How do I see who's viewing my files?
Note: The information in this article about viewer info may differ for web-based files, like Google Docs/Sheets/Slides, Paper docs, or Microsoft Office Online files.
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How to check if someone is viewing your file
When someone is viewing a shared file, their avatar appears in color on the preview of the file on dropbox.com. If you hover over their avatar, it says Viewing now.
If someone has Can view or Can edit permissions on a file, and they aren't currently viewing the file, their avatar appears in gray next to the Share button. If you share with a team member through a shared link, their avatar doesn't appear until they view the file.
How to check when someone last viewed your file
Customers on these plans can see when someone last viewed a file:
- Dropbox Advanced
- Dropbox Enterprise
- Dropbox Education
- Dropbox Professional
- Dropbox Essentials
- Dropbox Business
- Dropbox Business Plus
Hover over a gray avatar on the preview of a file on dropbox.com to see when they last Viewed the file.
You can also see the full history of when people viewed files.
How to invite someone to join your team from the viewer info of a file
Viewer info shows whether a person who has viewed a file is a member of a Dropbox team account or not. You can invite people to join your team directly from a file that you're viewing.
To invite someone to join your team:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click the file you’d like to open.
- Click the profile picture or initials of the person you’d like to invite.
- Click Invite to team.
- Certain types of admins can invite new members. If you’re not an admin, you’ll see Suggest invite instead of Invite to team. Click Suggest invite to send a notification to your admin saying that you’d like to invite someone new to the team.
How to request to join a team from the viewer info of a file
You can request to join a team directly from a file that you're viewing.
To request to join a team:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click the file you’d like to open.
- Click the profile picture or initials of the person whose team you’d like to join.
- Click Request to join.
How to disable viewer info for specific files or folders
Viewer info should be enabled by default for your account. If it isn't, enable viewer info.
When viewer info is enabled, viewer info is automatically enabled for all files you own. If you don't want to see viewer info, you can disable it on specific files or folders:
To disable viewer info for a shared file or folder:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Hover over the name of the file and click the share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).
- Click the gear icon.
- Next to Viewer info, click to toggle Off.
- Click Save.
Notes:
- Only the owner of a shared folder can disable viewer info for the entire folder. Anyone who can manage access to a folder can disable viewer info on shared files inside a shared folder. You can also disable viewer info for your entire account.
- If viewer info is enabled and you’re viewing a file, you can’t hide your viewer info from the owner of a file. People who view your content also can’t disable viewer info on your shared file or folder.
- For example: A team has viewer info turned off. A team member is invited to a shared folder owned by someone not on the team who has viewer info enabled. Viewer info for that team member is shown on that shared folder.
How do I disable viewer info for my whole account?
If you don’t want viewer info to be displayed for anyone, including yourself, you can disable it on your content:
To disable viewer info for your Dropbox team account
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click Admin console.
- Click Settings.
- Click Viewer info.
- Change the dropdown to Off by default or Off completely.
- Off by default: Team members can turn viewer info on for files or folders they own.
- Off completely: Team members can't turn viewer info on for files or folders they own.
- Save changes.
Note: This setting doesn’t apply to Send and track.
To disable viewer info for your Dropbox team member account
If you’re a Dropbox team member, your admin chooses the default for your team.
- On by default or Off by default: You can change the viewer info setting for specific files and folders that you own.
- Off completely: You can't turn viewer info on for any files or folders you own.
Note: This setting doesn’t apply to Send and track links.
To disable viewer info for your personal account
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click your avatar (profile picture or face icon).
- Click Settings.
- Toggle Viewer info on all files I own to Off.
Note: If you choose Off, you can turn viewer info on for specific files or folders you own.
How to view and manage existing shared links
You can easily see existing shared links you created for your files and folders, and manage who has access to them.
To view and manage existing shared links:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Hover over the name of the file or folder you’d like to manage shared links for and click the share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).
- Click Who can access.
- Click Links to see which links have been created, and who can access them.
- Click Settings if you want to change shared link settings or delete shared links.
FAQs about privacy and access
Whose information is and isn't shown?
You can see viewer info about members of your team or people with Can edit or Can view permission.
When someone accesses a shared link and isn’t a team member or wasn’t specifically invited to the file, they appear as a Guest viewing the file. You can't see the name or email address of a Guest on a file. Guests can’t see viewer info.
