Dropbox and choir leader privacy notice

Who this is for

This notice is for choir leaders who set up a music library through Chorustr, which connects to your Dropbox. It adds to the Chorustr Terms of Service and Privacy Notice, which still applies to your Chorustr account (your name, email, sign-in and so on). Where the two differ about the Dropbox functions described here, this notice applies.

A music library is a folder in your own Dropbox where you keep your choir’s practice material: one subfolder for each song, holding its audio recordings and any documents such as scores or lyrics (PDFs). You own it. Chorustr reads it, read-only, to play your songs to your choir.

Choir members who only sing in a choir are not asked to connect Dropbox and do not need to read this.

Chorustr is operated by George Mackenney, based in the United Kingdom, who is responsible for the personal data described here. Contact: support@chorustr.com.

What Chorustr asks Dropbox for, and why

In short: once your music library is set up, Chorustr has read-only access to that one folder and nothing else. Setting it up takes a one-off, temporary permission that lets Chorustr create the folder and share it with us as a viewer. That permission is removed as soon as the folder is ready.

When you set up a music library, Dropbox shows a screen asking you to allow Chorustr three permissions for that setup. Here is what each one means and what Chorustr does with it:

• “Edit content of your Dropbox files and folders” — Chorustr uses this to create a folder called Chorustr, a folder for your music library inside it, and a short README file with instructions. If you choose to add the example songs, it also saves them into your music library folder. It does not open or download any of your files.
• “View and manage your Dropbox sharing settings and collaborators” — Chorustr uses this to share that one folder, read-only, with Chorustr’s own Dropbox account (support@chorustr.com), so we can play your songs to your choir.
• “View basic information about your Dropbox account such as your username, email address and country” — Chorustr uses this to read your Dropbox account id, and stores only a keyed hash of it, to help prevent abuse of the Chorustr service (see “What we store” for how). We do not keep your Dropbox email address or username.

Dropbox’s permissions also let an app see the names of files and folders. Chorustr does not use this to browse your Dropbox. The permission you grant for setup does not include Dropbox’s permission to read the contents of files, so Chorustr cannot download or open your files with it. After setup, Chorustr is granted read permission only on your music library folder.

What Chorustr creates and shares

During setup, Chorustr adds the following to your Dropbox.

What Chorustr creates

• A folder called Chorustr.
• A folder for your music library, inside it.
• A short README file with instructions, in your music library folder.
• If you opt to include examples during setup, a set of example song folders is added to your music library folder.

What Chorustr shares

• Your music library folder, and only that folder, with Chorustr’s Dropbox account as a viewer (read-only).

What stays yours

• You own the folder and everything in it, including the README and the example songs, and you can delete any of them.
• Nothing else in your Dropbox is touched.

How long the setup permission lasts

Only during setup. Chorustr removes the permission as soon as the folder is ready and then checks that Dropbox refuses it. If we cannot confirm that, the permission still expires by itself, usually within a few hours, because we ask Dropbox for a temporary permission that cannot be renewed. We will tell you on screen if we could not confirm it.

Dropbox may keep listing “Chorustr” under Connected apps as a record that the app was connected. You can remove that entry with Disconnect. It does not affect your music library or Chorustr’s read-only access to it.

What we store, and why

• A music library record — your music library folder’s Dropbox id, the Chorustr account that owns it, when it was created, and whether it is healthy. We need this to find and play your music. It is kept until the music library or your account is deleted.
• A keyed hash of your Dropbox account id — not the id itself. We use it to spot when several Chorustr accounts share one Dropbox, so the free trial is not abused. A match is only a signal for us to review, never an automatic block, because there are good reasons for accounts to share a Dropbox (a teacher running several choirs, or handing a choir to a successor). We rely on our legitimate interest in preventing abuse of the service for this. It is deleted with the music library.
• A record of each setup attempt — which Chorustr account ran it, the folder’s name and Dropbox id, whether you asked for the example songs, and how far the setup and the copying got. This lets a setup that was interrupted be resumed without creating a second folder. It is deleted when your account is deleted.
• A short-lived sign-in record — a one-time code that ties the Dropbox sign-in to your Chorustr account. It can be used once, stops working after ten minutes, and is deleted when it is used or when your account is deleted.
• The names and layout of your song folders — Chorustr keeps a catalogue of the song folders and file names it finds in your music library folder, so it can show your choir its repertoire.

What we do not store

• Your Dropbox sign-in token. The permission Dropbox gives Chorustr for setup is used while the setup runs, then revoked, and is never saved.
• Your files. Chorustr’s servers do not download or keep your audio, scores or other files. Choir members’ devices download them from Dropbox through short-lived links.
• Your Dropbox email address or username.

Setup versus ongoing access

These are different, and we want to be plain about both.

Setup uses the temporary permission above. It does not include Dropbox’s permission to read file contents, so Chorustr cannot download or open your files with it, and it is removed afterwards.

Ongoing access uses Chorustr’s own Dropbox account, which you shared your music library folder with as a viewer. It does read the contents of that one folder, read-only, so it can list your songs and create the short-lived download links your choir’s devices use. It cannot change or delete anything in the folder. That account has its own long-lived credential, kept as a protected server secret. It is not tied to you personally.

You can end this at any time: in Dropbox, open the folder’s sharing settings and remove support@chorustr.com. Your choir will then no longer be able to play from the music library.

Who can see what

Only the choir’s owner (the person who set it up) sees the Dropbox folder’s details in Chorustr. Co-leaders and members do not see the folder reference. Chorustr’s own administrators can, for support.

If you delete your account

If you own a choir or a music library, deleting your account is handled by us rather than in the app, because it also affects your choir. Email support@chorustr.com from the address on your account. We verify your identity and honour the request within one month. We will confirm with you first. Then:

• Your profile, memberships, attendance records, event responses, choir applications and setup records are deleted.
• Every music library you own is deleted: the record, the reference to your Dropbox folder, the hashed account id, and any duplicate-account flag. Nothing is retained.
• A choir you own is deleted, with all its data, for every member. Handing a choir to someone else is not currently available, so if you want the choir to continue, please do not delete your account. Choirs you only helped lead continue under their owner; your name is removed from what you authored, and what you wrote stays with the choir.
• Your files stay in your Dropbox and remain yours. Chorustr never stored them. Chorustr stops reading them. Chorustr’s account stays on the shared folder until you remove it: in Dropbox, open your music library folder’s sharing settings and remove support@chorustr.com.

Backups and logs: our database keeps daily backups for 30 days, so deleted data can remain in a backup and is not removed early; it expires within 30 days. If a backup is ever restored, we re-apply earlier deletions. Server logs may contain account identifiers and are kept for a limited time.

Other companies involved

• Dropbox stores your files and the folder you create. Its use of your data is governed by the Dropbox Privacy Policy.
• Google Firebase hosts Chorustr’s database and sign-in in the EU (europe-west2), as described in the main notice.

We do not sell this data or use it for advertising.

Your rights and contact

You can ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it. If you have concerns about how we use your information, please tell us. Email support@chorustr.com. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).

Changes to this notice

If we make material changes to this notice, we will tell choir leaders before they take effect.