deleted files keep returning

[TV_brad]

I get a notification from dropbox saying I'm over my storage limit. So I delete a bunch of files and folders but then a week later, they've returned. I have 3 devices, a Windows PC, Macbook, and iPhone. I've tried deleting them on all the devices and through the web UI and every time they return about a week later. Help!

[Jay]

Hi @TV_brad, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Could you check the events page to see where the files are being added from? Is it the same device you deleted them from?

This will help me to assist further!

[TV_brad]

It just says that I added a bunch of files and folders on 2/27, which were all deleted on 2/7 from the web UI.

[Jay]

If you click one of the restored files from the Files page, are you able to see the version history of the file to see where it was added from?

[TV_brad]

So the version history has the deletion, and then on the day that the events history says it was re-added, the version history just says it was edited that day, along with hundreds of other files and folders.

[Nancy]

@TV_brad, the files that seem to be returning to your Dropbox account, is there any chance that they’re open by a third-party app on any of your linked devices?

[TV_brad]

I don't believe so. Should I try signing out and removing the dropbox apps on my Mac and PC and iPhone, and then deleting the files through the web UI, then re-install the apps and allow the devices to resync to the cloud? I'm a little hesitant to remove all local copies of my dropbox files, but I'm not sure what else to do. 

[Jay]

It should mean that an app of some sort is restoring the files into your Dropbox folder. 

When you're deleting the files, are you doing so from your computer and then deleting them from the Recycle Bin/Trash? This will rule out one possibility of files being restored from there directly.

[TV_brad]

I tried deleting them from the web UI and my MacBook (where it said it was restoring from) and emptied the trash. Now, 3 weeks later, everything has returned and I'm again over my limit and things won't sync. I'm really at a loss, but my next step will just be to uninstall dropbox on my MacBook and try a fresh setup. 

[Hannah]

Hey @TV_brad, are these files in a private or a shared folder?