Yes, but through exactly one route: a Dropbox file request link, created by the person whose Dropbox the files are going into. You will be asked for a name and an email address, and nothing else — no account, no password, no install. An ordinary shared folder or shared file link will not do it, however you were told to use it.
The one link type that works
A file request is a purpose-built link for exactly this: someone with a Dropbox account creates it, points it at a folder, and sends it out. You open it, you get a page with their request title and an "Add files" button, you enter your name and email so they know who sent what, and the files go into their folder. You never see what is already in it, and you never see anyone else's submissions.
If that is the link you were sent, there is nothing to work around — upload and you are done. Everything below is for the much more common case, which is that you were sent something else.
Why a shared folder link doesn't work
Shared links and shared folders are built for distribution, not collection, and Dropbox draws the line at the account boundary. A shared link lets anyone view and download without an account, which is why it gets sent so often — it works instantly for the recipient, so the sender assumes it works in both directions. It does not. To add files to a shared folder you have to join it, and joining a shared folder requires a Dropbox account. There is no anonymous-editor mode of the kind Google Drive has.
So the usual sequence is: someone shares a folder, tells you to drop the files in, and you find you can only download. That is not something you have configured wrongly, and it is not fixable from your side.
What to ask for instead
The fix belongs to the account holder, and it takes them under a minute. It helps to send them the steps rather than the problem, because most people have never used the feature and "the link doesn't let me upload" reads like a bug report:
- 01Open Dropbox on the web and go to File requests in the left sidebar.
- 02Click "New request" and title it with what is being asked for — that title is the only instruction the sender sees.
- 03Choose the destination folder, or let Dropbox create one.
- 04Copy the link and send it over. Anyone holding it can upload without an account.
Two things worth mentioning to them at the same time, because both cause uploads that appear to work and then do not: uploaded files count against their Dropbox storage quota, so a nearly full account starts rejecting submissions, and a request with a deadline stops accepting files once that date passes.
How the same question works on Google Drive
The answer flips, which surprises people who assume the two platforms behave alike. Google Drive has no file request feature at all — there is no equivalent button to press. What it does have is genuine anonymous editing: a folder shared as "Anyone with the link – Editor" accepts uploads from someone who is not signed in to anything, which is the exact thing Dropbox refuses to do.
That sounds like the better deal until you look at what the sender can see. Anonymous editor access is full editor access: everyone holding the link can see, rename, move, and delete every file already in that folder, including other people's. Dropbox trades the convenience for isolation; Drive trades the isolation for convenience. Neither gives you both, which is what a dedicated upload link is for — the full set of Drive workarounds and their tradeoffs is in how to create a file request link for Google Drive.
What each link type actually allows
| Dropbox shared link | Dropbox file request | Drive folder, link-editor | Dedicated upload link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upload without an account | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sender sees existing files | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Sender can delete others' files | No | No | Yes | No |
| Name and email required | N/A | Yes | No | Optional |
| Files land in | N/A | Their Dropbox | Their Drive | Their Drive |
If the upload still fails
Assuming you have the right kind of link, there are only a few reasons a file request refuses an upload, and none of them are on your machine:
- The owner's Dropbox is full. File request uploads consume their storage, so a nearly full account rejects the submission rather than making room.
- The request has passed its deadline. Requests can be given an expiry date, after which the page stops accepting files.
- The request was closed or deleted. The link then loads nothing useful, which reads as a broken link rather than a closed request.
- The file is genuinely large and the connection dropped partway. Retrying on a wired connection, or asking for a link that supports resumable uploads, is the practical fix — the general version of this is covered in Google Drive upload problems.
If you are the one collecting
Then the question underneath this one is which tool to use at all, and the answer depends mostly on where the files need to end up. Dropbox file requests are good at what they do and are on the free plan; their limits, and what changes if your working files live in Google Drive instead, are in Dropbox file requests compared.
If the destination is Drive, Drive File Request is the direct equivalent: you sign in with Google once, create a link, and every upload lands in a dedicated folder inside your own Drive. Senders need no account and no email verification — just the page and the file — and each of them sees only their own upload box. Why that last part matters more than it sounds is in how to collect files from clients without making them sign up.