You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

znelson32's avatar
znelson32
Explorer | Level 4
9 months ago

Deleted folder and files still accessible via shared link

I shared a folder of files a few days ago. Today I deleted the folder and the underlying files. However, the link still works, the files still show up in the download page, and files are still able to be downloaded. To be clear, the folder and files do not exist locally on disk nor on the original dropbox.com location. I physically deleted them. So they should not be accessible via the shared linked, yet they are. Tried multiple browsers, they're still visible and downloadable.

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Welcome to the Community, znelson32

     

    Just to clarify, did you delete this folder with its contents via www.dropbox.com and it can now be found in your Deleted files page, but the shared link still works nonetheless?

     

    Also, the shared link that you originally created, was it with edit or view-only permissions? 

     

    Let me know, and we’ll go from there.

    • znelson32's avatar
      znelson32
      Explorer | Level 4
      Hello,

      Yes, I deleted it from Dropbox.com, the local files also disappeared as usual. I didn’t check Deleted Files, didn’t know that was a thing. Nonetheless, when I hit the shared link I still see the folder and files and can download straight from that page. The shared folder was set as Edit perms to some others. I’ve since explicitly removed them. Still, it seems that the shared link should just not work at all even if I’m the Owner.
      • znelson32's avatar
        znelson32
        Explorer | Level 4

        No not possible. The folder structure is like this:

        Folder A
        —>Folder B
        ———>Folder C (share was here)

        I deleted Folder C and all contents but hours later I can still get to them via the share URL. The resulting page shows me all file contents of the missing Folder C. Now when I go to Files, Folder A, Folder B, I don’t see Folder C (and I shouldn’t). But using the shared link I see it all, and can download the files.

About Create, upload, and share

Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!