How to remove members from a shared folder and unshare folders
The information in this article applies to all Dropbox users, unless otherwise stated.
If you want to remove access to a shared folder, you can remove specific members or unshare the folder. If you’d 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 this shared folder and the link creator leaves the folder, the view access links will be disabled. 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.
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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 share icon (rectangle with an up arrow).
- 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 folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
- Right-click or command-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 determine the owner of.
- Tap Manage access (Android) or Folder settings (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 folder
When you unshare a folder, 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.
You won’t be able to unshare a folder if:
- The folder contains shared folders
- The folder is inside another shared folder
This is because, when you share a folder, the people you invite to that folder then have access to everything within it—including other folders. In this case, you can set user permissions to edit or view-only but you can’t unshare specific files or folders within a shared folder.
Alternatively, if you’re the owner of the whole folder, you can move the subfolder out of the shared folder or manually remove members at the parent folder level following the instructions above.
To unshare the folder:
Community answers
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Posted by: BrettB_ 1355 days ago57410
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Posted by: ArtFleck 1454 days ago178510
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Posted by: Charadras 620 days ago369651