How to use Dropbox Rewind

Dropbox Rewind is a tool that lets you undo a large number of changes at once. It’s most useful when a major data-loss incident occurs, like if a virus infects your account.

If you don't need to undo a large number of changes, there are other steps you can take:

• If you’re missing any files, check your deleted files page.
• If a file is the wrong version, check its version history.
• If a virus has infected your account, learn what to do before and after you use Dropbox Rewind.

Dropbox Rewind will undo:

• File edits, renames, additions, and deletions
• Actions taken in shared folders, including those owned by other people
• Actions taken in Dropbox team folders that you’re a member of and have edit access to

Dropbox Rewind will not undo:

• Changes made earlier than your account’s version history
• Permanently deleted files
• Changes made to Paper docs (unless you’re using the 2020 release of Dropbox Paper)
• Changes to files or folders owned by other teams
• File history (the rewind will just be added to your history)
  
• File or folder membership changes—for example, if you were removed from a shared folder, using Dropbox Rewind will not add you back to that folder
  • If you’d like to rewind a folder that you unshared, contact support

How to use Dropbox Rewind

On dropbox.com

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Rewind your folders:
   • To rewind your entire Dropbox account, click "..." (ellipsis) next to Organize, then click Rewind this folder.
   • To rewind a specific folder, hover over the name of the folder and click "..." (ellipsis), then click Rewind this folder. This will also rewind all folders within that specific folder.
3. Click Try Rewind.
4. Click on the graph to pick a day.
   • We recommend you pick a day right before the incident occurred, which will usually appear as a spike on the graph.
5. Click Continue.
6. From the Fine tune list, find the earliest change you want to undo and click the blue line below it.
   • All file changes above the blue line will appear greyed out—this means they’ll be undone after the rewind.
7. Click Continue.
8. Click Rewind. You'll receive an email once the rewind is complete.

Note: If you’re on a Dropbox team account and you follow the instructions in step 2 to rewind your entire Dropbox account, it will only rewind your personal files and shared folders. To rewind a team folder, follow the instructions in step 2 to rewind a specific folder, and repeat for each team folder.

In Dropbox Backup

1. Open your Dropbox desktop preferences.
2. Click the Backups tab.
3. Click Manage backups.
4. Select the backup you’d like to manage on the left.
5. Click Rewind backup to restore a previous version of your backup.
6. Click Try Rewind in the right sidebar.
7. Click on the graph to pick a day.
   • We recommend you pick a day right before the incident occurred, which will usually appear as a spike on the graph.
8. Click Continue.
9. From the Fine tune list, find the earliest change you want to undo and click the blue line below it.
   • All file changes above the blue line will appear greyed out—this means they’ll be undone after the rewind.
10. Click Continue.
11. Click Rewind. You'll receive an email once the Rewind is complete.

Note: Dropbox Rewind is not available from the Dropbox mobile app.

Admins: Manage Dropbox Rewind settings for your team

By default, only admins on Dropbox team accounts can use Dropbox Rewind. However, admins can change this setting to allow team members to use Dropbox Rewind. To do so:

1. Sign in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click Settings.
4. Under Content, click Rewind.
5. Click the dropdown menu next to Set who can rewind folders, and select Everyone on your team or Only team admins.
   • If you choose Everyone on your team, team members will be able to rewind their personal folders, shared folders, as well as team folders.
   • If you choose Only team admins, team members will not be able to rewind any folders in their account. 

Note: Admins can't sign in as a team member to rewind their team member's account. They can only allow the team member to rewind their own account.

What should I do after I use Dropbox Rewind?

After you’ve used Dropbox Rewind, we recommend that you:

• Check your account on dropbox.com to make sure the correct changes were made.
• Wait for all content to sync to linked devices before making any changes.

If you realized you’d like to rewind to an earlier point in time, you can do so by following the steps to use Dropbox Rewind and choosing an earlier point in the File Activity graph or Fine tune list. 

• If you’re missing any files, check your deleted files page.
• If a file is the wrong version, check its version history.

Can I undo Dropbox Rewind?

Yes, you can undo Dropbox Rewind by rewinding your account to a time before the first Rewind took place. 

For example, you use Rewind at 4:00pm today to revert your account to how it was three days ago. To undo this, use Rewind again to revert your account to a time before today at 4:00pm.

How far back can Dropbox rewind?

Dropbox Rewind can only undo changes made within your account’s version history. 

Still have questions? 

Check out a list of FAQs about Dropbox Rewind.