How To Delete a Folder in Dropbox? (Detailed Guide For PC, Mac, Android and iOS Devices)

You can temporarily or permanently delete any shared folder if you own it to make some space on dropbox. Depending on your device, the deleting process can vary a bit. Go through this step-by-step guide to delete a folder in dropbox for PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

How does temporary and permanent delete differ on Dropbox?

There are two ways to delete any folder on dropbox:

Temporary Delete: When you temporarily remove any file or folder on dropbox, you get a recovery window period. For basic or plus plans, the recovery window is 30 days (you can restore the deleted folder within that period). 

However, the recovery window period is 180 days for professional or business accounts. Once the recovery period is over, your files/folders are permanently removed within 60 days.

Permanent Delete: Unlike temporary delete, there is no recovery window or restoration option for permanently deleted folders. Once you permanently delete any folder from your Dropbox account, it is immediately removed for a lifetime.

You can permanently remove a shared folder if you are an owner. In case you are not an owner of a folder, you can permanently delete it only if:

• You have admin access to the dropbox business team account.
• You are not the admin but an editor for that file/folder or have taken any actions on it.

Note: If you permanently delete a file and other users have its copies, they can still access them to view Dropbox logs after you remove it.

How to delete a folder in dropbox using Web

Temporary or just for me:

Dropbox can be accessed on any web browser like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc. To temporarily delete any regular or shared folder from your dropbox account using the web, follow these steps:

1. Type www.dropbox.com in a web browser’s search bar and enter. Sign in with your account details.
2. Go to the “All Files” section on the left sidebar and choose the folder you wish to delete temporarily for you.
3. Click on the three dots or ellipsis next to the folder name and choose the “delete” option.
4. Confirm that you want to delete that folder, which will go directly to dropbox trash.

Permanently:

Folders in dropbox trash can be restored within a recovery window period. To permanently delete them, follow these steps:

1. Head to the “deleted files” section on the left sidebar of the home screen.
2. Tick the box next to a folder you wish to delete permanently. Choose the “Permanent Delete” option.
3. Confirm your action by clicking again on the “Permanently delete” box. The folder will no longer remain on your dropbox.

For Shared Folder:

To delete a shared folder temporarily or permanently on dropbox using the web, you first have to unshare it with others and then follow the steps mentioned above. To unshare a folder with other team members, follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Shared” section on the left sidebar of the home screen.
2. Under the folders tab, choose the folder you want to delete.
3. Hover over to that folder and head to the “Share” icon (in the rectangle box with an up arrow) on the right sidebar.
4. A pop-up will appear; click on the gear icon in the top right.
5. Another pop-up will open. Choose the “Unshare Folder” option (available in the bottom left of the pop-up).
6. Tick the box saying “Let removed members keep a copy of this shared folder” and confirm unshare.

Now, you can simply remove that folder from your dropbox temporarily or permanently without deleting it for everyone.

How to delete a folder in dropbox on PC

Apart from a web browser, you can remove dropbox files from the hard drive of your PC to free up local space. It will automatically delete that folder online from your Dropbox account. 

To remove the dropbox folder from the PC without deleting files, follow these steps:

1. Open the Dropbox app folder on your PC.
2. Choose the folder you wish to delete and right-click on it.
3. Choose the “delete” option (for Windows) or the “Move to trash” option (for Mac) to remove that folder from your Dropbox account.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop that folder directly to the trash bin on your PC to remove it from your account.

How to delete a folder in dropbox on Mac

If you are using the dropbox desktop client on Mac, you can follow these steps to delete any folder from your account.

Temporary or just for me

1. Open the app on macOS, sign in with your credentials and navigate to the folder you wish to remove.
2. Either click on the three dots next to the folder name or right-click on the folder and choose the “delete” option.
3. If you want to delete dropbox files from mac without deleting it from your account, go to the “See Sync Options” and find out how to turn on this option.
4. Otherwise, if you want to delete it from everywhere, select the “delete everywhere” option.

Permanently

After this option, your deleted folder will be in Dropbox trash for restoration until the recovery window period. To permanently remove dropbox files from mac, open dropbox.com in a browser, go to the “Deleted files” section and permanently delete the file (refer to the steps of permanent folder removal for Web in this guide).

