How to change shared link permissions

If you share a link to a file or folder with someone, you can decide who can see the contents of the link, and what they can do with the link. Permissions for shared links are available to Dropbox Professional and Business users. 

Note: Any Dropbox user can delete a link to a file they own.

If you added members to a file or folder, instead of sharing a link, learn how to change its permissions.

Add passwords to shared links

Dropbox Professional and Business customers can add a password to a shared link. When someone accesses the link, they need the password to see its contents.

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Click the Share button beside the file name. 
3. Click Link settings.
4. Click Only people with the password.
   • Note: Toggling between the options for Who can view this? removes existing passwords.
5. Set a password.
6. Click Save settings.

Once saved, you can copy and paste the link to an email or send it directly through Dropbox.

If someone tries to view a shared link with a password, they see this page:

Once they enter the password, they’ll see the normal shared link page.

What if I forget my password for the link or want to change it?

You can reset the password for any link you've shared in the same way that you set the password. If you’ve forgotten the password, you can create a new password, or you can always disable the link. For security reasons, we never display your existing passwords.

Learn how to disable a link.

I'm a Dropbox Business team member. Does my admin have any control over the passwords I set?

Admins can’t enforce password policies for team member shared links. What admins can do is restrict all shared links to "team-only."

Admins: learn how to make links team-only.

Set expiration dates for your shared links

Dropbox Professional and Business customers can create, modify, or remove an expiration date for a shared link. People will only be able to access the shared link until the expiration date. After its expiration date, that link is disabled.

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Hover over the file or folder name and click the Share button that appears.
3. In the popup window, click Link settings.
4. In the next window, click Set password / expiration (or Set visibility / expiration).
5. Select Yes and choose when you’d like the link to expire. The shared link expires at 11:59 PM on the day you choose, based on your time zone.
6. Click Save settings for the expiration date to be applied to the link.

Once saved, you can copy and paste the link to an email or send it directly through Dropbox. Once the link expires, you need to create a new link to share the file or folder again.

Recipients will be able to see the shared link page as normal. They won't be able to see the expiration date.

If you need to change the expiration date, use these same steps to change the expiration.

What happens if someone I share the link with accesses it after the expiration date?

If someone visits a link after it expires, they'll see an error that says "The link you're trying to access has expired."

I'm a Dropbox Business team member. Does my admin have any control over the expirations I set?

Admins can't enforce expiration policies for team member shared links. However, admins can restrict all shared links to team-only.

Dropbox Business admins: learn how to make links team-only.

Disable downloads for a shared link

Dropbox Professional and Business customers can disable downloads for a shared link. 

Important note: Disabling downloads for a shared link prevents people from downloading the contents of a link through Dropbox. This doesn’t prevent people from saving the content using other methods.

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Hover over the file or folder and click Share.
3. Click Link settings.
4. Click Yes next to Disable downloads for this link.
5. Click Save.

You can share this link through Dropbox or by pasting the link into an email or chat. 

Recipients can preview the file on dropbox.com, but the Download button will be grayed out and won’t be clickable. If a recipient hovers over Download button, they’ll see “Downloads disabled.”

If previews aren’t supported for type of file you’re sharing, you’ll see the error “[file type] files can’t be previewed. Downloads must be enabled to share.” Downloads can’t be disabled for that file. 

Dropbox Business users: limit access to shared links to members of your team

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Hover over the file or folder name and click the Share button that appears.
3. In the popup, click Link settings.
4. Click Only people at [team name].
5. Click Save settings.

Once saved, you can copy and paste the link to an email or send it directly through Dropbox.