I do. EVERY TIME! Here's what could go wrong if you don't:
I keep a spreadsheet. 47 providers reviewed. Only 3 had acceptable terms. The rest? WARNINGS everywhere.
Your traffic is their product. Your complacency is their profit.
Who else actually reads?
Member
¡¿Is very important this question?! I write long paragraph about freedom and contract law and digital rights but... no. Is better short.
I read once. OVHcloud. Three hours. My eyes it bleed. Then I delete my account jajaja. Not worth.
Now I use only XMR, no KYC, no signature. The TOS it reads me, not I read it.
NOBODY READS!!! I SIGNED UP FOR HETZNER IN 2019!!! TERMS COULD SAY THEY OWN MY FIRSTBORN!!! WOULD NOT KNOW!!! 💀
THIS IS WHY I SELFHOST EVERYTHING!!! FIREWALL FIRST!!! COFFEE SECOND!!!
Member
Thanks for raising this, @olespete — it's a topic we take seriously at Contabo.
Our TOS is available at contabo.com/legal and we recently reduced it from 12,000 words to 4,200. Key points:
Happy to walk anyone through specific sections via DM. — Jane @ Contabo
47 providers and only 3 passed? Which ones made the cut
Member
Spreadsheet of TOS is next level
Same. Nobody reads
Since you asked: the three that passed were Hetzner, Netlify, and... surprisingly, a regional ISP in Norway. Everyone else had at least one poison pill. AWS? Arbitration + data grab. DigitalOcean? Auto-renewal buried in billing FAQ, not even the TOS. Vultr? 90-day notice for "unlimited" egress they meter anyway.
My spreadsheet columns: provider, word count, arbitration, data resale, auto-renewal trap, cancellation window, "unlimited" definition, and a notes field for the truly creative clauses.
Hetzner won on brevity. 1,800 words. Clear 30-day notice. No forced arbitration for EU. Their storage box TOS is separate and also readable.
Netlify surprised me. They actually define "fair use" with numbers. 100GB bandwidth on free tier, explicit. Most say "reasonable" and let you guess.
The Norwegian ISP? Local law. 14-day cooling-off period mandatory. They can't hide even if they wanted to.
Everyone else failed on at least one of: hidden renewal, data monetization, or rights waiver. Some hit all three.
Netlify? Huh. I would have guessed Vercel before them. Good to know.
New Jersey has strong consumer protection on auto-renewal. Orly's Law: they have to notify you 30 days before, in writing, with clear cancellation method. Doesn't stop companies from trying, but it gives you teeth if they charge anyway.
I got $400 back from a "SEO tool" that auto-renewed after I cancelled. Took one complaint to NJ consumer affairs. They folded in 48 hours.
State level is where this actually gets enforced. Federal? Good luck.
Member
In Argentina the TOS is... how you say... decoration. The consumer law Ley 24.240 it override everything. 10 day to cancel any digital service, no question. I use this three times.
But for hosting outside? Is different game. Hetzner respect EU law but for me in Buenos Aires? Is German contract. If they terminate my seedbox with 30 days of notice, what I do? Fly to Falkenstein? Jajaja. Their status page: https://status.hetzner.com
This is why I stay with providers who accept XMR and no real name. Less to lose. The TOS it matter less if they don't know who to sue.
