How to free up space in my Dropbox account?

[Ltdave]

ive deleted and permanently deleted files.

the "my account" information still show 2+gb of shared files.

since im still at my limit, how do i get rid of these shared files?  i dont need to keep them or keep access to them because theyre all temporary and once i delete them from dropbox, its because i dont need them or to share them anymore...

seems like a money making scheme to me.  use it, fill it up, try to delete (and they show deleted in that they dont show anywhere) but keep the account full so PAY for more space...

[Lusil · Accepted solution]

Hey there @Ltdave, 

If the majority of your storage is being taken up by shared folders, you can leave them as per this article.  You can also add space by earning it. 

Finally, I wanted to mention that deleted and permanently deleted content doesn’t take up space on your account.

I hope this helped to some extent. 

[Lomolita]

Hi there,

So does this mean that even shared folders created by someone else actualy eat into your storage? I'm having to deliver projects via drop box and it's telling me my storage is full and I haven't created any of the folders.

Thanks in advance.

[Lusil]

Hey there @Lomolita, 

That’s right, shared folders take up space in both the sender’s and the receiver’s storage.

If you'd like to receive a shared folder without impacting your space, you can ask the sender to share a link to the folder, which will allow you to view or download a one-way, read-only copy. 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[mlb2]

Lusil - Can we provide a direct answer to the question, which is the topic header - How to free up space in my DB account?  

Where on the DB site is the answer to this fundamental question? 

[Lusil]

Hey there @mlb2, 

You can free up space in your Dropbox account by removing private files and shared folders. 

If you’re trying to delete files or folders from the website:

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Click on the ellipsis (…) button that’s on the right side of the file.
3. Select Delete and then Delete again. 

To remove shared folders (with the option to add it back later):

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Click on the Files tab.
3. Navigate to or search for the shared folder you’re interested in.
4. Click on the ellipsis (…) button that’s next to the shared folder’s name.
5. Select Delete.

I hope this helps clarify matters and please let me know if you have any other questions!

[Lomolita]

Thank you.

[Lusil]

Happy to help, @Lomolita. 

Give me a shout if you have any further questions and, in the meantime, have a wonderful weekend ahead!

[emanuelsf]

Lusil, our account is completely full. How much of our existing content do we need to delete in order to start freeing up space in our account?  How does dropbox notify you when you've made space available?  It seems we have to delete quite a bit of content. I'm just trying to understand how much needs to be deleted.

[Walter]

Welcome to our Community and sorry to jump in here @emanuelsf.

While we won't be able to tell exactly how much content you need to delete to make up space on your account, I'd suggest you started by going at your account's plan tab here: 

http://dropbox.com/account/plan

You'll see an overview of your account's quota there along with the space used by shared folders. 

From this point, you could leave any shared folders that put you over quota or move files that don't need to sync out of your Dropbox folder. 

I hope this helps and please keep us posted on your progress!