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Forum Discussion
Why do shared files count against my space use???
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage? Is this data counted twice? If someone who is sharing files with me is paying for this space, why should I have to pay as well just to acc...
dualice wrote:
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage?
Because the files exist in your account.
When you have access to a shared folder, you're not accessing someone else's folder. You're accessing your own COPY of the folder within your account, and you need to have enough space available to hold that folder.
If you just need to view or download files that someone else is sharing with you, ask them to send you a shared link instead. A shared link is a view-only method of sharing and you don't even need a Dropbox account to access it.
Exactly how it sounds... Is this the dropbox scam?
Someone is already paying for the storage, and dropbox is double dipping and getting me to buy it too?
I highly doubt dropbox is duplicating the files.
Rich
Super User II
Super User II
KeeganMillar wrote:
Someone is already paying for the storage, and dropbox is double dipping and getting me to buy it too?
The files exist in your account so they take up space in your account. It's also meant to prevent people from stacking accounts for unlimited space.
The other main file storage platforms manage to do the exact same without conning their clients - One Drive, Google, iCloud.
- Rich
KeeganMillar wrote:
The other main file storage platforms manage to do the exact same without conning their clients - One Drive, Google, iCloud.
The other main file storage platforms can all operate at a loss because they have other divisions where their profits come from. Google has their ad revenue, Apple has their hardware revenue, and Microsoft has their software revenue, all of which back their storage platforms. They operate them this way to draw more people in so they can expose them to their other products. Dropbox only has their file storage revenue.
If you don't need edit access to the files being shared with you, ask the file owner to send you a view-only shared link instead. You'll be able to view and download the files without it affecting your account. You don't even need an account to access a shared link.
