How to Delete Files Shared With You on Canva

If you often work with different designers or clients on design collaborations, you may have noticed quite a few Shared With You files cluttering up your Canva homepage. Once you’ve finished the project, there really is no point in keeping those files around, so how can you delete them?

The only way to remove a Shared With You file from your Canva account is to contact the original creator of the file and ask that they un-share it with you. Unfortunately, there isn’t currently a way for users to remove shared designs on their own.

If you’re one to keep your homepage and folders organized, having old files hanging around can be a bit frustrating. Keep reading for more information on how to delete files shared with you, and why you should do this regularly.

How To Delete Shared Files From Your Canva Account

Unfortunately, Canva does not currently offer a way for users to remove shared files that they did not create themselves. However, according to comments left by a spokesperson from Canva on their YouTube page, the ability to remove/delete shared designs has been brought up to the development team, so hopefully, we will see an update on this in the near future.

Instead, to remove the file from your account, the creator of the file must adjust the sharing permissions and remove you from the settings. Though this may seem like a hassle, it’s much easier than it sounds.

1. Find Shared Designs

Before you can contact the creator to have the file removed, you need to know where exactly your shared files are located.

Follow these steps:

  1. On your Canva homepage, you should see a menu on the left-hand side.
  2. Click the “Shared with you” link that is located below “Your Projects.”
  3. If this link is not showing up on your homepage, then that means that you don’t have any files that are currently shared with you.
  4. In the “Shared with you” section, you will find all of the designs and files that have been shared with you by other creators.
  5. If you have taken the time to organize your designs into folders, then you will need to navigate to the folder that holds the file you want to delete and locate it there.

Now, let’s see how to locate the original creator of the file.

2. Locate the Original Creator of the File

Once you locate the design you would like to remove, hover over the thumbnail and select the three dots icon.

Underneath the name of the design, you will see some additional information:

  • Name of the creator
  • Last date edited

This will not only help you locate the original creator but also tell you how long the file has been untouched so that you can better gauge whether it is necessary to keep it.

3. Changing the Accessibility Options of the File

Once you know who the creator is, this is when you would contact them to have them remove you from the design. If they are unsure how to do this, design permissions can be changed from the Share menu in the design editor of the file.

The share menu can also update the access that different users have, including the ability to comment, view, and share the design with others.

Why You Want to Remove Old Shared Files from Canva

Though it may seem like a bit of a hassle to contact the creator just to remove shared files, it can become even more problematic just to leave them be.

Here are several reasons why you should remove old files (both shared and unshared) regularly:

  • It keeps your homepage clean and uncluttered
  • Helps to keep folders organized
  • Protects the privacy of past clients and projects
  • It prevents accidental editing of past shared designs

As a general rule, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of asking clients to remove sharing permissions at the end of a project, so that you don’t have to go back and deal with it later on.

Canva Shared With You Files vs. Templates

If you’ve ever used a Canva template, you may be wondering how these differ from shared files. Canva templates are designed to be shared with a vast number of people. Instead of sharing a fixed file with someone that multiple people are editing, a template is shared as a copy of the original. This means that any edits you make only affect the copy saved to your account.

In the case of templates, users can delete these at any time without the permission of the original creator.

Final Thoughts

We hope this clears up any confusion around deleting files shared with you on Canva. Though you are required to ask the original creator to remove shared permission, Canva is aware that this is a problem for many users, so we will hopefully see an improvement in the future.