Why Does Dropbox Need Access to All My Folders? Why So Many Permissions? Can I Use It in a More Restricted Mode?

There are two modes that Strongbox can access Dropbox in. Full mode and App Folder Only mode. The default is Full mode. This is because we have many users with files stored in their own preferred folderĀ  structure on their Dropbox, and they don't want to centralize them in a single folder/location. So, the default is for Strongbox to operate in Full mode rather than App Folder only mode. However, you can choose to use Dropbox in restricted 'App Folder' only mode. See below.

Switching to App Folder only mode
You can use Dropbox in "App Folder" only mode. This is a special mode which allows Strongbox access to only a single dedicated folder in your Dropbox. To switch this on:

Preferences > Advanced > Miscellaneous > Use Dropbox App Folder Only.

You should also clear any existing Dropbox sessions as they will no longer be valid. You can do so like this:

Preferences > Cloud > Manage Cloud Provider Sessions > Unlink Dropbox.

Now you can create or add Dropbox databases only from the official Strongbox folder.

Alternative Method to reduce required Dropbox permissions
You can choose to use the "Files" method to add your Dropbox database. This works well, and does not require giving Strongbox access to your Dropbox. Just:

  1. Install the Dropbox app on your device
  2. Tap + > Add Existing... > Files
  3. Browse to your database > Tap Add

Now Strongbox will be given a reference (or "Bookmark" technically) that it can use to read and write only that file.

Mar 4, 2024