How to use filters on the Dropbox Protect dashboard

Admins Updated May 28, 2026

How to use preset filters

Preset filters are ready-made views that help you quickly identify common file sharing patterns. These filters don’t require any setup and you can apply them instantly. They’re ideal when you want fast insight into broad access patterns.

For example, if you’re concerned about link security, you can quickly see all open or company links using the “Open company links” or the “Open public links” preset filter.

Preset filters include:

All items: Shows all items from your connected applications.
Open company links: Shows all links that can be accessed by anyone in the company.
Open public links: Shows all links that can be accessed by anyone on the internet with the link.
Outside access: Shows items are shared with collaborators outside of your organization. (This doesn’t include Personal accounts.)
Personal accounts: Shows all links that can be accessed by personal email accounts from Gmail, Yahoo, etc. (This doesn’t include outside accounts.)
External ownership: Shows items created by external parties and shared with your organization.

To use preset filters access Dropbox Protect, then select the preset you want to apply under Filters > Presents. The results update automatically to show only the items that match your selection.

How to use detailed filters

Detailed filters give you more control. You can combine multiple criteria to create very specific results. Each detailed filter also supports include or exclude logic, which allows you to refine your view even further.

For example, to reduce risks and make them easier to identify, you can use filters to find files owned by a specific account, shared publicly, and recently modified by setting the filters to:

Shared with: Outside
Modified: Select the applicable timeframe
Owner: Enter the specific email address

Detailed filters include:

Shared with: Shows items with one or more collaborators.
- Internal: Collaborators within your organization.
- Outside: Collaborators outside your organization, excluding personal or educational accounts.
- Personal: Collaborators using personal email accounts from Gmail, Yahoo, educational domains, etc.
- External: Both Outside and Personal accounts.
  - This option is only available when removing collaborators.
Link type: Shows the link type of the item.
- Restricted: Links accessible by collaborators that are explicitly added to the item.
- Company: Links accessible by anyone in your organization.
- Public: Links accessible by anyone with the link.
- Outside: Links accessible by external accounts from specific companies.
- Guest: Links accessible by collaborators in your organization and specific external accounts that have been granted access (Microsoft files shared by adding the "Everyone" group only).
- Targeted: Links accessible by a specific set of accounts.
- External: Links that are owned externally and were accessed by an internal account with a public link.
- Unknown: Links where APIs don’t provide enough information to be categorized.
Ownership: Shows if the item owner is internal or external.
App: Shows items by application (Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft 365).
Type: Shows items by type.
- For example, documents, folders, shared drives, and file formats.
Owner: Shows items owned by a specific email address.
Domain owner: Shows items owned by an account from the specified domain.
Accounts: Shows items are shared with specific email addresses.
Domain: Shows items accessible by at least one account from the specified domain.
Shared drive: Shows only shared drives, sites or team folders, and their lower-level files.
Source: Shows the selected folder and all its lower-level files.
- Clicking a folder in the Source column applies a filter for that folder.
Modified: Shows items modified within the selected timeframe.
Age: Shows items uploaded or created within the selected timeframe.
Keyword: Shows items with titles that contain the keyword you entered.

These filters help you investigate sensitive items, troubleshoot access issues, and prepare to fix the issue.

To use detailed filters, follow these steps:

Log in to Dropbox Protect. Learn more about accessing Protect.
Open and select the filter(s) you would like to use.
Click the item to view the details.
- You can click the Expand details button to view them in a larger window.

How to filter the dashboard to include or exclude apps

You can use the is (include) and is not (exclude) filters to control which apps appear on the Protect page. By default, filters are set to is, but you can change them to is not to exclude certain criteria. These filters make it easier to show or hide information about specific apps or file types, helping you focus on what matters most.

Examples:

To view only Dropbox items: Use the App filter, check Dropbox, and then select is.
To hide Google Drive items: Use the App filter, check Google Drive, and then select is not.
To exclude Public links: Use the Link type filter, check Public, and then select is not.

To include or exclude results:

Log in to Dropbox Protect. Learn more about accessing Protect.
Open and select the filter you would like to use.
Complete the filter option.
When the filter dropdown appears, choose:
- is to include details for the selected filter. This is the default selection for the dropdown.
- is not to exclude details for the selected filter.
- is not to exclude details for the selected filter.

Tips for using filters

Use preset filters for quick checks like public links or personal account access.
Combine detailed filters to find high risk items, such as externally owned files with public links.
Apply filters before applying fixes in bulk to ensure you are targeting the right items.
Review your filter selections before performing actions that affect many files.

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