How to use Dropbox Transfer to securely share files with other people

Dropbox Transfers encrypts the files you share to protect them from unwanted access.

You need to share files with others outside of your organization, and you need a way to do it securely. There are a variety of different file sharing sites out there, but one service that can help is Dropbox Transfer.

Dropbox Transfer, included with every Dropbox account, lets you share local or online files with others. After you upload or select the file(s) to transfer, either send an email or copy and paste a link to the file. The recipient will then receive a link to download the file from your Dropbox space. Dropbox uses AES 256-bit encryption for files at rest and TLS encryption for files in transit.

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The size of the file(s) you can share depends on your Dropbox account. With a free Dropbox Basic account, you’re limited to files of 100MB or less per transfer. With a paid Dropbox Plus, Family, or Standard account, you can share files up to 2 GB in size. And with a paid Dropbox Professional, Advanced, Enterprise, Education, or Transfer account, you can share files up to 100 GB. You can share individual files or entire folders at once.

First, log in to your Dropbox homepage. Click the menu icon in the top left corner and select Dropbox Transfer from the list of items (Figure A).

Figure A

On the next page, click the Create Transfer button. You can now add the file to be shared in a number of ways. To share one or more files from your PC, drag them into the window from File Explorer or click the Upload files button and select the local file(s) you want to share.

Alternatively, click the down arrow to display a menu with three choices. Select Upload files to upload one or more files. Select Upload Folder to upload an entire folder. Select Add from Dropbox to share files from your Dropbox storage (Figure B).

Figure B

After adding the files or folders, click the Settings icon. Here you can enable two options, but only if you have a paid Dropbox Professional account. If you subscribe to this type of account, click the Set custom expiration link to set a specific expiration date, after which the file will no longer be available to the recipient. Click the Add Password link to set a password that the recipient will need to access the file (Figure C).

Figure C

Back in the main window, click the Create transfer button (Figure D).

Figure D

Next, decide whether you want to email a link to the files or create a share link through some other method. To choose to email, click the Send Email button, add the recipient(s), enter a message, and then click Send (Figure E).

Figure E

To create a shareable link, click the Copy link button. You can then paste the link into a separate email, text message, or other communication and send it to the recipient (Figure F).

Figure F

The recipient receives an email with a link to the file. Clicking the Download files button will take you to your Dropbox shared files page. A file explorer window will automatically open and prompt the recipient to download the file.

If you shared a single file, Dropbox leaves the file untouched. The recipient can then download it directly to their PC. If you shared multiple files or a folder, Dropbox creates a ZIP archive of the files. The recipient can then download and extract the ZIP file and view the shared files (Figure G).

Figure G

Finally, you can manage your shared files and folders. Return to the Dropbox transfer page showing your shared items. For each file or folder, click the email icon to email a link to the item. Click the Copy :ink icon to create a shareable link. Click the More icon and choose Delete file from Dropbox transfer (Figure H).

Figure H