How to remove members from a shared folder and unshare folders in Dropbox

Updated Nov 19, 2024

The information in this article applies to all Dropbox users, unless otherwise stated.

Learn how to unshare a folder in Dropbox. If you want to remove access to a shared folder, you can remove specific members or unshare the folder. If you would like to leave a shared folder that you’re a member of, learn how to temporarily or permanently leave a shared Dropbox folder.

If there are shared links in a shared folder and the link creator leaves the folder, the view access links will still be enabled. Anyone with edit access will be able to edit link settings.

Note: When you remove a member from a folder or unshare a folder, you can choose to let them keep a copy of that folder, but it'll no longer sync with other accounts.

Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox makes managing permissions easy.

How to remove a member from a shared folder

When you remove a member from a shared folder, that member loses access to the folder and all the files it contains. You must be the owner of the folder to remove members unless the owner has given the editors permission to manage access to the folder.

Log in to dropbox.com.
Hover over the folder you’d like to manage and click the "⋮” (vertical ellipsis).
Click Manage permissions.
Click the dropdown next to the member you’d like to remove.
Click Remove.
Choose if you want to leave the member a copy of the shared folder.
Click Remove again.

Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
Right-click the folder you’d like to manage.
Select Share… next to the Dropbox icon.
Click Who can access.
Click the dropdown next to the member you’d like to remove.
Click Remove.
Choose if you want to leave the member a copy of the shared folder.
Click Remove again.

Open the Dropbox mobile app.
Tap the “⁝” (vertical ellipsis on Android) or “…” (ellipsis on iOS) next to the folder you’d like to remove a member from.
Tap Manage access (Android) or Manage access (iOS).
Tap the area below [x] members.
Tap on the member you’d like to remove.
Tap Remove (Android) or Remove access (iOS).
Choose if you want to leave the member a copy of the shared folder.
Tap Remove (Android) or Remove access (iOS) again.

How to unshare a Dropbox folder

When you unshare a folder in Dropbox, the files are permanently deleted from each member's account and removed from any linked devices when the Dropbox desktop app syncs again. If you're the owner of a shared folder, you can unshare the folder at any time, except if:

The folder contains shared folders

When you share a folder, the people you invite to that folder then have access to everything within it—including other folders. You can set user permissions to edit or view-only, but you can’t unshare specific files or folders within a shared folder.

The folder is inside another shared folder

If you’re the owner of the parent folder and want to unshare a subfolder, you can move the subfolder out of the shared parent folder and then unshare it. You can also manually remove members at the parent folder level following the instructions above.

The folder contains inactive shared folders

If a shared folder contains inactive shared folders, you won’t be able to unshare the parent folder. Since these inactive folders aren’t shown by default, you may not know why the folder can’t be unshared.

To resolve this:

Click Show deleted files to display any inactive shared folders within the parent folder.
Restore the inactive shared folders, then move them out of the parent folder.
Proceed with unsharing the folder.

To unshare a folder:

Log in to dropbox.com
Hover over the folder you’d like to unshare and click Share.
Click the gear icon in the bottom right.
Select the Folder settings tab.
Click Unshare folder.

Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
Right-click the folder you’d like to unshare.
Select Share… next to the Dropbox icon.
Click the gear icon in the top right.
Click Unshare folder.
Click Unshare.

Android

Open the Dropbox mobile app.
Tap the “⁝” (vertical ellipsis) next to the folder you’d like to unshare.
Tap Manage Access.
Tap Unshare.
Tap Unshare again.

iOS

Open the Dropbox mobile app.
Tap the “…” (ellipsis) next to the folder you’d like to unshare.
Tap Folder settings.
Tap Unshare folder.
Tap Unshare folder again.

How to delete a link to a file or folder

If a member gained access to a file or folder via a shared link you created, you can remove them by deleting the link. If you delete a link and click the Share button next to a file, all previous members still appear in the list, but the deactivated link no longer works for anyone. Anyone who tries to click a disabled link will get an error message.

Log in to dropbox.com
Click Shared in the left sidebar.
- Click More in the left sidebar if you don’t see Shared.
Click the “…” (ellipsis) next to the folder you want to unshare.
Select Share.
Click the gear icon in the bottom right.
Click either Link for editing or Link for viewing, depending on which link you’d like to remove.
Click Delete link.
Click Delete.

Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
Right-click or command-click the file or folder you want to remove the link from.
Under Quick Actions, click Share….
Click Settings.
Click either Link for editing or Link for viewing, depending on which link you’d like to remove.
Click Delete link.

Open the Dropbox mobile app.
Tap the “⁝” (vertical ellipsis on Android) “…” (ellipsis on iPhone/iPad) next to the file or folder you’d like to remove the link from.
Tap File settings or Folder settings.
Tap Control access under Link settings.
Tap Delete link.

Notes:

You can delete shared links that you didn’t create only if you have edit access, or if they’re web-based files, like Paper or Google docs.
Dropbox is moving to an updated shared link architecture where links are based on content rather than on users. This will affect how links are created and shared. The new links can be identified by the presence of an ‘rlkey’ parameter in the URL. For these links, the above behavior will perform differently:
- Only users with edit access can delete shared links or modify link settings.
- Instead of deleting a link, you can restrict access for certain users by following the instructions to remove a member from a file or folder below.
- Users can add files or folders to their Dropbox accounts via shared links. If you want to remove someone’s access to a specific file or folder, you’ll need to both delete the shared link and remove the user from the access list.

If you're having an issue that is not covered in this article, find answers to common questions about shared folders for individuals and team accounts.

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