Skip to navigation | Skip to main content | Skip to footer
Menu
Search the University of Manchester siteSearch Menu StaffNet

Cleaning up Dropbox storage for former colleagues

09 Jan 2026

We are removing Dropbox accounts which are no longer accessible so we can continue to provide this service for external collaboration and avoid the over-retention of unneeded files.

The current challenge

While the University has a contract with Dropbox to provide capacity for external collaboration, this storage is finite, and we are running out of our allocated storage space. Due to this, we are currently unable to set up new University users with Dropbox accounts, and there are several colleagues on a waiting list. In addition, we should not be retaining files stored in accounts belonging to colleagues who have left the University, as all colleagues are advised to transfer files to their manager, successor or a shared space when they leave.

Our plan

To free up space and allow us to grant access to new users, IT Services will start the process of permanently deleting the data from Dropbox accounts of colleagues and postgraduate researchers who have left the University, and whose Dropbox accounts are already inaccessible. From 26 January, we will delete the accounts of people who left in 2020, with this repeated every two weeks for each year, until the accounts of 2024’s leavers have been deleted.

However, if a former colleague has shared a file with you or others, that file will continue to be accessible until the final person with access to it leaves the University.

Leaver accounts will continue to be deleted annually, a year after a person has left the University. This is to allow time for access to be restored or files to be retrieved if required. The Exit Checklist includes questions to ensure that leavers save any required Dropbox files elsewhere before they leave.

Managers’ responsibilities

If a member of your team leaves, you must follow the Exit Checklist and ensure that any required information stored in individual storage areas such as Dropbox or OneDrive, is transferred to another account or shared storage area before departure, as these files will be deleted.