Permafrost Terms of Service
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Permafrost is hosted storage for Frost backups, operated by whatithasisandalwayswillbe ("we", "us"). These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and us when you subscribe to Permafrost or utilize a Permafrost access key. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use Permafrost.
Frost itself is free and open-source software, governed by its own license rather than these terms. You are free to use Frost with any storage provider of your choice. Our privacy policy explains what data Permafrost collects and why.
#The Service
Permafrost stores backup archives generated by Frost. You select a storage tier upon subscription, and Frost connects using your unique access key.
Frost encrypts your files locally on your device prior to upload using a key controlled exclusively by you. Permafrost stores encrypted data that we cannot read and cannot recover if you lose your recovery phrase.
#Subscriptions and Billing
You must be at least 18 years old to subscribe. If you are subscribing on behalf of an organization, you represent that you possess the legal authority to bind that organization to these terms.
Polar acts as the merchant of record. Polar processes your subscription purchase, collects payments, handles applicable taxes, and issues receipts subject to its own buyer terms. Your payment card details never reach our servers.
Subscriptions operate on a monthly billing cycle, priced in US dollars, and renew automatically until canceled. The key purchase page displays the current price prior to purchase, and Polar provides advance notice of any price adjustments.
You may modify your storage tier or cancel your subscription at any time via the customer portal. Storage tier upgrades apply immediately, with Polar charging or crediting the prorated difference. If you cancel, your upload privileges remain active through the end of the paid billing period.
#Refunds
If Permafrost does not meet your needs, email [email protected] within 14 days of your initial payment for a full refund. Your subscription terminates immediately upon issuance of the refund: uploads cease, but you retain access to restore your backups for 45 days, after which access terminates and backups become eligible for deletion. Subsequent subscription renewals are non-refundable, though you may cancel at any time through the customer portal to prevent future charges. This policy does not override any statutory consumer rights you may hold under applicable law.
#Your Access Key
Anyone possessing your access key can upload, download, and delete your encrypted backups; keep it secure and confidential. Each account maintains one active access key at a time. Generating a new key—either via the key page or email recovery—immediately revokes the previous key across all devices.
Replacement keys are sent exclusively to the email address registered to your subscription, ensuring that whoever controls that inbox can recover access. Even with a new key, third parties cannot read your backups without your independent recovery phrase.
#Fair Use and Storage Limits
Permafrost includes download transfers for restoring your backups. The service is optimized for backup and disaster recovery, not for general file hosting or content distribution. Sustained download volumes significantly exceeding normal use—such as transferring more than three times your stored data volume over a rolling 30-day period—exceed fair use. If this threshold is exceeded, we will contact you and reserve the right to throttle download speeds.
When your storage capacity is reached, uploads pause while existing data remains untouched. Frost will notify you, and you can upgrade your storage tier in the customer portal. The same pausing behavior applies if you downgrade to a tier smaller than your current data volume.
#User-Stored Content
You are solely responsible for the data you back up. You agree to store only content you have the legal right to store and to refrain from using Permafrost for unlawful activities. Your data remains your property; we claim no intellectual property rights over it. Because your data is client-side encrypted, we cannot inspect its contents.
You agree not to probe, attack, overload, or compromise Permafrost infrastructure, nor attempt unauthorized access to other users' data.
#Account Termination
If your subscription terminates or a payment fails, Permafrost ceases accepting new uploads, but data restoration remains available for 45 days. Following this 45-day grace period, access terminates, and backups become eligible for deletion. Background cleanup runs periodically; renewing your subscription before the account fully closes may preserve your data. Deleted data may persist on our storage provider's infrastructure until their standard retention cycles clear it.
Your account officially closes 45 days after your subscription ends. Account records are deleted 90 days thereafter, as detailed in the privacy policy.
If you violate these terms, we may suspend your uploads or terminate your subscription. Except in cases of legal compliance or urgent security threats, we will notify you in advance, and you will retain 45 days to restore your backups.
If Permafrost is ever shut down, we will notify you by email at least 90 days in advance. Restores will remain functional through the closure date, and you will not be charged for any period following closure.
#Warranties and Limitation of Liability
We work diligently to keep Permafrost operational and your backups intact, but we cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability or absolute freedom from data loss. You should maintain a secondary copy of any data you cannot afford to lose. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Permafrost is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind.
In the event of a dispute, our total aggregate liability to you is limited to the amount you paid for Permafrost during the 12 months preceding your claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, including lost profits or business interruption. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liabilities or consumer rights that cannot be waived by law.
#Contact
We may update these terms from time to time. When changes occur, the revision date at the top will be updated.
Direct any questions regarding these terms to [email protected].