Delete and restore
This module explains what happens when you remove content from your Dropbox account, how long deleted items remain recoverable on each plan, and what permanent deletion means for security and storage. It walks through how to delete files and folders on web, desktop, and mobile, then shows how to use version history, file activity, deleted files, and Dropbox Rewind to recover missing content or roll back changes within your plan’s recovery window.
10 minute read
What happens when I delete a file from my Dropbox account?
When you delete a file from your Dropbox account, it disappears from your folders on dropbox.com, in the desktop app, and in the mobile app. If the file is synced to more than one device, it is removed from those locations the next time Dropbox syncs. To you it looks like the file is gone.
Behind the scenes, Dropbox moves the file into a deleted state instead of erasing it right away. For a period of time, known as your recovery window, you can still restore that file or roll back to earlier versions, depending on your plan. After that window ends, Dropbox starts the process of permanently deleting the file from its systems.
How long does Dropbox keep deleted files?
Dropbox keeps deleted files for a limited time so you can recover them if something is removed by mistake. The length of this recovery window depends on your plan:
Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Family: 30 days
Dropbox Professional, Standard, Essentials, and Business: 180 days
Dropbox Advanced, Enterprise, Education, and Business Plus: 365 days
During this time, you can use tools such as deleted files, version history, and Dropbox Rewind (on supported plans) to restore content.
After your recovery window ends, items are scheduled for permanent deletion. Under normal conditions, Dropbox deletes them from its systems within 90 days after the recovery window expires. For some team customers, Data disposition policies or extended version history can effect how long certain items are kept, but for most individual users the time frames above apply.
What happens when I permanently delete a file or folder?
Permanently deleting a file or folder removes it completely from your Dropbox account. It no longer appears in your folders, and it can’t be recovered from the deleted files page or through version history. From that point on, you can’t restore it yourself.
When you mark something for permanent deletion, you’re telling Dropbox to begin its internal deletion process right away, instead of waiting until the end of your normal recovery window. The data is removed from active storage and the data can’t be brought back.
If a file or folder is in a shared location, there can be an extra layer of permissions. For example, you usually need to be the owner of a shared folder to permanently delete content there for everyone. Other members of the shared folder can often delete items for themselves, but not permanently remove them for the entire group.
What happens when I delete a shared folder?
Shared folders behave differently from private folders, because they belong to more than one person. What happens when you delete something depends on whether you are removing individual files inside the folder, or removing the shared folder itself, and whether you own it.
If you delete a file inside a shared folder (without permanently deleting it), that file disappears from the shared folder for everyone, not just you. Members with Can edit access can delete files in shared folders, while members with Can view access can’t. Any member with the right permissions can usually restore the file from deleted files during the recovery window, as long as the owner has not permanently deleted it.
If you are the owner of a shared folder and you permanently delete that folder, you remove the folder and its contents for every member. Their access to that shared content ends, and the folder disappears from their Dropbox accounts. If you want everyone to keep a copy but you no longer want to share, it is safer to unshare the folder or remove members instead of permanently deleting it.
If you are not the owner of a shared folder and you delete it from your Dropbox account, you are usually just leaving that folder. It disappears from your view, but other members keep their access, and the owner still controls the shared content. If you want to stop seeing the folder without affecting anyone else, leaving or removing it from your Dropbox is the right approach.
What does Dropbox do with deleted files?
When you delete files, Dropbox does not erase them instantly. Instead, it marks them as deleted and keeps them for the length of your recovery window, which allows you to restore items, return to earlier versions, or roll back large changes if needed.
After the recovery window ends, Dropbox starts permanently deleting those files. The data is removed from active storage and then from backups within a defined period, typically within 90 days.
The key idea is that deleted files stay in Dropbox only for the recovery period included with your plan. During that time, you can restore them. After the recovery period ends, Dropbox permanently deletes the files from its systems using secure deletion methods designed to prevent future recovery.
How to delete a file or folder
When you delete a file or folder, it disappears from your file list across dropbox.com, the desktop app, and the mobile app, and syncs that change to your other devices. The item moves into a deleted state in your account, where it can still be restored during your recovery window if needed.
You can delete files and folders you own from any platform. If a file or folder is shared with you, you can remove it from your Dropbox, but only the owner or, in some cases, a team admin can permanently delete it for all members.
Delete from dropbox.com or the Dropbox desktop app
If you are already working in your browser or desktop files, deleting in Dropbox works much like deleting items in other folders on your computer.
On dropbox.com
From the Dropbox desktop app
In both cases, the item is removed from your file list and moves into deleted files, where it can still be restored during your recovery window.
A few things to keep in mind:
You can only delete files and folders you own. If a file was shared with you, you can delete your copy, but not the original for the owner.
Deleted files do not count against your Dropbox storage quota, so permanently deleting them later will not free additional space.
