How to Delete Files and Folders from Dropbox? [12 Effective Ways]

In this article, let’s discuss step-by-step procedures for deleting Dropbox files and folders from Windows, Browser, iPhone, and Android.

I am going to explain how to delete them permanently. And also provide a bonus tip on how to restore deleted files and folders from Dropbox.

Dropbox is very useful for me to store and share team files and folders privately. There are times when I don’t require some files anymore, so I delete the files and folders from Dropbox.

We can also delete some unimportant files and folders when we run out of storage in Dropbox.

I found an answer to my question after some research and I’m going to share those with you now:

How to delete files and folders from Dropbox desktop app
How to delete files on Dropbox using a Web Browser
How to delete Dropbox files and folders from iPhone
How to delete Dropbox files and folders in Android
How to delete Dropbox files and folders Permanently
How to permanently delete multiple files in Dropbox
Why can’t I delete files from Dropbox
What happens when I delete a file or folder from my Dropbox Account
What happens when I permanently delete a file or folder from Dropbox
What happens when I delete a shared folder
How can we restore the deleted files

Table of Contents

How to Delete Files and Folders from Dropbox Desktop App

In this topic let’s see how to delete files and folders from the Dropbox application on Mac and Windows.

Delete Folder from Mac Dropbox

In this subtopic, we will learn and understand how to delete folders from the Dropbox app on the Mac OS.

To delete the folder from Mac, here are the steps that we can apply:

Open the Dropbox app on Mac.
Hover over the folder to delete it and right-click the mouse.

Click on Move to Bin from the menu for the selected folder. We can also press the command + delete icon to delete the folder.
On clicking the delete command, Dropbox shows the warning “Are you sure you want to delete the folder from your Dropbox?”. To confirm click Delete.

Delete File from Mac Dropbox

This section gives an overview of how to delete files from Mac Dropbox.

Open the Dropbox app on the Mac.
Right-click on the file to delete them from the Dropbox app.

The selected file opens, now click on Move to Trash. Alternatively, we can also click the command + delete icon to delete the file from Dropbox.
On clicking the delete option, Dropbox shows the warning “Are you sure you want to delete the file from your Dropbox?”.
Click delete to confirm.

Delete Multiple Folders from Mac Dropbox

Furthermore, we can also delete multiple folders instead of single folders from Dropbox. Here, are the steps given on how to delete multiple folders from the Mac Dropbox app.

To delete multiple folders in Mac Dropbox, press and hold the command key and select the number of folders to delete.

It’s not mandatory to have the folders next to each other to choose multiple folders.
After selecting the folders press command + delete or Move to Trash, and Dropbox displays a message as “Are you sure you want to delete 6 folders of your Dropbox?”.
The folders will disappear after a few seconds, after the delete confirmation.

The discussion of how to remove numerous folders on the Dropbox app on Mac is now complete.

Delete Multiple Files from Mac Dropbox

Other than the default ways, there are also some shortcut methods to delete the files from Dropbox.

command + delete – To move the selected item to the trash.
shift + command + delete – To empty the trash.
option + shift + command + delete – To empty the trash without a confirmation message.
To delete multiple files in the Mac Dropbox app, press and hold the command key and select the files to delete.
Click the delete option or use Move to Bin among the options displayed on the screen.

After clicking delete, Dropbox displays a confirmation pop up Are you sure you want to delete 3 files from your Dropbox?
The files will be deleted from the Dropbox app, after confirmation.

Thus, we have seen how to delete multiple files on Mac Dropbox.

Delete Files from Dropbox Windows App

Refer to the instructions below to see how we can delete files from the Dropbox Windows app.

Open the Dropbox app on Windows.
Hover over the files to delete and right-click the mouse twice.
Click the delete icon, above the selected file.

On clicking the delete option, Dropbox shows the warning Are you sure you want to delete this file? To confirm click Delete.

After clicking delete, Dropbox displays a warning message as Delete “delete files from Dropbox desktop app.jpg” from your account and all devices.
By clicking “Delete everywhere” the files will be removed from all the devices and Dropbox accounts.

The files and folders will be deleted from all the devices to which your Dropbox account is linked.

Delete Multiple Dropbox Files from Windows App

Dropbox allows the user to delete multiple files from the windows app.

Open the Dropbox application on the Windows desktop.
Press and hold the ctrl key and select the folders to delete.
Then right-click the selected files and navigate to the Delete option in the options menu.

