Shared folders use space in each member’s account unless each person is on the same Dropbox team.
Your Dropbox storage quota is calculated by adding up the total amount of data in your Dropbox account. This includes all shared folders you're a member of and all files collected from file requests.
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What’s the difference between team storage and member storage?
In Dropbox team accounts, storage is managed collectively:
- Team storage: This encompasses all data within the team’s shared space, including team folders and shared folders owned by the team.
- Member storage: This includes individual files and folders that a team member owns, as well as shared folders owned by others but added to the member’s account.
While team folders contribute to the team’s overall storage usage, they don’t count against individual members’ storage limits.
What happens if someone shares a folder that’s larger than the amount of space you have left?
If someone shares a folder with you that's larger than the amount of space you have left, you won’t be able to join the folder.
For example, if you have a Dropbox Basic 2 GB account, and you’ve used 1.5 GB of space, you can’t accept a shared folder larger than 0.5 GB.
Can I view shared files that are larger than the remaining space in my account?
If you need to view shared files that are larger than the remaining space in your account, you can:
How do shared links affect my storage space?
Links that have been shared with you don’t take up space in your account, and you can download those files to your computer.
If you download a file from a shared link, you can edit your downloaded copy. However, your edits won’t sync with the original file that was shared with you.
Do shared folders affect my storage space if I’m a Dropbox team member?
If you’re a member of a Dropbox team, the size of a shared folder only counts once against the entire team's shared quota.
If a team folder is shared with my team by another Dropbox team, does it count against our storage?
When another Dropbox team shares a team folder with your team:
- If both teams are on Dropbox Standard, Advanced, or Enterprise plans: The shared team folder counts only once against the original team’s storage quota. It doesn’t impact your team’s storage.
- If the sharing team is on a different plan: The shared team folder may count against your team’s storage quota
To check how a shared folder affects your storage:
- Check the folder’s owner and their Dropbox plan.
- Monitor your storage usage before and after adding the shared folder to detect any changes.
Does deleting a user immediately free up storage space?
Deleting a user doesn’t instantly reduce your team’s storage usage. This is because Dropbox retains deleted users’ files and version histories for a specific period, depending on your plan’s settings.
To effectively manage storage after deleting users:
- Permanently delete unnecessary files and folders associated with the user.
- Be aware of your plan’s data retention policies to understand when storage will be freed.
Why do storage numbers differ between the admin console and other views? Is there a reporting delay?
Storage metrics can vary across different sections of the admin console due to synchronization intervals and data processing times. For example, reports generated in the admin console may not reflect real-time data, leading to temporary discrepancies.
To get the most accurate and up-to-date storage information:
- Regularly refresh the admin console before generating reports.
- Allow some time after significant data changes (like large file uploads or deletions) for the system to update all metrics consistently.
