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I'm trying to permanently delete some shared folders, but it doesn't recognize me as the owner.

Hi everyone,

I’m running into a serious issue with Dropbox and would appreciate any insight.

I have several folders and files that I originally created and shared in the past. Now, when I try to permanently delete them, Dropbox refuses — saying I need the owner’s help, even though I am the sole owner of the entire account.

Here’s what’s happening:

When I go into the folder info via the web, I see only myself listed as having access, with "Can edit" permissions — but there’s no "Owner" listed at all.
These are folders I personally created and verified multiple times. I’m trying to delete them permanently to free up hundreds of gigabytes of space.
After selecting “Permanently delete,” Dropbox shows:
“Permanently delete 1 item? This folder will be gone forever for everyone, including for anyone still using the folder. Permanently deleting this folder won’t free up space. Enter your password to continue.”
And then I get the error:
“Couldn’t be permanently deleted – Ask the owner to help permanently delete this.”
Again, I’m the only person listed and there’s no one else who could possibly be the “owner.”

Also, under main folder settings, I get this message:

“Only the owner can change these settings. Settings apply to all folders in ‘[folder name]’.”

I’ve tried:

Restoring the folders and deleting again
Clearing cache and cookies
Deleting from the web and mobile apps
Checking sharing settings
Verifying account permissions

Nothing has worked.

At this point, I believe this is an issue with the way Dropbox flags old shared folders — even if they’re no longer actively shared.

I’m asking if Dropbox can please purge these folders from my account entirely and help me recover the storage space.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help or has dealt with something similar.

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Megan

Hey @Chicola, let's jump right into this!

Let me start by saying that deleted and permanently deleted files don't count against your storage quota. Permanently deleting files after they have already been deleted doesn't free any more space in your Dropbox. You can find out more info about this here.

When you use the steps mentioned in this Help Center article, do you see yourself as the owner of these folders?

Also, what does your plan page report? I'm asking since it includes more details on your storage and info about unused space and space taken up by regular files and shared files.

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

Chicola

Hi Megan, thanks again for your quick reply.

Here’s a screenshot of my Plan page showing my storage usage and the breakdown between shared and regular files:
[link removed by moderator]

As you can see, I’m currently using 2.4 TB of 3.02 TB, including:

1.9 TB in Regular files
580.2 GB in Shared files
Only 612.4 GB of unused space remaining

Regarding the Help Center article you linked — yes, I’ve already followed all the steps there.
When I check the folder access info, I see myself listed as the only person, with “Can Edit” permissions — but there is no “Owner” listed, and I can't change that or permanently delete the folders.

These are folders I created and shared in the past, and now I need to delete them to free up space — but I’m blocked by the missing ownership tag.

Thanks again,
Chicola

Megan

Hey @Chicola!

Let's try something else. If you restore one of these folders, and then follow these steps to remove yourself from them, does it work?

One more thing: I checked your screenshots from the shared link that you provided. However, I'm going to remove it, in order to avoid further traffic gathering to this shared link since we're on a public Community.

Chicola

Hi @Megan ,

Thanks again for getting back to me!

I tested your suggestion and restored one of the folders to try removing myself from it.
But unfortunately, when I checked the permissions, I saw that:

I'm the only user listed in the folder.
I’m marked as “Can Edit” (not "Owner").
And I don’t have any option to “Remove my access” — there’s no such button or dropdown next to my name.

So it seems I’m stuck:
I can’t delete the folder, can’t remove myself, and there’s no owner to transfer ownership from.
I created these folders myself originally and have been using them for years for my RECORDING STUDIO — so I really need full control to either delete or clean them up.

I understand your concern about the public link. Let me know if there’s a private way I can share the screenshots with you again.

Would really appreciate your help pushing this further — feels like these folders are stuck in a weird permission limbo.

Thanks in advance!
Chicola

Nancy

Hope it’s alright if I jump in, @Chicola! I’d like to clarify one more thing regarding what Megan also mentioned above; you said that 580.2GB of space is taken up by shared files on your Dropbox account. Do you mean that this space still includes the folders that you deleted from your Dropbox account with these steps?

If you have already done this successfully, then the folders should no longer be taking up space from your Dropbox account, even if you don’t manage to permanently delete them after that.

Finally, if you want to share another screenshot with us, you can try pasting it in your reply directly.

Thanks!

Chicola

Hi @Nancy thanks for your help.

Here's the issue as clearly as I can describe it:

I created these folders myself years ago — they include my recordings From The Studio
( some i've backup on hard drives as well )

However, Dropbox no longer shows me as the Owner of those folders, even though I’m the only member with access.

I cannot permanently delete files inside them.
I cannot remove myself — there's no “Remove my access” option.
I cannot reclaim space — my storage remains stuck at 2.42 TB / 3.02 TB, even after trying all suggested steps.

I restored one of the folders, and I’m the only one listed with editing access — but no ownership, and no ability to fully remove or delete it.

This is breaking my Dropbox workflow. These are my files, and yet I’m locked out of proper file management.

Thanks again for your time and support — I really need a solution.

Nancy

Thanks for the additional clarifications, @Chicola!

From a quick look into our system, I can see you also have a support ticket regarding this issue. I’ve gone ahead and left our team an internal note on your behalf, so that they can review this as soon as possible.

Chicola

@Nancy

Thanks a lot for your support and for leaving a note to the support team on my behalf — I really appreciate it.

Yes, I'm trying to solve this issue as soon as possible. I already sent a full screen recording to Dropbox Support showing the entire process step-by-step, including all the errors I encounter when trying to delete the files permanently.

Unfortunately, nothing has worked so far. I’m still unable to free up storage, even though I’ve deleted hundreds of gigabytes. That’s why I also reached out to the technical support team directly.

Thanks again for following up on this.
Chicola