Delete multiple Dropbox files from Desktop app

After pressing delete, Dropbox displays a message as Delete ”permanently delete the Dropbox files.jpg” and 1 other item from your Dropbox account and all devices.

Selecting Delete everywhere, the selected folders will be deleted from all the linked devices.

Unless we delete the files and folders permanently, they can be restored and accessed.

Delete Folders from Dropbox Windows App

To delete the single folder from the Dropbox Windows app:

Open the Dropbox app on the Windows desktop.
Select the folder to delete and right-click the selected folder.
Click the Delete option among the options displayed on the screen.

Once we click delete, Dropbox displays a message as Delete ”Files” from your Dropbox account and all devices.

Click Delete everywhere to delete from all the linked accounts.

Follow the steps to delete the folder from the Dropbox Windows app.

Delete Multiple Folders from Dropbox Windows App

In this topic, we will learn and understand how to delete folders from the Dropbox app on Windows.

Open the Dropbox app on the Windows desktop.
Select the folders to delete and right-click the selected folder.
Press and hold the ctrl key and tap the folders to delete.

Click the Delete option among the options displayed on the screen.
Once we click delete, Dropbox displays a message as Delete ”Tsinfo” and 1 other item from your Dropbox account and all devices.

Click Delete everywhere and the selected folders will be deleted from all the linked devices.

Follow the above-mentioned procedure to delete multiple folders from the Dropbox app.

How to Delete Files and Folders from Dropbox using Web Browser

We can delete files and folders from Dropbox using various browsers either temporarily or permanently.

Delete Dropbox Folders from Web Browser

Delete folders from Dropbox using browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, File Explorer, and Mozilla Fire Box.

Open Dropbox and select the folder by giving the checkmark to delete.

Right-click the mouse and several options will display, select the Delete option.

On tapping delete, the confirmation message appears on the screen Are you sure you want to delete Tsinfo from your Dropbox?
To confirm click delete and the folder disappears from your Dropbox.

Delete the unwanted folders in the browser Dropbox that are occupying vast space.

Delete Files from Dropbox using a Web Browser

If you are using Dropbox in a web browser, see the below steps on how to delete the files.

Open Dropbox in a web browser and select the file to delete.
The file opens and on top of the file, there will be three horizontal dots. Click the dots and several options will be displayed below.
Tap the Delete option at the bottom.

Delete files from your Dropbox web browser

On clicking the delete option, Dropbox displays a confirmation message Are you sure you want to delete the file from your Dropbox?
Click the delete option and the selected file will be deleted from the Dropbox account.

I hope the procedure to delete files from Dropbox using web browsers is clear.

How to Delete Multiple Dropbox Files and Folders from Browser

We can delete multiple files from Dropbox using web browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Firebox, and Explorer.

Delete Multiple Dropbox Files from Web Browser

Select the files to delete, by giving a checkmark at the front of the file name. Do this for all the files that need to be deleted.
Otherwise use keys, shift + down / up arrow and the files will be selected in order.
If the files are not in order click the up / down arrow on the first file, press and hold the ctrl key and select the files to delete.
Once selecting multiple files, right-click the mouse and select the Delete option in the displaying options.

multiple files Delete from dropbox Browser

Click Delete once again on the appearing message Are you sure you want to delete 6 items from your Dropbox?

Delete mutiple files in Dropbox desktop browser

After pressing the delete option to confirm, the selected files will be deleted and moved to deleted files list in Dropbox.

Delete Multiple Folders from Dropbox Browser

Keys like ctrl + up / down arrow will be more helpful in selecting multiple folders at a time in Dropbox.

Select the folders to delete, by giving a checkmark at beginning of the folder name. Do this for all the files that need to be deleted.
Press the shift + down / up arrow, and the folders will be selected in order.
If the folders are not in order click the up / down arrow on the first folder, press and hold the ctrl key and click the folders to delete.
Right-click on selected folders and select Delete in the displaying options.

Delete multiple folders from Dropbox.com

Click Delete once again on the appearing message Are you sure you want to delete 2 items from your Dropbox?

multiple folders delete from Dropbox.com

After confirmation, the selected folders will be removed from the Dropbox account in the browser.

How to Delete Files or Folders from Dropbox using iPhone

Here are the steps to delete files and folders from an iPhone Dropbox account.

Select the file or folder to delete.
Click the “…” ellipse near the file or folder to delete.

On clicking the horizontal dots, a list of options displays.
Scroll to the bottom of the displaying options and tap the Delete option.

