How to delete your Dropbox account

Our tutorial series on closing user accounts on popular online services continues and today we’re dealing with Dropbox. As a quick backgrounder, Dropbox is a cloud storage service that offers free (Basic) and paid (Pro and Business) accounts.

If you have decided to take your files elsewhere and think you won’t be using Dropbox going forward, it may be a good idea to delete your account.

In this tutorial, we’ll highlight steps you need to take to permanently close your Dropbox account, including downloading files to a computer before the account is deleted.

Steps you need to take

To delete your Dropbox account, you will need to do the following:

Download all of your Dropbox files to a computer.
Downgrade your paid Dropbox Pro subscription to a free tier.
Proceed with account deletion.

This tutorial takes you step by step through each of the aforesaid steps.

How to download Dropbox files to computer

You’re wholeheartedly recommended to perform a full sync of your Dropbox to have all your files saved on a computer before closing your account.

Step 1: Open Dropbox’s app in the Applications folder on your Mac or through the Start menu on Windows. You can download the Dropbox desktop application here (sign in using the same login on all your devices).

Step 2: Wait until Dropbox has finished syncing files. You’ll know it’s complete when the status indicator changes from a rotating sync marker to plain Dropbox icon.

Dropbox icon during syncing.

Dropbox icon after syncing has been completed.

Dropbox also overlays icons over the synced files and folders on your computer. To double-check that the syncing process has successfully finished, open the Dropbox folder to confirm that all of the files have been downloaded to your computer, as denoted by green check marks on file icons.

About downgrading Dropbox Pro accounts

If you have a paid Pro account, you must cancel your subscription prior to deleting the account. Doing so will no longer automatically renew your account and no further renewal charges will be applied from that account. Dropbox won’t delete any of your files when the subscription is downgraded.

How to cancel Dropbox subscription

Step 1: Sign in to the Dropbox website with the Dropbox account you wish to unsubscribe and visit the downgrade page.

Step 2: Select the Downgrade option and follow the on-screen instructions.

When you downgrade a paid Pro account, you still finish any time remaining on your current subscription before the Dropbox quota granted by the Pro upgrade expires.

You won’t get your money back after canceling a Pro subscription before it expires, unless you live in a region where Dropbox is legally required to issue a refund on early cancellation, in which case you can contact Dropbox to get refunded.

How to delete Dropbox account

After downgrading your Pro subscription to a free Basic account, you shall use an account deletion tool to complete the cancellation process, as outlined below.

Step 1: Visit Dropbox’s account deletion tool on your Mac or PC.

Step 2: A message appears asking if you really want to delete your Dropbox account. Type your Dropbox password, optionally tell Dropbox why you’re leaving and then click the Delete my account to proceed with account deletion.

Your account and file data will continue to live on Dropbox servers before being permanently deleted, which takes up to 60 days.

What happens when you close Dropbox account?

Deleting your account will leave any previously synced files untouched in the Dropbox folder on your computer, but you won’t be able to add any new files to your Dropbox or restore any files removed from it. The files in folders that you’ve shared with others also will not be removed after closing your account.

Closing your account will stop any computers or mobile devices that have been linked with Dropbox to stop syncing. Moreover, you won’t be able to access your account on the Dropbox website nor will you be permitted to edit files in shared folders.