You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

Maeghan F.'s avatar
Maeghan F.
New member | Level 1
10 years ago

What happens to all my pictures if I delete the Dropbox app from my iPhone?

Will I lose all my pictures if I delete the app on my iPhone?

  • That just means it will delete the local data for that application, not your files, etc. Any app that you delete from your phone will say the same thing.

    Deleting the app from your phone will not delete any of the files in your account.

  • Do you mean deleting the photos on iPhone Photos app? In that case, it wouldn't delete them in Dropbox on your computer. However, if you delete the files in your iPhone Dropbox app, it will delete everywhere in Dropbox including your computer and Dropbox web.

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    if I delete the app will that delete my photos? 

    No.

  • Pamela R.1's avatar
    Pamela R.1
    New member | Level 1

    My iphone is running out of room. So if I delete DROPBOX from my phone, will the photos still be in "Dropbox" if I open it on my regular computer? I need space. I can delete the app. Do I have to manually delete the photos in dropbox on iphone as well?
    Thank you!

     

  • Gail W.2's avatar
    Gail W.2
    New member | Level 1

    I downloaded the Dropbox app on my iPhone so I could sync photos I take with it to Dropbox. However -- big problem. Every photo already in various Dropbox files (some 5,000 in shared business files) has now populated on my phone, eating up almost all previously available storage.

    I tried deleting individual photos from my phone, but they just recycled to the bottom of the stack. I tried deleting an individual photo from the Dropbox.com photos folder, but that also deleted it from the business folder it was filed in.

    It seems my only option is to delete the app from my phone. If I do that, will all those photos remain in the Dropbox account folders?

    Thanks.

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    Every photo already in various Dropbox files (some 5,000 in shared business files) has now populated on my phone, eating up almost all previously available storage.

    Dropbox doesn't do that. The Dropbox app does not sync files to your phone. It only shows you what's in your account online. The only files that are stored on your phone are those that you open (which are stored temporarily in cache) or those that you've marked as available offline.

    I tried deleting an individual photo from the Dropbox.com photos folder, but that also deleted it from the business folder it was filed in.

    The Photos page on the Dropbox website is not a folder. It's a display of every image and video from every folder in your account. Deleting anything on that page will delete it from its actual location.

    It seems my only option is to delete the app from my phone. If I do that, will all those photos remain in the Dropbox account folders?

    Yes. Removing the app has no impact on the files in your account.

     

    • karencrouch's avatar
      karencrouch
      Explorer | Level 3

      I'm afraid to uninstall my dropbox app from my android.  has anyone actually done this and still the dropbox web version files remain intact?

      • Rich's avatar
        Rich
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        Uninstalling the Dropbox app will have no impact on your account or the files within it. You can safely remove it from your device. Your files will not be deleted.

         

        [This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Ask a Question section here.]

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!