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I don't see the option to unshare a folder, even though I'm the owner

I'm facing some problems when trying to stop sharing several folders I'm the owner. The share icon is present, but I am the only member of this folder. I understand that until I remove myself from the shared folder, it will remains shared; however, I can neither find the option to remove myself from the folder nor the option to "unshare folder". What should I do??

It seems that the issue of unsharing folders is very common on this forum, perhaps indicating that this feature isn't as easy to use as the Dropbox team thinks, or the documentation is not explicit as it should be.

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Mark

You can unshare it without you leaving - unsharing does that.

Go to the folder, click on 'Share Folder', then click Settings and tap 'Unshare Folder' at the bottom of the popup.

luispedroferreira

Hi Mark. That's the problem, there is no "Unshare Folder" at the bottom of the popup. I still didn't understand quite well how shared folders work in Dropbox. That "Unshare Folder" option you mention, I see it in some folders, but some other times I don't even tho the folder is shared (with the 2 people icon), and that's why I'm saying that Dropbox should explain better how shared folders work.

What are my options to unshare a shared folder with no "unshare folder" option?

Nancy

Hi from me too, @luispedroferreira. “Shared”, in this case, is mostly referring to the status of a folder vs “unshared”. So, even if you can only access a shared folder and no one else, it still remains shared until its status has been changed and it’s been unshared by the owner (in this scenario you).

Since you’re still not seeing the Unshare button though, can you send me a screenshot of the options you’re getting on your end, so that I can have a look?

ilanalter

The link "unshare folder" is missing.

I have unshared all users one by one but I cannot unshare the folder itself

Nancy

@ilanalter, is this folder located within another shared folder perhaps? If yes, are you able to unshare the parent folder?

Are you seeing the same thing on different browsers?

ilanalter

NO - this is the parent folder

To make it clear - I have 2 folders in the same location

OA-XXX and OY-YYY - One of them I can Unshare and the second one I cannot Unshare

ilanalter

The unshare link does not appear in the desktop app

The unshare link does not appear in the Chrome

The unshare link does not appear in the Edge as well

Megan

Hey @ilanalter, it might sound trivial, but if you check the folder's members are you certain that you're the owner there?

I know that in the screenshot you sent it says you are, but I just want to double-check.

ilanalter

I am certain that I am the owner there

ilanalter

See above - There are more people complaining on the same issue....

Dropbox - you hava a bug!

Megan

Hey @ilanalter, keep in mind that you won’t be able to unshare a folder if:

The folder contains shared folders or if the folder is inside another shared folder.

Have you checked for the first? If so, would you mind sending us a screenshot of the folders inside, just to check if there are any shared-folder, two-people icons there?

ilanalter

WOW

I am an using Dropbox for years and I did millions of share and unshare....

The folder DOES NOT contain shared folders and the folder DOES NOT inside another shared folder.

I opened a directory

I sherd it

I put files and directories in it

now I cannot unshare it.

I even opened a new directory and did all the process again - same issue

Merijn G.1

I have the exact same problem here. Should I make a separate support request or is there a more expeditious way to bump this up to 'bug' status?

JSLK-

I also have the same problem 😞

Unshare option is not shown...

Maybe Dropbox need to reset something.

Some code doesn't work obviously....

Hannah

Hey @ilanalter, in order to investigate this further, can we send you an email to the address you're using here on the Community?

As for you @Merijn G.1 and @JSLK- , keep in mind that you won’t be able to unshare a folder if:

The folder contains shared folders
The folder is inside another shared folder

Could one of these be the case for you as well?

Merijn G.1

I think I see the problem. I want to unshare two folders. One contains a shared folder and the other one is the shared folder it contains. As you state it I can't unshare one without unsharing the other first. Is there a way to break this stalemate?

Hannah

Hey @Merijn G.1, thanks for the update; glad we found the culprit here.

I'm afraid though, that if one of them is not moved to a different location, so they're no longer nested, you won't be able to unshare them.

ilanalter

Yes - you can send an email

I did a test....

I have an EMPTY folder which I cannot unshare

on the same level - I have another empty folder which I can unshare

YOU HAVE A BUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JSLK-

The folder is empty.

The folder is in toplevel.

But no "UNSHARED LINK".... there most be an code error.

Nancy

@ilanalter, please reply back to my email, when you can and we’ll go from there.

@JSLK-, are you also not seeing the option to unshare the shared subfolder?

JSLK-

Hi Nancy

Yes - the unshare link is not there. The folder is at toplevel and empty and I'm the owner and only member.

Jay

Hi @JSLK-, could you attach a screenshot showing the folder in Dropbox and the prompt you get when trying to unshare, while hiding any personal names or emails, in order to understand what you're seeing?

ilanalter

NO ERROR CODE

JSLK-

2024-06-01 06_11_41-FinanceHelp - Dropbox – Google Chrome.png

JSLK-

Sorry no, here it is 2024-06-01 06_11_41-FinanceHelp - Dropbox – Google Chrome.png

Nancy

Thanks for that, @JSLK-! Can you send us one more screenshot of what you see when opening the "FinanceHelp" folder on your Dropbox account? Please make sure that the folder's filepath is showing, as well.

JSLK-

Here it is!

2024-06-04 18_57_34-FinanceHelp - Dropbox – Google Chrome.png

Megan

Hey @JSLK-, let me say that I appreciate your patience on this!

Another thing that I can think of is if you used to have another shared folder inside the FinanceHelp at some point.

You can check your sharing tab here, and check if there are any old folders that show up there. If there are, can you add it/them back and let me know where it/they can be located? Do you see anything inside 'FinanceHelp'?

JSLK-

Surely the folder had some file in the past - but they are all removed. So now - its empty.

Megan

Would you mind checking your sharing tab, just to check and confirm if any folders show up there @JSLK-?