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Cloud

Dropbox

dropbox.com

D

Where this can follow you

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Open the original (new tab)2026 Terms of Service - Dropbox
D

Risk score

65of 100

Read Sep 16, 2026

In short

  • You are agreeing to provide your personal information, files, and payment details to Dropbox in exchange for cloud storage and document services.
  • The agreement allows Dropbox to change fees with 30 days' notice and requires you to handle disputes through individual arbitration rather than public courts or class actions.
  • You accept that Dropbox limits its liability for data loss or service errors and may terminate your account without refund under certain conditions.

What you accept

If you tap Agree

Everyday words for the material promises and rights you give up. Each line includes a quote from the document.

  1. 01

    You are agreeing to be bound by the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Acceptable Use Policy by using the Services.

    This product

    “By using our Services, you’re agreeing to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and Acceptable Use Policy.”
  2. 02

    You are agreeing to allow Dropbox to access, store, scan, and share Your Stuff with affiliates and trusted third parties to provide features like OCR and previews.

    Other products, stores, or brands

    “To provide these and other features, Dropbox accesses, stores, and scans Your Stuff. You give us permission to do those things, and this permission extends to our affiliates and trusted third parties we work with.”
  3. 03

    You are agreeing to resolve disputes through final and binding individual arbitration and waiving the right to join a class action.

    This product

    “You and Dropbox agree to resolve any claims relating to or arising out of these Terms or the Services through final and binding individual arbitration... NO CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS. You may only resolve disputes with us on an individual basis...”

What it can cost you

Downsides we could quote

Quoted clauses that can affect your privacy, money, or right to go to court — including terms that follow you to other products.

Highest-cost clauses first

High cost

Forced arbitration or class-action waiver

You are agreeing to waive your right to a jury trial and class action participation for any claims.

“You and Dropbox agree to resolve any claims relating to or arising out of these Terms or the Services through final and binding individual arbitration... NO CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS. You may only resolve disputes with us on an individual basis, and may not bring a claim as a plaintiff or a class member in a class, consolidated, or representative action.”

What that means: You cannot sue in a group with other users, which reduces your leverage against the company for widespread issues.

The document mandates that U.S. residents must use individual arbitration for all disputes, explicitly banning class actions and consolidations.

High cost

Liability shifted onto the user

You are agreeing to limit the company's liability for damages and exclude coverage for lost profits or data loss consequences.

“WE DON’T EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DO SO... IF YOU USE THE SERVICES FOR ANY COMMERCIAL, BUSINESS, OR RE-SALE PURPOSE, DROPBOX... WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT... WE LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU TO THE GREATER OF $20 USD OR 100% OF ANY AMOUNT YOU'VE PAID...”

What that means: If Dropbox loses your business data or causes significant financial harm, your compensation is strictly capped and excludes most consequential losses.

The terms exclude liability for indirect damages like lost profits and cap direct liability at a very low amount ($20 or one year's fees), especially for commercial use.

Medium cost

Auto-renewal or hard-to-cancel paid terms

You are agreeing to automatic recurring billing and potential fee increases upon renewal.

“We’ll automatically bill you from the date you convert to a Paid Account and on each periodic renewal until cancellation. We may change the fees in effect on renewal of your subscription... we’ll give you no less than 30 days’ advance notice of these changes via a message to the email address associated with your account...”

What that means: Your credit card will be charged repeatedly, and the price you pay may increase annually unless you cancel before the new fee applies.

Paid plans renew automatically, and Dropbox reserves the right to increase fees at renewal, though they promise 30 days' notice.

Medium cost

Unilateral changes with little or no notice

You are agreeing to accept future changes to the terms by continuing to use the service.

“We may revise these Terms to better reflect: changes to the law, new regulatory requirements, or improvements or enhancements made to our Services... By maintaining an account after the updates come into effect, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.”

What that means: The rules governing your account can change, and you are bound by them if you keep using the service.

Dropbox can change the terms for any reason, including product improvements, and continued use constitutes acceptance.

Medium cost

Indefinite retention

You are agreeing that inactive free accounts may be deleted, resulting in permanent data loss without refund.

“If you don’t have a Paid Account and haven't accessed our Services for 6 consecutive months... we’ll terminate or suspend your access to the Services... Once we suspend or terminate your access to the Services, you will not be able to access or export Your Stuff. Dropbox does not provide refunds...”

What that means: You risk losing all your data permanently if you stop logging in for half a year.

Inactivity for six months leads to termination, after which data becomes inaccessible and unrecoverable.

Medium cost

You take the risk of injury or death

You are agreeing to assume all responsibility for the legal outcomes and costs of documents generated via templates.

“You acknowledge that Dropbox is not providing you with legal advice or acting as your attorney or agent, and you assume full responsibility for any outcomes or costs associated with your use of our Templates. ... You should consult with an attorney about your specific situation before relying on the Templates for any contract, agreement or transaction.”

What that means: If a contract created using Dropbox templates is legally flawed, you bear the cost and risk alone.

Users using the template feature take full responsibility for the legal validity and consequences of the documents they create.

Lower cost

Children’s data

You are agreeing that you are at least 18 years old to use the services.

“Finally, to use our Services, you must be at least 18. Dropbox may use and rely on information from third parties, including age signals from app stores, for the purpose of enforcing this restriction.”

What that means: Users under 18 are prohibited, but enforcement depends on third-party data sources.

The service sets a strict minimum age of 18, but relies on external signals rather than robust age verification methods.

If these terms already apply to you

Keep this list. Fineprint cannot undo or cancel something you already agreed to at the company.

We cannot see Agree on their site. With Premium, tap “I accepted these terms” if you already agreed to what Dropbox asks.