Who can see viewer info and what is shown?
Team members and people with Can edit permissions on a file can see the names and email addresses of team members, people with Can edit, and people with Can view permissions, and the name of the Dropbox team account they're a member of, if applicable.
People with Can view permissions can’t see viewer info.
Who can access my files?
Only you, or people you invite to edit a file, can invite others to your shared files.
Learn how to change permissions for your shared folders and shared links.
Note: If someone downloads a shared link without viewing it on dropbox.com, they won't show in viewer info.
How do I enable viewer info for my whole account?
Viewer info may be enabled by default for your account.
If viewer info isn’t displayed on content you own, you can enable it for all files you own.
To enable viewer info for your Dropbox team:
- Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
- Click Admin console.
- Click Settings.
- Click Viewer info.
- Change the dropdown to On by default.
- Save changes.
Note: If you’re a Dropbox team member and your admin disabled viewer info, contact your admin to enable this feature.
To enable viewer info for your personal account:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click your avatar (profile picture or initials) in the top-right corner.
- Click Settings.
- Toggle Viewer info on all files I own to On.
How do I enable viewer info for specific files or folders?
If viewer info is disabled for your account, you can enable viewer info for specific files or folders:
To enable viewer info for a shared file or folder:
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Hover over the name of the file and click the share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).
- Click the gear icon.
- Next to Viewer info, click to toggle On.
- Click Save.
Which platforms support viewer info?
You can only see viewer info and viewer history on dropbox.com. However, viewer info and viewer history show when someone is viewing or viewed a file on more than just dropbox.com.
When viewing a preview of a file on dropbox.com, you can see when someone is currently viewing a shared file using dropbox.com. If someone uses the Dropbox badge with a Microsoft Office file, you can see when they're currently viewing the file.
Note: This doesn't apply to Paper docs or showcases.
Which platforms support viewer history?
If you have access to viewer history on dropbox.com, you can see when someone used the following to view a file:
- dropbox.com
- Note: This doesn't apply to Paper docs or showcases
- The Dropbox mobile apps
- The Dropbox desktop app
For people using Windows, you can see when people viewed files in most applications.
If you're using macOS 10.9 or later, you can see when someone viewed a file using:
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 & 2016
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2011 & 2016
- Microsoft Word 2011 & 2016
- Microsoft Excel 2011 & 2016
- iWork Keynote, Numbers, Pages
- Preview
- TextEdit
Note: If someone is viewing your file using macOS 10.14 (Mojave) they may need to enable additional settings first.
How did someone get access to a file?
Shared folder members who Can edit the folder can invite people to the folder. Click Share and Who can access on a file or folder to see what permissions (Can edit or Can view) someone has.
If you’re the owner of a shared folder, you can restrict who can invite people to the folder.
Learn how to restrict files and folders permissions.
If you see a Guest on your file, that guest accessed the file through a shared link. A Guest may be someone who can access a file, but is viewing a shared link when they’re not logged in.
Why don't I see a person I gave access to?
If more than four people viewed a file, you see an icon with a number on it on the preview of the file on dropbox.com. This icon shows how many people viewed the file. Click this icon to see everyone who accessed the file.
If you don’t see the person you’re looking for, they might not have viewed the file yet, or viewed the file when they weren’t logged in. If they’re not logged in, they’re shown as a Guest when they view the file.
How do I remove someone from my file?
To remove someone who has can view or can edit access, remove them from the shared file or folder.
If you shared a file with someone through a shared link, you need to delete the link to remove their access.
Learn more
Viewer info settings
If viewer info is disabled for a shared folder, viewer info is also disabled on all content in that folder. Only the owner can enable viewer info on individual files in that shared folder.
If viewer info is enabled for a shared folder, the owner or an editor can disable viewer info for specific files in that folder. Members who Can edit the folder can disable viewer info for files in a shared folder.
Moving content
When you move a file into a shared folder, the file adopts the same viewer info setting as the shared folder. If you move a file into a shared folder you don’t own, the owner may have different settings for viewer info.
Note: If you changed the viewer info setting on your file before moving it into another folder, it usually keeps the setting you chose.
Joining a team
If you join a Dropbox team account, the team setting for viewer info applies to your account.
