What is the Dropbox desktop app?

Updated Oct 27, 2023

With the Dropbox desktop app, you can save, view, share, and access the files and folders stored in your Dropbox account from your computer. When you download and install the Dropbox desktop app, two things are added to your computer:

Open the Dropbox desktop app

Once you’ve installed the Dropbox desktop app, you can open your Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).

For an overview of your recent file activity and your sync history, click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar at the bottom of your screen (Windows) or menu bar at the top of your screen (Mac).

From here you can also view and manage your preferences, see which version of Dropbox you’re running, and manage how much bandwidth the Dropbox app uses on your computer.

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Note: You can manage your local storage space by making files online-only

Close the Dropbox desktop app and stop syncing

You can completely close the Dropbox desktop app and stop your files from syncing to your Dropbox account. To close the app:

  1. Click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
  2. Click your avatar (photo or initials) in the top right.
  3. Click Quit.
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