What happens to my account if i die?

[Nevovk]

Hey, i was wondering what will happen to my account if I die tomorrow?

Thank You in advance.

Happy New Year.

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Hi there, in general, if a person close to someone who has passed away needs access to a Dropbox account of a deceased user, then we have a procedure detailed here in order to assist them.

Hope this helps to clarify matters.

[Ghent]

The accepted answer only covers one scenario of a broad question, and doesn't answer the question that was fundamentally asked. The question wasn't: "Is there a way to leave access to others once I'm deceased?"

So, what happens with my Dropbox when I die? Does it get erased? Does it sit inactive in perpetuity? In the vein if the original answer, what if I specifically do not want others to access it? What if I want it erased on my death? All of these questions may be pertinent to someone who is curious to what happens to their data when you're not around anymore, and/or has private data that they would or would not like to share or delete.

[Rich]

In the case of any inactivity, your account would sit idle for appoximately one year. After one year of inactivity, your account would be deleted. Dropbox would first try to contact you at the email address associated with your account and warn you of the impending deletion, and then the account would be deleted a short time later if no action was taken.

There is no option to have your account deleted automatically upon your death.

[scottdoc]

Is there a way to define (while you are still alive) who can access your dropbox files after you die?  Thank you.

[Fiona]

Hi @scottdoc.

We have no such option in Dropbox. Relatives that can get your death certificate and provide it to us, can claim access to the account of a deceased user or request it's deletion. When people pass away, we want to make sure we respect their privacy rights above all. We review each request carefully and such requests take time to be processed.

I hope this information helps. 

[lgsp]

If a paying Dropbox user passes then what happens to the account? Will the account sit idle for a year (or until someone can get access) even though the larger storage space is not paid for? I'm asking as it may take months before an estate and paperwork is in order and people are ready (or even aware enough) to access it. Thank you.

[Fiona]

Good question @lgsp. Welcome to our Community. 

Dropbox renews automatically, so the renewals will be interrupted when the payment method is cancelled or if relatives request the cancellation (having the required paperwork or simply billing information related to the Dropbox charges).

When the storage is not paid, the account will eventually downgrade and not have enough space to sync but the files will remain safe in Dropbox. 

Finally, a free Dropbox account will be disabled after several email notifications ans 12 months of inactivity. You can read about this in our Help center. 

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!