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Forum Discussion
Why do shared files count against my space use???
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage? Is this data counted twice? If someone who is sharing files with me is paying for this space, why should I have to pay as well just to access it? I am out of space, I have no intention of buying more space, and yet, when someone shares some files with me, I cannot access them and I am forced to buy space in order to access them. Why is this?
Thank you.
dualice wrote:
Why are files shared with me counted against my space usage?
Because the files exist in your account.
When you have access to a shared folder, you're not accessing someone else's folder. You're accessing your own COPY of the folder within your account, and you need to have enough space available to hold that folder.
If you just need to view or download files that someone else is sharing with you, ask them to send you a shared link instead. A shared link is a view-only method of sharing and you don't even need a Dropbox account to access it.
- I was provided a link to the folder, I was able to download 2gb, how do I download more without buying a tariff?
Maybe there is a setting on the owner so I can download more?- Hannah
Dropbox Staff
Hey Rick, welcome to our Community!
If this is a shared folder you were invited to, you'd need enough space in your account to add it as well.
Do you need edit access to the folder? Or just to access it?
If you only want to access/download the files to your computer, the owner can send you a "can view" link instead.
And if you need to upload files to their account, they can send you a file request.
I hope this helps!
Hello,
Came across this thread because I'm in the same boat.
I'm in a situation where a 'file request' seems to be the necessary go-to, but I will have to upload new files regularly (up to 3x/month).
Is there a way to send files to a specific dropbox folder without 'file request'? (Other than buying a plan)
I would like to avoid paying a yearly plan only to upload files to ONE client that pays a subscription and asks for the files to end on their Dropbox.
Also I would like to automate the upload because it will be recurrent and they're big files, It would avoid sending/receiving 3 requests per month...
Hello all...
Shared files only use up my storage - and not the shared person's storage (Dropbox external) ??
- Rich
Super User II
MSMichels wrote:
Shared files only use up my storage - and not the shared person's storage (Dropbox external) ??
Shared folders count against the storage of all members. If you have a folder that's 2GB and you invite someone to it, it will take up 2GB of space in their own account as well.
Thank you Rich
I left Box (Personal Pro) for Dropbox (Professional). Luckily, I am still in the trial and will cancel today based on this subpar design and policy. I pay $$$ for a larger storage capacity since I am the power user, but I share folders with my wife and friends, who occasionally view or edit files in my space. I work in computing and have a master's degree in operating systems. The files are stored once, they take up space once, they have metadata that controls the permissions. Sure, there's some incremental cost for bandwidth and etc. but requiring each shared folder to pay over again for the entire storage volume of your files is highway robbery.
Next up, I'll give Google Drive a try. Worst case I can roll back to Box -- although you pay more for the space. But at least it doesn't try to shake down each of my collaborators to pay for my storage. What a joke. It's hard to get clear comparison data when shopping for a file sharing platform. I hope this note saves some of you time and money!
Hello,
I'm currently using Dropbox plus plan, and I'm willing to share a folder (500GB size) to my colleague who is using basic plan
If I share this, can my colleague still sync this folder when he installs Dropbox desktop app?
or he needs to be upgrade his plan?
- Mark
If he needs full read/write access or to sync it to his own computer (i.e. not just view via a link on website) he will also need to upgrade to a bigger plan.
Hi
My boss recently shared two folders access but every time I tried to get inside the folders is giving me the error of out of space, I don't have anything save on this dropbox I just create this access to be able to see the shared folders. I was able to see them before but last couple of weeks I been getting this message that I have to upgrade in order to have access.
- Mark
Hi Veralu
Shared folders use the quota of everybody, so, if you have a free account you only have 2gb of space (www.dropbox.com/account/plan) then the share is bigger than that you'll get the out of space error - you need to upgrade or get more space.
www.dropbox.com/gs may help 🙂
I have a Basic account, but someone sharing files with me has an unlimited account. Do I need to upgrade my account to view files they share with me that are above the 2 GB limit of my account?
- Megan
Hi danandjess2000, wishing you a great week ahead.
Because the OP expressed the same concern, I've merged your question into this thread.
Feel free to take a look at what has been suggested here, and let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Hi guys...so I have a personal (free version) of dropbox and a person I work with has her own (paid version) of dropbox. Since I am running out of space my colleague sent me an email (subject: colleague shared "XXXX" with you) and the body of the email has an icon "Add to Dropbox". I cannot seem to get this shared folder and I keep getting en error message on my personal dropbox about "running of out storage". How can I use ONLY the shared folder sent by my colleague, seeing as she had the paid version and never runs out of space. Thanks regards Robert
Hi Mark,
ok what do you mean by "quota"?