How to delete files from mobile devices
On mobile, you can either remove cached or offline copies to free space on your device, or delete the file from your Dropbox account entirely.
On Android
On iPhone
On iPad
Just like on desktop and web, deleted items are removed from your active folders while remaining recoverable in deleted files for a limited time, based on your plan.
How to permanently delete a file or folder in Dropbox
Sometimes you know that something should never come back again, for example old exports that contain sensitive data, obsolete drafts, or test files. In those cases, you can permanently delete items from your account. This tells Dropbox to start securely removing those files from its systems, instead of keeping them until the end of your normal recovery window.
Permanently deleted files and folders generally cannot be restored, so it is a good idea to double check before you confirm.
Permanently delete on dropbox.com
To permanently delete a file or folder from your Dropbox account:
Log in to dropbox.com.
In the left sidebar, click Deleted files.
Check the box next to the file or folder you want to permanently delete.
Click Permanently delete.
Click Permanently delete again to confirm.
Once you complete these steps, the item is removed from deleted files and is no longer available to restore through tools such as version history, deleted files, or Dropbox Rewind.
From the desktop app or mobile app
On desktop and mobile, the first step is the same as regular deletion: you delete the item so that it moves into deleted files, then you use dropbox.com to finish permanent deletion.
For example:
On the desktop app, delete a file or folder from your Dropbox folder using Delete or Move to Trash, then sign in to dropbox.com, open Deleted files, and complete the permanent deletion steps above.
On the mobile app, delete the file or folder from your account using more options (the ellipsis), then go to dropbox.com in a browser, open Deleted files, and complete the permanent deletion steps above.
Who can permanently delete files and folders
You can permanently delete any file or folder that you own. You can only permanently delete items you do not own if either:
You are a Dropbox team admin
You are not an admin, but you are the only person who has taken actions on, or edited that file or folder.
This helps protect shared content from being erased by mistake, while still allowing you to clean up items that truly belong to you.
Together with the recovery window, secure permanent deletion gives you a balance of safety and control. You can undo accidental deletions while items are in deleted files, and permanently remove content when you’re ready to delete it for good.
Version history
When something looks wrong in a file, you often want to know who changed it and when. Maybe text disappeared from a proposal, a spreadsheet formula was overwritten, or a photo was edited in an unexpected way. Version history in Dropbox gives you a time-based view of the changes to your files, so you can review older versions and roll back if needed.
Version history is available for all Dropbox users on dropbox.com. It tracks changes such as edits, uploads, renames, moves, and deletions, and keeps snapshots for a limited time based on your plan’s recovery window.
Version history doesn’t use your storage space. It also doesn’t apply to web-based files such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Paper docs, or Microsoft Office Online files, which have their own version controls.
How to view version history for a file
You can view the version history of a file from dropbox.com or from the desktop app.
On dropbox.com
Log in to dropbox.com.
Hover over the file you want to check, then click more options (the ellipsis).
Hover over Activity.
Click Version history.
You will see a list of previous versions with timestamps and who made each change.
In the desktop app (Finder or File Explorer)
Open your Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
Right-click the file.
Click Version history.
This opens the same version history view in your browser.
How to view the version history of a folder
If you want to see how a folder has changed over time, including changes in its subfolders, you can open folder level activity on dropbox.com.
To see history for one folder and its subfolders, open that folder, click more options
(the ellipsis), then click Folder activity.
To see changes across all folders in your account, go to All files, click the gear icon, then click Folder activity.
Folder activity shows renames, moves, additions, deletions, and other events from newest to oldest.
How to view file activity in Dropbox
File activity gives you a detailed audit trail for a single file. It shows when the file was added, edited, moved, renamed, restored to a previous version, or unshared. On dropbox.com, you can open a file and use file activity to see who performed each action and when.
This is useful when you want to:
Confirm who changed a document and at what time.
See when sharing settings were updated.
Cross-check edits before deciding whether to restore an older version.
File activity is available to all Dropbox users on dropbox.com. File owners and people with Can edit access can see full file activity. People with Can view access can’t see file activity.
To view file activity on dropbox.com
Log in to dropbox.com.
Click a file to open its preview.
Make sure you have your previews set to Full screen.
Click File in the top-left corner.
Click Activity.
The Activity tab will open on the left, where you can see who performed an action and when the action happened.
File activity shows a detailed history for a specific file, including who made each change and when.
The Activity feed on desktop shows a quick list of files you’ve opened or edited recently. On dropbox.com and in the mobile app, the Notifications feed shows comments, shares, and mentions as they happen.
Use activity feeds for a quick overview. Use file activity when you need detailed, file-level history.
How to recover missing files in your Dropbox account
Now that you’ve seen how individual recovery tools work, here’s how to choose the right one when something goes wrong.
