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I can't fully clear the deleted files on my Dropbox account to free up my space

MichaelW54

I recently reduced to a free account and deleted a few hundred GB of files. On my MacBookPro (M1, OS26.6.2) I cannot fully clear the delted files, almost 20GB remain after a week and multiple attempts to delete them. A few files have been listed as not being able to be cleared (perhaps from shared folders) but thousands of files that will not delete were not from shared folders and do not produce an error message but will not clear.

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Accepted answers

MichaelW54

Now seems to be all good, thanks Hanha, Megan and Nancy.

All comments

Hannah

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @MichaelW54.

Can you let me know exactly how you're trying to clear your deleted files?

Once deleted, the files in your Dropbox account should no longer take up space and they shouldn't require you to clear or permanently delete them for the space to be cleared up.

You did mention that some files are listed as not able to be cleared; can you please elaborate on that? Are you getting some kind of error message?

A screenshot of any issue would be really helpful, if you could send one.

Lastly, what do you see regarding your usage in your account settings here?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

MichaelW54

Huh. I've been working on this over a week, had clearing sessiosn every day for last three days and the end of each 19.92GB and hundreds of files remain. I post a cry for help and then…No deleted files found.

However in the attached screenshot you can see an advisory thta I still have 19.92GB of files and refreshing does not clear this. Also screenshot you requested.

Thanks for your help, really appreciated.

Screenshot 2026-09-21 at 9.38.09 pm.pdf

Screenshot 2026-09-21 at 9.41.53 pm.pdf

Nancy

Hi from me as well, Michael. From what I understand, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you’ve been trying to delete the excess files via your Dropbox desktop app.

What happens, if you try to delete them via the Dropbox website instead? If you receive any type of error message there, please copy and paste it on the forum.

Also, do you have any backups taking up your Dropbox storage here?

MichaelW54

Sorry, sloppy terminology by me: I have been trying to delete on my desktop by going direct to the Dropbox site, I've never used the app on Desktop.

From your link however I find two backups that account for the space (see attached), I did know these existed, though I didn't realise they were backups: I had tried a couple of times unsuccessfully to delete them but now I view them in backups I see that option. Apparently though they were done on an old machine, that fortunately I still have in the shed, so my next stop is to pull that out.

Thanks again. Your ability to link me to a screen within my own login is pretty neat!

Screenshot 2026-09-22 at 7.13.01 am.pdf

pace

Megan

Hey there, @MichaelW54!

If you click the "…" (ellipsis) button on the far right of your backups, do you see an option to delete them? If so, you can go ahead and remove them, and your storage space should be all set.

Let me know if you need anything else!

MichaelW54

Yes, when I click it I get told the archive was created on another machine, so I'm hoping it was my old laptop.

Hannah

Thanks for the update here, Michael!

Did that resolve your space issue?

If you need anything else, don't hesitate to let us know!

MichaelW54

Now seems to be all good, thanks Hanha, Megan and Nancy.

Hannah

Happy to hear that, Michael!

We'll be here if you ever need anything else.

Have a wonderful day!