On clicking delete, Dropbox displays a message Are you sure you want to delete this item? Click Delete to confirm.

Follow the simple methods to delete the files and folders from the iPhone Dropbox app.

How to Delete Files and Folders from Dropbox using Android Mobile

The method of deleting files from the mobile Dropbox app from Android mobiles is written below.

Open the Dropbox app on android mobile.
Click the file’s icon at the bottom of the screen.

Select the file or folder to delete, to do so click the “…” ellipse.
This drops down with multiple choices, at the bottom, there is a Delete option, tap delete.

After pressing delete, Dropbox asks for confirmation Are you sure you want to delete this item from your Dropbox? Click delete.

After a few seconds, the files will be deleted from Dropbox and synced devices.

How to Delete Files and Folders Permanently from Dropbox

The permanently deleted files and folders are gone forever and cannot be restored.

Open the Dropbox application on the device.
Click the Deleted files below the appearing options on the left of the screen.

Select the files or folders by giving a checkmark to delete them permanently as shown in the figure.

By clicking delete permanently the Dropbox exceeds a message Project files.jpg will be gone forever and you won’t be able to restore it.
Click Permanently delete to remove the files and folders from Dropbox and all the devices.

We can also restore the temporarily deleted files and folders by clicking the Restore option. But permanently deleted files or folders cannot be stored.

How to Delete Multiple Files and Folders Permanently from Dropbox

We can delete the files and folders permanently to free up the space in Dropbox.

Open the Dropbox application and click the Deleted files below the options at the left of the screen.

delete multiple Dropbox files permanently

Provide a checkmark for the files or folders to delete them permanently as shown in the below figure.
After selecting the multiple files to delete tap on permanently delete on the top right side of the first file.

permanently delete multiple Dropbox files

The Dropbox displays a message Project files.jpg will be gone forever and you won’t be able to restore it.
Click Permanently delete to remove the files and folders from Dropbox and from all the linked devices.

multiple Dropbox files delete permanently

So, make sure the files or folders are not needed before deleting them permanently from Dropbox.

Will Deleting the Dropbox App Delete Files and Folders

Deleting the Dropbox app will delete files and folders in Dropbox. And we are automatically signed out from all the devices.

The files and folders will stop syncing from all the devices connected.

The files and folders that synced on the device will remain there but won’t sync anymore.

Why can’t I Delete Files from Dropbox

We might not be able to remove a Dropbox folder for a few reasons.

The content of the folder may be full. So, erase the folder’s contents before deleting the folder itself.

Make sure you are the owner of the shared folder or have permission to delete it from the owner before attempting to delete it.

How to Delete the Shared Folder in Dropbox

We can either delete the shared folder temporarily or permanently.

If we delete the folder temporarily, we can add it within 30 days, but by deleting permanently from our account we will lose access to the folder.

Temporarily Delete the shared Folder

To temporarily delete the desired folder:

Open the Dropbox app in the browser and go to the Shared option displayed on the left side of the screen.
Go to the shared file option on the left of the screen.

Select the shared file to delete. Click the “…” ellipse.
Tap the Remove from Dropbox option. The folder will be removed from Dropbox temporarily.

Follow the above procedure to temporarily delete the shared folder from Dropbox.

Permanently Delete the Shared Folder

The below-listed steps are how to delete the shared folder permanently from Dropbox.

Select the name of the folder you want to permanently delete and Press the share symbol.
Press [x] for people who have access.
Press the Drop down menu next to your name.
Click remove my access.
On giving remove my access you will lose the authority of handling the file.

To regain access, ask the concerned people to invite you again.

What Happens When I Delete a Shared Folder from Dropbox

If we delete the file from the Dropbox shared folder any member of the shared folder can recover it.

If you are the owner of the Dropbox shared folder. When you permanently delete it, the folders will be deleted from all the Dropbox accounts that have access to the shared folder.

How can We Restore the Deleted Files in Dropbox

The time for recovering deleted files vary to the plan:

Dropbox has a backup for the deleted files or folders for a specific time for Dropbox Plus, basic and family users have a time period of 30 days.
So, we can restore the deleted files and folders, if necessary, within the time period.
The time limit for business and professional users is 180 days (6 months).

So, recover the deleted files and folders before they are deleted permanently.

Conclusion

That’s it, we have come to the end of the article. I hope you have enough information about deleting files and folders from Dropbox.

Before deleting the files and folders permanently make sure they are not needed anymore in the future.

We can restore the deleted files or folders within a certain time period given by Dropbox according to the upgrades we made.