How to become a Dropbox Vault trusted contact

Dropbox Vault is a feature that lets you create a location in Dropbox with an additional layer of security for your most sensitive files. If you received an invitation to be a trusted contact for someone’s vault, it means you can download the sensitive files in their vault.

Some examples of the sensitive files that may be kept in a vault include identification, medical, legal, or financial documents.

Learn how to create your own vault in the Dropbox Vault overview article.

Note: Users on the latest Dropbox for macOS update or later will no longer be able to access Vault through the Dropbox desktop app. You’ll still be able to access Vault on dropbox.com and the Dropbox mobile app.

How to accept an invitation to be a trusted contact

Note: You must have a Dropbox account to become a trusted contact. If you don’t already have a Dropbox account, you’ll be prompted to create a Dropbox account before you can accept your invitation.

To accept the invitation to be a trusted contact:

1. Open the email that was sent to you from Dropbox, inviting you to be a trusted contact.
2. In the email, click View details. A page will open that invites you to be a trusted contact.
   • If you don’t have a Dropbox account, you’ll be prompted to create one.
3. Click Accept.

If you ignore the invitation, the vault owner will see that your invitation is pending. If you deny the invitation, the vault owner will receive an email notifying them.

How to download files from a Dropbox vault

You can download the sensitive files in a vault all in one ZIP file.

Note: You need your Dropbox password to download the files from a vault.

To download all of the files in a vault:

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Click your avatar (profile picture or face icon). 
3. Click Settings.
4. Click the Apps tab.
5. Under People who made you a trusted contact, click Download .zip next to the name of the person whose vault you’d like to download.
6. Enter your Dropbox password and click Download.

The owner of the vault will be notified that you downloaded files.

How to see who made you a trusted contact

When you’re invited to be a trusted contact, the name of the person who invited you will be in your email invitation. 

If you’d like to view who has made you a trusted contact:

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Click your avatar (profile picture or face icon). 
3. Click Settings.
4. Click the Default apps tab.
5. Under People who made you a trusted contact, you’ll see a list of the names and email addresses of people who made you a trusted contact.