View team activity in the admin console

Updated Nov 22, 2023
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Notes:

  • The activity log is not currently fully integrated with Dropbox Capture.
  • The following activities are being logged: Signed in, Linked App for a member, Created Shared Link.
  • The following activities are not being logged: Deleted a Screenshot, Deleted a Recording, Made a Comment, Deleted a Comment, Trimmed a Recording.

In the insights dashboard, you can find information about how your team is using Dropbox, including:

  • Active members: The number of team members who have taken an action in the last 28 days, such as accessing an account, adding files, editing files, viewing files, and sharing files
  • Storage: The total amount of storage space used by your team
  • Links created: The number of shared links created by your team
  • Active shared folders: The number of shared folders with at least two members that have had activity in the last 28 days
  • Active devices: The number of computers and mobile devices where your team members are signed in to Dropbox that have had activity in the last 28 days
  • Numbers to watch: Information about links created by your team from the last 7 days

Watch this video for a tour of the admin console.

View team activity

To view your team’s activity:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Filter results to view the activity you’d like to see. You can filter by Date range, People, Content, or Activities.
    • To filter by activities, click Add activity next to Activities.
    • To see activity that took place during a specific time period, enter a start and end date next to Date range.
    • To view recent activity of a specific team member or multiple team members, click Members then enter the name(s).
    • To scan files, folders, or Paper docs, add a keyword to the field next to Content.
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Notes about team activity:

  • Usage data is available beginning January 2017 or when your team started using Dropbox.
  • You may see a "processing" message when trying to view dates for which we're still processing the data.
  • If your Dropbox team is new, your charts will be empty because there's no data to show yet.
  • If you’d like to see more detailed activity on your team, you can also view team sharing activity.

Watch this video for a quick walkthrough of how to view your team's activity.

Create and export an activity report

To create and export an activity report:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin Console.
  3. Click the Activity tab.
  4. Use the filters to select the type of data and the time period you’d like to export.
  5. Click Create report.

The report will be saved as a CSV in a folder called Dropbox Business reports. You’ll receive an email when the report is ready.

What can I see in activity reports?

Each entry in the activity report shows:

  • Date and time: The exact date and time that an action took place
  • Member: The member that initiated the action
  • Activity: Details of the event itself
  • Location: The location from which the user initiated the action, and the IP address of the machine they were on

Generally, team member actions appear in activity logs in a few hours. At most, actions appear within twenty-four hours.

Admins have the following events available in their team activity reports:

  • Apps
  • Comments
  • Devices
  • Domains
  • File operations (Advanced and Enterprise only)
  • File requests
  • Groups
  • Logins
  • Members
  • Paper
  • Passwords
  • Reports
  • Send and track activity*
  • Sharing
  • Signatures page activity
  • SSO
  • Team folders
  • Team policies
  • Team profile
  • Two-factor authentication

*These events are only available to customers on Dropbox Business and Business Plus.

†These events are only available to customers on a paid Dropbox Sign plan or Dropbox Standard, Advanced, Dropbox Business, or Business Plus. 

If you’re a team admin of a Dropbox Advanced or Enterprise account, you can view all file-related actions on your team. File-level activity includes adding, editing, moving, and deleting files. You can use these events to investigate and troubleshoot problems, such as accidental file deletions, misplaced files or folders, or information security audits.

Manage team activity from the Activity page

If you are an admin, you can take several actions from the Activity page itself, including the following:

Delete a shared link

To delete a shared link created by a team member from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by one of the following activities to find your team’s shared links.
    • Created shared link
    • Opened shared link
    • Downloaded file/folder from shared link
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the shared link you’d like to delete.
  6. Click Delete link.

Learn more about managing shared links for your Dropbox team.

Reset a team member’s Dropbox password

To reset a team member’s password from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by the activity Failed to sign in.
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the user whose password you’d like to reset.
  6. Click Reset Dropbox password.

End web sessions for your team

To end all web sessions for your team from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by the activity Changed IP address associated with active web session.
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the web session you’d like to end.
  6. Click Reset Dropbox password.
  7. Click End all web sessions.

Unlink an app for your team or a specific team member

To unlink an app for your team or a specific team member from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by the activity Linked app for team or Linked app for member.
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the app you’d like to unlink.
  6. Click Unlink app.

Restore a file or folder

To restore a file or folder from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by the activity Deleted files and/or folders.
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the file or folder you’d like to restore.
  6. Click Restore item.
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Note: Deleting a folder will also delete all of the files in it. However, the names of these individual deleted files won't appear in the Activity page—only the folder name will. To find a file that was located in a deleted folder, search for the folder path name. For example: /Marketing/2016/03/01/Project_1.docx.

Unlink a device and delete all files

To unlink a device and delete all files from the Activity page of the admin console:

  1.  Log in to dropbox.com using your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Activity.
  4. Click Add activity, and filter by the activity Linked device.
  5. Click the “” (ellipses) next to the linked device you’d like to unlink.
  6. Click Unlink and delete all files.

Why do I see "Dropbox" in the Member column on my Activity page?

On rare occasions, Dropbox can update listings in your account on your behalf. For Dropbox team admins, these listings appear on the Activity page in the admin console. Some admins may see “Dropbox” listed in the Member column because:
 

A team member deleted a nested shared folder.

When a team member deletes a nested shared folder, the name of the person who deleted it appears as “Dropbox.” Certain types of admins can see the name of the team member by following these steps:

  1. Click Create report.
  2. Open your report in Excel.
  3. You can see the team member’s email address in the “Context” column.
     

You’ve asked Dropbox support for help with a task.

If you've contacted Dropbox support, any action we take appears on your Activity page as a task attributed to “Dropbox.” These actions include inviting the original set of admins for your team. However, the Dropbox support team doesn’t do anything on your account without your permission.
 

Dropbox has updated your account.

The Dropbox system periodically updates your account to keep it current with new Dropbox products. These updates appear on your Activity page as tasks attributed to “Dropbox.” These actions can include renaming or moving team folders or updating your Dropbox team account with new products. Otherwise, the Dropbox system doesn’t do anything on your account without authorization.

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