News for this company

First readings and wording changes we could quote — the same items that appear on News.

All News

  1. Updated · Privacy policy

    Dropbox privacy policy changed

    We quoted 7 wording changes below. The grade moved from D to C.

    Wording we could quote

    • No longer quoted

      Data sold or shared with third parties

      “With Whom We may share information as discussed below, but we won’t sell it to advertisers or other third parties.”

    • No longer quoted

      Forced arbitration or class-action waiver

      “In the event your concern still isn’t addressed by JAMS, you may be entitled to a binding arbitration as set forth in Annex I of the Data Privacy Framework Principles.”

    • Changed

      Indefinite retention

      Was

      “When you sign up for an account with us, we’ll retain information you store on our Services for as long as your account exists or as long as we need it to provide you the Services.”

      Now

      “If you delete your account, we’ll initiate deletion of this information after 30 days... (2) we may retain this information if necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.”

    • Changed

      Tracking you across apps

      Was

      “We use technologies like [cookies and pixel tags](https://help.”

      Now

      “Recipient and viewer analytics... we collect information including your identifying and device information... on how you interact with the viewed content.”

    • Appeared

      Unilateral changes with little or no notice

      “We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time... If a revision meaningfully reduces your rights, we will notify you.”

    • Appeared

      Cookie consent that favors Accept

      “You can set your browser to not accept cookies, but this may limit your ability to use the Services.”

    • Appeared

      Liability shifted onto the user

      “If you reside in North America... Dropbox, Inc. acts as your service provider. For all other users, Dropbox International Unlimited Company acts as a controller.”

    Sep 16, 2026 · C

    Company pageSee what changed

  2. Updated · Terms of use

    Dropbox terms of use changed

    We quoted 8 wording changes below. The grade moved from C to D.

    Wording we could quote

    • Changed

      Forced arbitration or class-action waiver

      Was

      “YOU ALSO AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING MANDATORY ARBITRATION PROVISIONS: We Both Agree to Arbitrate. You and Dropbox agree to resolve any claims relating to or arising out of these Terms or the Services through final and binding individual arbitration”

      Now

      “You and Dropbox agree to resolve any claims relating to or arising out of these Terms or the Services through final and binding individual arbitration... NO CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS. You may only resolve disputes with us on an individual basis, and may not bring a claim as a plaintiff or a class member in a class, consolidated, or representative action.”

    • Changed

      Unilateral changes with little or no notice

      Was

      “We may revise these Terms... If an update affects your use of the Services or your legal rights as a user of our Services, we’ll notify you prior to the update's effective date... By continuing to use or access the Services after the updates come into effect, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.”

      Now

      “We may revise these Terms to better reflect: changes to the law, new regulatory requirements, or improvements or enhancements made to our Services... By maintaining an account after the updates come into effect, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.”

    • Changed

      Liability shifted onto the user

      Was

      “WE DON’T EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DO SO... IN COUNTRIES WHERE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY ARE ALLOWED... DROPBOX... WON’T BE LIABLE FOR: ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF USE, DATA, BUSINESS, OR PROFITS... WE LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU TO THE GREATER OF $20 USD OR 100% OF ANY AMOUNT YOU'VE PAID UNDER YOUR CURRENT SERVICE PLAN”

      Now

      “WE DON’T EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DO SO... IF YOU USE THE SERVICES FOR ANY COMMERCIAL, BUSINESS, OR RE-SALE PURPOSE, DROPBOX... WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT... WE LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU TO THE GREATER OF $20 USD OR 100% OF ANY AMOUNT YOU'VE PAID...”

    • Changed

      Auto-renewal or hard-to-cancel paid terms

      Was

      “We’ll automatically bill you from the date you convert to a Paid Account and on each periodic renewal until cancellation.”

      Now

      “We’ll automatically bill you from the date you convert to a Paid Account and on each periodic renewal until cancellation. We may change the fees in effect on renewal of your subscription... we’ll give you no less than 30 days’ advance notice of these changes via a message to the email address associated with your account...”

    • No longer quoted

      Difficult or incomplete deletion

      “Once we suspend or terminate your access to the Services, you will not be able to access or export Your Stuff.”

    • Appeared

      Indefinite retention

      “If you don’t have a Paid Account and haven't accessed our Services for 6 consecutive months... we’ll terminate or suspend your access to the Services... Once we suspend or terminate your access to the Services, you will not be able to access or export Your Stuff. Dropbox does not provide refunds...”

    • Appeared

      Children’s data

      “Finally, to use our Services, you must be at least 18. Dropbox may use and rely on information from third parties, including age signals from app stores, for the purpose of enforcing this restriction.”

    • Appeared

      You take the risk of injury or death

      “You acknowledge that Dropbox is not providing you with legal advice or acting as your attorney or agent, and you assume full responsibility for any outcomes or costs associated with your use of our Templates. ... You should consult with an attorney about your specific situation before relying on the Templates for any contract, agreement or transaction.”

    Sep 16, 2026 · D

    Company pageSee what changed

  3. First reading · Terms of use

    We read the Dropbox terms of use

    By using Dropbox, you agree to be bound by these terms, including how your data is handled and how disputes are resolved. You accept that the service may change without cancelling your account, and if you live in the U.S., you must use arbitration for most legal claims instead of going to court. The company also limits its liability for damages, capping payouts at a small amount.

    Sep 16, 2026 · C

    Company pageSee what changed

  4. First reading · Privacy policy

    We read the Dropbox privacy policy

    Fineprint found 4 quoted privacy clauses that match the consumer rubric. This is a reading aid, not legal advice.

    Sep 2, 2026 · D

    Company pageSee what changed