Data and trust
Your data is stored where you already keep it, and you decide who can open each map.
We read your source, we don't hold a copy
Every time a map opens, Groundwork reads live from wherever you already keep your data: a Dropbox or OneDrive folder, a public GitHub repository, a WFS server, a QGIS Server project, a STAC catalogue. It stores no copy of your data and no database of it anywhere, so a change at the source is in the map the next time it opens.
Where your data passes through us
For Dropbox connections, file requests are relayed through Groundwork's own servers. Your files pass through in transit only. Nothing is written to a database, and nothing is kept once the transfer finishes. The Dropbox sign-in runs between your browser and Dropbox, and the token it returns is stored on your device.
OneDrive and SharePoint files don't pass through us at all. The Microsoft sign-in and every file request are sent straight from your browser to Microsoft.
A public GitHub repository is read the same way, straight from your browser. There is no sign-in, because GitHub asks for nothing to read a public repository.
Some features send locations through our servers to another company. Address search, Nearby distances and routes go to Geoapify, a geocoding and routing service. Groundwork sends it the search text, the point at the centre of the map, and the coordinates at each end of a distance or route. Street View goes to Google, with the location of the feature you open it on.
Who can open a map
A link points at your source. It holds no copy of the data, so the source decides who can open a map. Only the people your OneDrive or SharePoint library lets in can open a map on it. There are no Groundwork permissions to administer, and nothing to update when someone joins or leaves.
The person sharing a map chooses how the link behaves: open to anyone as view-only, asking for sign-in first, or as a demo where everyone gets the editing tools and nothing is written back. Sign-in uses a Dropbox or Microsoft account your people already have, so there is no separate Groundwork account to create.
Several people, one record
A layer in your Dropbox folder can be the record your whole team updates. Groundwork keeps each person's changes apart, feature by feature, and never writes over a colleague's work. Editing as a team explains how, and when a WFS server is the better fit.
Your data stays in its format, on servers you already chose
Groundwork doesn't change your data's format or move it off the servers you chose before you started using Groundwork. See Open standards on the Features page, or Connecting a data source for how each source loads.
For organisations with jurisdiction-specific data rules
Some organisations need Groundwork's own hosting to be within a particular region, for data residency or sovereignty requirements. We can discuss hosting in the region you need. Enquire about Teams →