Dropbox is a very popular platform for storing files on cloud servers, known for its great features that make it a favorite over others. The best part is that it offers a plan with 2 GB of free storage.
But because the storage capacity is so limited, we need to know how to manage it . Since we don't want to cancel a plan with more storage, we have to be very careful about what we upload to the platform. It's true that it's sufficient for normal use, but many of us reach this limit in less than a month.
In this post, you'll find some very useful tips for managing your Dropbox account space. You'll also see a step-by-step guide on how to permanently delete files or simply send them to the trash for later recovery.
Steps to delete a file or folder in Dropbox and free up storage in your account
We often want to delete files from our cloud storage, mostly to free up space and use it for other files. It's advisable to get rid of files you won't use to avoid regrets later.
Logging in should be our first step, because without this we will not be able to access our account and delete what we need.
Next, locate the file(s) you want to delete . Remember that these steps are useful for any type of file you have saved on the platform.
Once logged into our account, we look for three dots (“…”) located next to the name of our file. Clicking on them will reveal several options; we select “ Delete ” and confirm that we want to delete the file by clicking “ Delete ” again.
Another way to delete files
There is another, much simpler way to delete it. It involves finding the file(s) , selecting them, and dragging them to your desktop, and finally to the Recycle Bin.
Definitively
We must keep in mind that when we permanently delete a file, we will no longer be able to have it, nor attempt to recover it.
Understanding the above, we go to the folder or file to be deleted, click on the checkbox next to the content to be deleted, and finish by clicking on "Delete permanently " and confirm by clicking on "Delete permanently " one last time.
Conditions we must take into account
If we want to delete a file from Dropbox Business and see that it is prevented, it is because the administrator of the Dropbox Business has disabled the option.
If we are members of a shared folder, we cannot permanently delete content. However, if we add content, we can delete it a few minutes after uploading it.
Sending them to the trash is like permanently deleting them, because there will be no change in storage.
Tips for freeing up Dropbox cloud storage space and increasing your capacity
There's a long list of tips online that give you plenty of reasons to delete files. Here are some of the most common ones you can use to free up space in your Dropbox account.
Remove duplicate images
When we delete duplicate images, we free up space . Honestly, storing multiple duplicate images isn't rocket science, because we can perform all our tasks with just one, just as we can with a bunch of them.
We could call this the minimum point. Remember that these spaces are limited, and that's why we must know how to manage them , since storing a large number of repeated images shows poor management, and when we want to upload something truly valuable, we won't have the opportunity due to the limited space.
Take note of the following ideas:
Get rid of completed project folders
Many of us upload projects that are still pending or in progress. It's highly recommended that you delete them from your Dropbox account once they're finished. However, if you want to keep these files because you think they might be useful in the future, follow the advice below.
Projects are files that can be very large and therefore significantly reduce the free space we have, so we advise you to take this into account.
Export what you don't want to lose to an external drive
As we mentioned in the previous point, we can do this as long as we have files that we still believe may be useful to us in the future, but which, in order to manage our space well, we must export to a USB drive or external memory.
We know we use cloud storage to save useful information and free up space on our PC or phone, but we should always distribute our files as efficiently as possible. In this case, using another cloud storage platform is also a good alternative.
Delete long, unimportant videos
We know there are times when we have certain videos that are incredibly important to us. But we assure you that after a month or even two weeks, you won't care about them anymore, and you might not even remember them, so it's best to get rid of some of them.
For this reason, it's advisable to create a regular maintenance plan for your account . For example, once a week or once a month, depending on how often you use it. This helps you identify files that aren't really important to you, freeing up space for the ones that are.
Subscribe to a Dropbox paid plan
This is the advice that many people don't like, and that's because we're talking about making a payment. But the reality is that if we don't want to remove anything or use any of the previous tips, we can use this plan.
It is the best option because, by canceling a plan on the platform, it can provide us with a greater amount of space, useful enough to continue storing files without having to touch any of those we already have saved.
Depending on the plan we cancel, we'll have more or less storage space. But from another perspective, we can use the previous tips and also use this one to store large files, such as software files or others. If you know what we're talking about, you'll understand that they consume a significant amount of space.
What are your plans?
As we mentioned, the plans offer new advantages, the most important being increased storage capacity, but that's not all. By visiting their website, you can see the advantages of each plan. As a preview of what you'll find, here are the most common ones:
- Plus: For just 9,14 euros per month, this plan offers a capacity of 2048 GB, which is 2047 GB more than the Free plan.
- Professional: You only need to pay 16,68 euros per month, offering a capacity of 3072 GB, which is obviously much larger than the basic plan.
There are other plans, but these are the individual ones and for that reason the most used.