- Mark
The amount of space you have in your account - for a free user probably around the 2gb mark: www.dropbox.com/account/plan
I can no longer upload files.... it says I need more storage space. However this is a shared company folder that is already being paid for the max storage. I am the only one in the office that has it saying that I need more space. It is causing problems with my workflow. Anyone have any advice?
Thanks!
- Rich
Tamara Bean wrote:
I can no longer upload files.... it says I need more storage space. However this is a shared company folder that is already being paid for the max storage.
When you're a member of a shared folder, you have your own COPY of that folder in your account so you need to have enough available space in your account to hold the folder.
If you need to need edit access to this folder, you'll need to upgrade your account. If no one else is getting the message about needing more space, then they all have more space in their accounts than you do and they have room to hold the shared folder.
What I don't like about this, is the fact that if people are paying double for the same bits and bytes.
For example.
Let's say User A and B both have 2000GB storage space available (paying users). If User A shares a hypothetical folder containing 2000GB worth of pictures with user B, that means that both of these users have all their storage used up. So basically they are both paying for the same 2000GB of pictures.
I sincerely hope this example makes sense, because it doesn't seem fair, at all. This could be just 2 users, but of course it could be a lot more users...
Hi there,
I am trying to receive a lot of files (pictures) from somebody. So I tried to share a dropbox folder where that person can add in the pictures. I have a Dropbox Plus (2000GB) account, whereas she has a Basic account with no referrals (2GB).
Since the amount of pictures greatly exceeds the 2GB, she is not able to upload, due to the fact that it is limited by her Basic account.
Now I understand the example Dropbox is giving in the help article: One reason this policy exists is to prevent people from giving themselves unlimited space by stacking Basic accounts with shared folders.
Also, I understand that Dropbox wants to force more users to bigger accounts. I mean, forcing her to a Dropbox Plus account would be the easiest option. But basically you're then paying twice for the same amount of storage, since you're using up both accounts storage space (if that makes sense).
But I do not quite understand why I, a paying user, is not able to receive files from a non paying user on behalf of my storage limit. So I would like to suggest the following limitations, rules or possible solutions:
Option 1
Disable the creation of editable shared folders for basic, let them pay $1/month to enable the edit right for others. I think that this small micropayment is fair for what you get for it (considering $10/2000GB=$0.005 per GB). So basically they are paying way too much for the 2GB's you're getting by stacking accounts. And even with all the referrals (max 16GB), it'll make a profit. You could even lower it to $0.16 to break even on a maxed out account (if you are just talking about dollars per GB).
Pros: easiest to program (I think), more profit from micropayments
Cons: will piss of a lot of basic users who use this feature for... basic stuff.
Option 2
- If all the users have a basic account, it'll be as per the current rules.
- If the owner has a basic account (or a premium account, but just not enough storage), one of the members who has a premium account, can 'share' or 'allocate' storage to this folder. Therefore, allowing the group to use up his account's storage.
- If the owner has a premium account, the folder will default to the storage space of that account.
Pros: won't piss of the basic users, gives an extra boost for users to switch to a premium account.
Option 3:
Base the storage limit of the shared folder on the account of the owner. And just use up the storage space of the owner. As long as this owner has a premium account.
Therefore, if the owner were to request a few files from a lot of users (some of which are basic accounts) and the shared folder exceeds 2GB (or the storage space of one of the users you requested a file from), the basic accounts are still able to use the service for their own personal use and will still be able to upload files to that shared folder.
Pros: won't piss of the basic users, gives an extra boost for usersto switch to a premium account.
----
I think it's fair to have something like this, that I'm actually able to request files from others, without using up their storage space. If I were to request a few files, from a lot of people, it would use up all their storage, because I am requestin files. Doesn't make sense, right? You'll always be using up everybodies storage space. Paying users will always pay double, triple, quadruple, ... (depending on the amount of users in a shared folder) for the same bits and bytes.
Basically I am requesting/suggesting something to change on this matter.
Let me know what you think and let's get the discussion started. Maybe you have another idea that kinda resolves this?
Hi Folks -
I pay for 2TB storage but now my team members are getting errors that their storage is full. One of my team members just deleted a whole folder of files to clear up space on his Dropbox but then my whole team lost those access to those files (I was able to restore).
Maybe I'm confused but it seems like DropBox is double-counting this storage space against both my quota and my users/team members quotas? Also doesn't seem easy to check storage utilization or clean it up, maybe I'm missing it.
Can someone please enlighten me as to the DropBox policies for storage quotas and multiple users? Is there a link where I can read about this?
Thanks,John
- Mark
Hi John
Simply put whatever is in a persons folder uses their quota. So your upgrade has no benefit at all on any other person. The only plan this is not the case on is if all users are paid business customers.
