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Restore a deleted or earlier Dropbox file
Sign in on dropbox.com and open Deleted files in the left sidebar. How far back it reaches depends on your plan: 30 days on Basic, Plus and Family, 180 on Professional, Essentials, Standard and Business, 365 on Advanced, Business Plus, Enterprise and Education (PR60–PR62).
Your plan or situation
Look in: dropbox.com → Deleted files
Standard recovery period for Basic, Plus and Family: 30 days (PR60). Add-ons may extend it (PR63).
Uses the choice above. Where a period depends on your plan or admin, the page says so.
Where a Dropbox copy may still exist
Steps
- Check the account and the planIf you have more than one Dropbox account, sign in to the one where the file was stored (PR69). Note the plan name — the recovery period for deleted files and the version-history period both follow it (PR60–PR62, PR72–PR74).
- Find out what happened to the fileA missing file isn’t necessarily a deleted one (PR90): it may have been moved or renamed. Your Dropbox activity shows whether the file was moved, renamed or deleted (PR70) — go to dropbox.com/events, find the event for the file and click it for details (PR108). Files that never synced from your device may simply not be in the account yet (PR84).
- Restore from Deleted filesdropbox.com → Deleted files in the left sidebar → tick the files or folders → Restore (PR64). Dropbox puts them back in the folder they were deleted from (PR65). Large restores take time: Deleted files → Restorations shows progress (PR88).
- Roll back a changed fileIf the file still exists but the content is wrong: dropbox.com → hover over the file → … → Activity → Version history (PR77) → pick a version → Roll back to this version, then confirm (PR78). Version history doesn’t cover web-based files like Google Docs or Paper docs (PR76).
- Undo many changes with RewindFor a large deletion or files changed by malware (PR105): dropbox.com → open the folder → settings → Folder settings → Rewind this folder (PR80); for the whole account start from All files (PR104) → choose the day immediately before the spike on the graph (PR89) → Rewind. On team accounts only admins can use Rewind by default (PR81). Afterwards, wait for everything to sync before you change anything (PR82).
- Ask for help when your own routes are used upIn a shared folder without Can edit access, ask the owner (PR66). On a paid plan you can also request file recovery from Dropbox support (PR85).
How long Dropbox keeps it, by plan
| Plan | Deleted files | Version history | Rewind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 30 days (PR60) | 30 days (PR72) | Not in the list of Rewind plans (PR68) |
| Plus, Family | 30 days (PR60) | 30 days (PR72) | Yes, within version history (PR68, PR79) |
| Professional, Essentials, Standard, Business | 180 days (PR61) | 180 days (PR73) | Yes, within version history (PR68, PR79) |
| Advanced, Business Plus, Enterprise | 365 days (PR62) | 365 days (PR74) | Yes; team admins by default (PR68, PR81) |
| Education | 365 days (PR62) | The official help does not describe this | Not in the list of Rewind plans (PR68) |
Codes like (PR60) point to the quote in our fact journal; the same version-history periods are in the site-wide journal as C20–C22. Add-ons can extend recovery and a data disposition policy can shorten it (PR63). Upgrading does not reach back: longer version history starts the day you upgrade (PR75).
Shared folders and team folders
In a shared folder, your permission decides what you can do. Dropbox says that with Can edit access you may be able to restore a deleted file from a shared folder, but with Can view access you can’t restore it yourself (PR66) — ask the folder owner or someone with editing permissions. Restoring a file in a shared folder makes it available again to members who have access (PR87). Being removed from a shared folder is not something Rewind reverses (PR91), and on team accounts only admins can use Rewind by default (PR81); an admin can change that setting from dropbox.com with admin credentials (PR106). If a file disappeared from a folder someone else owns, the owner’s own Deleted files page is where it can come back, not yours. Never try to sign in to another person’s account to look; ask them, or the team admin, to check.
Limits: when nothing is left
- Permanently deleted. A file removed with Delete permanently cannot be recovered (PR67).
- Past the plan’s window. After 30, 180 or 365 days, depending on the plan (PR60–PR62), the file has left Deleted files; Rewind can only undo changes within version history (PR79).
- Upgrading late. A longer plan does not apply retroactively — the new version history starts the day you upgrade (PR75).
- Earlier deletion by policy. Files under a data disposition policy may be permanently deleted earlier (PR63).
- Removed from a shared folder. If you were removed from a shared folder, Dropbox Rewind won’t add you back (PR91); ask the folder owner.
Questions
How long does Dropbox keep deleted files?
It depends on the plan: 30 days on Basic, Plus and Family, 180 days on Professional, Essentials, Standard and Business, and 365 days on Advanced, Business Plus, Enterprise and Education.
Where are deleted files in Dropbox?
Sign in on dropbox.com and click Deleted files in the left sidebar. Tick the items and click Restore; they go back to the folder they were deleted from.
How do I get an older version of a Dropbox file?
On dropbox.com, hover over the file, click the ellipsis, then Activity and Version history. Choose a version and click Roll back to this version.
What is Dropbox Rewind?
A tool that returns a folder (PR80) or your whole account (PR104) to an earlier point in time, useful after a large accidental deletion or when malware changed your files (PR105). It only reaches back as far as your version history (PR79), and you can undo it by rewinding to a time before the first Rewind (PR107).
If I upgrade my plan, can I recover older files?
No. Dropbox says longer version history starts the day you upgrade and doesn’t apply retroactively.
Someone deleted a file in a folder they shared with me.
With Can edit access you may be able to restore it from Deleted files. With Can view access, ask the owner to restore it.
My file isn’t in Deleted files. What now?
Check that you’re in the right account, look at your activity to see if it was moved or renamed, and check that it synced from your device. On a paid plan you can request file recovery from Dropbox support.