Files can go missing for different reasons. They might be deleted, renamed, moved, or overwritten by someone who shares the file with you.
Dropbox offers three main ways to recover from these situations: version history, the Deleted files page, and Dropbox Rewind.
At a high level:
Version history is best when a file is still there but does not look right, for example if you want yesterday’s version.
Deleted files is best when a file or folder has been deleted and you want to bring it back.
Dropbox Rewind is best when something big has gone wrong and many files are affected, such as a large accidental move, mass deletion, or ransomware incident.
All of these tools work within your plan’s version history window.
You can mix these tools as needed. For example, you might restore a deleted folder from the Deleted files page, then use version history to roll back a single file inside it.
Dropbox Rewind
When many files are affected at once, Dropbox Rewind is often the fastest way to recover.
Dropbox Rewind lets you take a folder, or your entire Dropbox account, back to how it was at a specific point in time. It undoes many changes at once, including file edits, renames, additions, and deletions, and it can also undo actions in shared folders where you have edit access.
Rewind is available on Dropbox Plus, Family, Professional, Essentials, Standard, Advanced, Business, Business Plus, Enterprise, and on the Dropbox Backup plan. It is not available from the Dropbox mobile app.
Dropbox Rewind will:
Undo file edits, renames, additions, and deletions.
Undo actions in shared folders, including those owned by other people, as long as they are within your version history window.
Dropbox Rewind will not:
Undo changes older than your plan’s version history window.
Restore permanently deleted files.
Undo file history (the rewind will just be added to your history).
Restore changes to Paper docs.
Change folder membership, such as adding you back to a folder you were removed from.
To use Dropbox Rewind on dropbox.com:
Log in to dropbox.com.
To rewind your entire account, go to All files, click the settings icon, click Folder settings, then click Rewind this folder.
To rewind a specific folder, open that folder, click the settings icon, click Folder settings, then click Rewind this folder.
Click Try Rewind.
Choose a day from the graph, usually the day right before the incident, then click Continue.
In the Fine tune list, choose the earliest change you want to undo, then click the blue line below it. All changes above that line will be undone.
Click Continue, then click Rewind. Dropbox sends you an email when the rewind is complete.
Rewind follows the same secure storage rules as the rest of Dropbox. It can only roll back changes within your version history window, and can’t bring back content that has been permanently deleted. This gives you a powerful safety net for recent incidents while limiting long-term exposure to harmful content.
If you later decide you want a different point in time, you can use Rewind again and choose an earlier moment in the activity graph.
Version history: how to return to an older version of a file
When you only need to undo changes in a single file, version history is often the fastest option. If a file is still present in your Dropbox but some of its content is wrong, you can use version history to review earlier versions and restore the one you need. This is useful when you want to undo a recent edit or return to an earlier version before a major change.
To roll back a file on dropbox.com:
Log in to dropbox.com.
Hover over the file name and click more options (the ellipsis).
Click Activity.
Click Version history.
Select a version to preview it.
Click Roll back to this version, then click Roll back to this version again in the top right to confirm.
To roll back from the desktop app:
Open your Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder(Mac).
Right-click the file.
Click Version history.
Click Roll back to this version on the version you'd like to restore to. Your file will open in full screen.
Click Roll back to this version at the top right. The same file will get replaced by the older version, so its name will stay the same.
The restored version keeps the same filename and replaces the current one. It becomes the newest entry in version history, so you can always go back again if needed.
Deleted files: how to restore deleted files and folders
If a file or folder has been deleted, you can usually restore it within your plan’s recovery window. Deleted items are kept in a separate area of your account, so you can bring them back if they were removed by mistake.
To restore deleted items from the Deleted files page:
Log in to dropbox.com.
Click Deleted files in the left sidebar.
Use the filters or search to find the item you want.
Click the name of a deleted file or folder, or select several using the checkboxes.
Click Restore.
Dropbox restores your content to the location it was deleted from, as long as that location still exists.
To restore deleted items from a specific folder:
Log in to dropbox.com and open the folder where the file was deleted.
Click the settings icon.
Click Folder settings.
Select the deleted file.
At the top of your screen, click more options (the ellipsis) and select Restore in the dropdown menu.
This view is helpful when you want to restore items in context.
Permanently deleted items can’t be recovered. In some cases, security checks may delay permanent deletion to help protect your data from accidental or malicious removal.
Together, version history, deleted files, and Dropbox Rewind form a layered recovery system. You get quick fixes for small mistakes, powerful rollbacks for larger incidents, and a clear, time-limited window where your content stays recoverable before deletion becomes permanent.
In this module, you’ve seen what happens when you delete or permanently delete files and folders, how long deleted items are kept, and how to restore content using deleted files, version history, and Dropbox Rewind. In the next module, you’ll learn how the Dropbox mobile app fits into your day so you can access, edit, and back up files from your phone or tablet.