Permanently Deleting Dropbox Data (Purging from Trash)

Environment

U-M Dropbox

Issue

Who can permanently delete data from U-M Dropbox and how can they do so?

Resolution

Data in U-M Dropbox can only be permanently deleted by the owner of the data, or by the person who uploaded the data if no one else has taken any actions on the data
Other collaborators with editing access will be able to send data to the trash when selecting to delete it, but they will not be able to permanently delete it from the trash.

Permanently Delete Files in Dropbox

  1. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/deleted_files (also accessible by selecting "Deleted files" in the sidebar on the left-side of the page when logged into dropbox.umich.edu)
  2. Optional: The filtering options on the right-side of the deleted files page can be used to filter results as needed.
  3. Select the data that should be permanently deleted (purged) from the trash (a selection box should appear when hovering over the file)
  4. Select "Permanently delete" on the right-side of the page. (The permanently delete & restore options will replace the filtering options after selecting a file or folder.)
Note: Subfolders and files in Team Folders cannot be permanently deleted. Users will receive the message "Ask the owner to help permanently delete this" if this is attempted. We recommend moving the contents of the folder outside of the team folder and permanently deleting the files from an individual account.

More information regarding deleting Dropbox data can be found at https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/restore-delete/delete-files.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.

Details

Article ID: 8109
Created
Thu 5/19/22 5:38 PM
Modified
Wed 3/1/23 10:51 AM