additional questions about this!

[Matt B.50]

Thank you for the info Roger. It says everything about the iOS developers at Dropbox. Apparently Mickey Mouse is running the show as I have long suspected.

I Personally cancelled my premium subscription and moved my important files to OneDrive. I hate losing delta sync but the OD iOS app doesnt take away my free space (and hey, you can sort by file type in the OneDrive app! What a revolutionary concept!).

[Transcribe O.]

Matt B's September 10 2016 comment was very helpful to me with my Winbook tablet OneDrive problem (OneDrive was filling up the tablet's hard drive with all the cloud files). The lesson I learned was to think about the problem in a different way and try a different solution.
At first I was thinking about the OneDrive problem from the perspective of a happy Apple iphone user. On the iPhone if I have an app that's giving me a problem, I just delete it. It's so easy! Just press on the icon until it wiggles, press on the "x" and poof! It's gone.

[Transcribe O.]

...continuing... So I was trying to solve the OneDrive problem by Googling a method to delete the app on a windows 10 home user tablet. My search results didn't seem to have anything about sync (or maybe I was blind to it).
But after reading the comment here, I Googled un-sync OneDrive and discovered another arcane solution of finding the secret control panel setting... Anyway, I'm trying that and we'll see if it works.
The point is, I was taking an Apple approach to a Windows problem. (Apple: Don't like your app? Just press on it and delete it!) But Windows isn't Apple and it helps to think about the problem from a different perspective, ie, instead of asking how can I delete the app, I can ask how can I turn off the sync?

[Matt B.50]

You cannot delete the OneDrive app in Windows 10. Just go into the OneDrive settings (right-click on the taskbar icon that looks like a grey cloud) and uncheck "Start OneDrive automatically when I log into Windows". Right-click on the icon again and choose "Exit". Tada! OneDrive is gone.

[Felix Haupts H.]

After reading all this i will also look into other cloud services. This is so mediocre!

[Dario C.]

Yup, same kind of frustration here. And the official responses so far show no sign of "working on it", so I guess it's time to check iCloud. Too bad, really. Been a long time pro user.