Dropbox cloud app

Using the SAML 2.0 standard, you can configure single sign-on (SSO) for a number of cloud apps. After you set up SSO, your users can use their Google Workspace credentials to sign in to an app using SSO.

Use SAML to set up SSO for Dropbox

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You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

Step 1: Set up Google as a SAML identity provider

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsWeb and mobile apps.
3. Click Add appSearch for apps.
4. For Enter app name, enter Dropbox Business.
5. In the search results, point to Dropbox Business and click Select.

6. In the Google Identity Provider details window, for Option 2: Copy the SSO URL, entity ID, and certificate:

   1. Next to SSO URL, click Copy and save the URL.
   2. Next to Certificate, click Download and download the certificate.
      You need these details to complete the setup in Dropbox.
7. Click Continue.
8. On the Service provider details page, check the Signed Response box.
9. Click Continue.
10. (Optional) To map Google directory attributes to the corresponding app attributes, in the Attribute Mapping window:

    1. Click Add Mapping.
    2. Click Select fieldselect a Google directory attribute.
    3. For App attributes, enter the corresponding app attribute.
11. (Optional) To enter group names that are relevant for this app:

    1. For Group membership (optional), click Search for a group, enter one or more letters of the group name, and select the group name.
    2. Add additional groups as needed (maximum of 75 groups).
    3. For App attribute, enter the corresponding groups attribute name of the service provider.

    Regardless of how many group names you enter, the SAML response includes only groups that a user is a member of (directly or indirectly). For more information, go to About group membership mapping.

12. Click Finish.

Step 2: Set up Dropbox as a SAML 2.0 service provider

1. Open an Incognito browser window, go to the Dropbox sign-in page, and sign in with your Dropbox administrator account.
2. Click Admin ConsoleSettings.
3. Below Authentication, click Single sign-on.
4. Set Single sign-on to either Optional or Required.
   • If you choose Optional, your team can sign in to Dropbox using SSO or their Dropbox password.
   • If you choose Required, your team must sign in to Dropbox with SSO, as their Dropbox password will no longer work.
5. For Add sign-in URL, paste the SSO URL that you copied in Step 1.
6. Click Upload certificate to upload the certificate file that you downloaded in Step 1.
7. Click Save.
8. Invite members to your Dropbox team.
   Only those users who have been invited to your Dropbox team—and have accepted their invitations—can sign in using SSO.
   Note: If you set up automatic user provisioning for Dropbox, new users added to your Google organization are automatically invited to join your Dropbox team.
   1. Click MembersInvite members.
   2. For Invite to the team, enter the Google email addresses for your new Dropbox users.
   3. Click Send invites.
      New users must open the Dropbox invitation in their Google mailbox and accept the invitation to join the the Dropbox team. Invited users create their Dropbox accounts during the signup process.
9. Notify your team.
   • If you chose to require SSO, Dropbox notifes team members by email.
   • If you made SSO optional, you must notify the team yourself.

Step 3: Turn on app for users

Before you begin: To turn a service on or off for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsWeb and mobile apps.
3. Click Dropbox Business.
4. Click User access.

5. To turn a service on or off for everyone in your organization, click On for everyone or Off for everyone, and then click Save.

6. (Optional) To turn a service on or off for an organizational unit:

   1. At the left, select the organizational unit.
   2. To change the Service status, select On or Off.
   3. Choose one:
      • If the Service status is set to Inherited and you want to keep the updated setting, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
      • If the Service status is set to Overridden, either click Inherit to revert to the same setting as its parent, or click Save to keep the new setting, even if the parent setting changes.
        Note: Learn more about organizational structure.
7. (Optional) To turn on a service for a set of users across or within organizational units, select an access group. For details, go to Use groups to customize service access.
8. Ensure that your Dropbox user account email domains match the primary domain of your organization’s managed Google Account.

Step 4: Verify SSO is working

Dropbox supports only identity provider-initiated SSO.

Verify identity provider-initiated SSO

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsWeb and mobile apps.
3. Click Dropbox Business.
4. In the Dropbox Business section, click Test SAML Login.
   The app should open in a separate tab. If it doesn’t, troubleshoot the error message and try again. For details on troubleshooting, go to SAML app error messages.

After your credentials are authenticated, the app should open.

Step 5: Set up user provisioning

As a super administrator, you can automatically provision users in the app. For details, go to Configure Dropbox Business user provisioning.

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