How to delete a folder in dropbox on Android Phone

There are two ways to delete Dropbox folders on an Android phone or app: Delete from local memory or delete from the dropbox app. Let’s understand both step-by-step.

Steps to remove Dropbox folder from local memory on Android Phone:

Dropbox files and folders get stored in your phone’s cache memory every time you open and use the app. So, to delete them from your local memory, you have to clear the app cache. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open the Dropbox android app on your mobile and click on the “three horizontal lines” or menu icon on the top left corner.
2. Scroll down to the “Settings” tab and click on the “clear cache” option. Now the folders and files will be removed from your device’s local memory.

Steps to remove dropbox folders/files from the account on Android:

1. Open the dropbox on your device and select the folder you wish to remove. Tick the box next to that folder’s name.
2. Choose the “delete” option to remove that folder from your dropbox account, phone and all the connected devices temporarily.

To delete the folder permanently, go to the “deleted files” section on the app and delete that folder permanently.

Steps to remove a shared dropbox folder on Android:

You can also remove a shared folder (shared by you or someone else) from your dropbox account on an Android device. Here is how to do it in simple steps.

Remove a folder shared by someone else:

Open the dropbox app on your device and select the shared folder you wish to remove and open it. Click on the shared folder settings and follow these steps:

1. Choose the “remove from my dropbox” option (available as a gray button in some devices).
2. Confirm your action to remove the folder from your dropbox account.

Remove a folder shared by you from your dropbox account:

Select the folder shared by you to remove and open the shared folder settings. Then follow these steps:

1. Choose the “Unshare” option at the bottom screen.
2. Confirm your action by clicking on the unshare button again.

After the folder is unshared, you can simply remove it from your account and permanently delete it from your deleted files tab.

How to delete a folder in dropbox on iPhone

Similar to an android device, you can also delete a normal or shared folder from your dropbox account on iPhone. Here is how to do it.

Steps to remove a normal folder from your dropbox account and local storage on your iPhone:

1. Open the dropbox app on your iPhone and log into the account with credentials. Go to your folders list and select the folder you wish to remove.
2. Click on the three-dots ellipsis icon to access the folder settings and Choose the delete option at the bottom and confirm your action.
3. Go to your “recently deleted” section and select that folder to permanently delete the folder from your account. It will remove the folder from all devices and your account.

Steps to remove a shared folder from your dropbox on iPhone:

To remove a shared folder on iPhone, select that folder and click on ellipses to access settings and then follow these steps:

1. Scroll down to the “Shared Folder Settings” option at the bottom of the menu.
2. Choose the option “remove from my dropbox” and verify your action. The removed dropbox unshare folder will no longer be visible in your dropbox account; however, other members can still access and use it.

 

FAQs

1. If I delete a file on my computer, will it delete from dropbox?

If your dropbox account is synced with your computer and you remove any folder/file from your local storage, it automatically deletes from your account. However, the deleted folder can be restored from the “deleted files” tab within a recovery window period. Once you permanently delete it from there, it cannot be restored.

2. If I delete a shared folder in dropbox, does it delete for everyone?

Other members can restore the file if you are not an owner of the shared folder and delete it from your dropbox account. However, if you are the file owner and permanently delete it without using the “unshare” option, other members’ access is permanently removed.

3. Why can’t I delete a Dropbox folder?

You can only delete a dropbox folder if you are the owner of it or have admin or editor access. If you are not able to delete a dropbox folder, you might not have access to make that action.

4. How to clear space on dropbox?

There are several ways to clear space on dropbox, like:

• Delete shared or normal files and folders from your dropbox account.
• Transfer files from dropbox to another cloud storage and then delete them from the dropbox account.
• Upgrade your storage plan
• Enhance your storage space using referral bonuses and promotions

5. How to remove the shared folder dropbox?

To remove the shared folder dropbox from your device, you have to select that folder, go to its settings and unshare first and then choose the remove option. We have mentioned all the steps in this guide for various devices for your reference.

Conclusion

Deleting files or folders from your dropbox account has its advantages and disadvantages. While you can make more space for new data by permanently deleting the old one using this guide, you won’t be able to recover that data in the future. So, choose wisely which data you want to remove permanently from your dropbox account.