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Dropbox vs Filen: Which Offers Superior Sharing Controls?

Explore why users are considering Germany's Filen over US-based Dropbox for enhanced sharing controls and data security. Discover the differences now.

Last updated: February 19, 2026โ€ขReviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to Filen?

What You Gain

Enhanced privacy with end-to-end encryption and EU data hosting

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

Loss of collaborative editing and advanced sharing features

Dropbox has more features
Bottom Line

Switch for privacy; stay with Dropbox if collaboration features matter

At a Glance

Data Location
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธUS

US data laws

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชDE

GDPR protected

Pricing

Dropbox

freemium

Filen

freemium

Migration
Medium difficulty~Several hours to a day, depending on data size and internet speed

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriaDropboxFilen
Server Location
US (AWS), EU (optional)EU
GDPR Compliance
Partial (SCCs)Full
Open Source
E2E Encryption
Enterprise onlyAll plans
Data Portability
Full exportFull export

CLOUD Act Notice

Dropbox is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. Filen is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
Dropbox logo

Dropbox

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

Dropbox

VS
Switching to
Filen logo

Filen

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

EU-hosted
EU-Based
ISO 27001
GDPR Compliant
Open Source
Self-Hostable

Reasons to Switch

  • โœ“End-to-end encryption for all files
  • โœ“GDPR compliance ensures EU data protection
  • โœ“ISO 27001 certification for security
  • โœ“Open source allows code transparency

Things to Consider

  • !Migration from Dropbox can be time-consuming
  • !No collaborative document editing feature
  • !Learning curve for new interface and features
Migration difficulty:
Medium
~Several hours to a day, depending on data size and internet speed

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Medium
Time Estimate
~Several hours to a day, depending on data size and internet speed

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create Filen account and configure settings

2

Export and prepare data from Dropbox

3

Import data, test integrations, and migrate users

Other alternatives to Dropbox

Ready to make the switch?

Start using Filen today and take control of your data privacy.