Effective Date: August 14, 2026
1. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
1.1. Introduction.
These Cloud Storage Terms ("Storage Terms") govern the Customer’s access to and use of the data storage services, object storage repositories, block storage volumes, and archival systems provided by the Pinkdude Group ("Provider"). These terms are specific to the storage of static and dynamic data and form an integral part of the Master Terms of Service.
1.2. Service Applicability.
These terms apply to the following Services:
(a) Object Storage (S3-Compatible): API-accessible storage for unstructured data (e.g., media files, backups, logs, static web content) accessed via HTTP/HTTPS.
(b) Block Storage: High-performance, low-latency storage volumes attached to Virtual Private Servers (VPS) acting as raw disk devices (e.g., boot drives, database storage).
(c) Cold/Archive Storage: Long-term storage tiers designed for infrequent access, characterized by lower storage costs but higher retrieval costs and latency.
(d) Snapshot Repository: Managed storage specifically designated for system images and point-in-time backups of compute instances.
1.3. Service Nature.
The Provider offers storage infrastructure on a "Passive Conduit" basis. We provide the space, the API, and the durability mechanisms, but we do not interact with, curate, or monetize the content of your data.
1.4. Data Residency and Global Infrastructure.
(a) Regional Flexibility: Customer Data may be stored, processed, and replicated in multiple geographic regions for redundancy, resilience, and operational efficiency unless a specific data residency commitment is explicitly stated in an Order Form.
(b) No Implicit Guarantee: The Customer acknowledges that simply selecting a "preferred region" in the Dashboard does not constitute a legal guarantee that data will never leave that jurisdiction during maintenance, migration, or disaster recovery events.
1.5. Architecture Responsibility.
Customer is solely responsible for designing a storage architecture appropriate for its risk tolerance, including implementing replication, backups, and disaster recovery mechanisms. The Provider does not guarantee that the Storage Service alone is sufficient for mission-critical data preservation without independent Customer-managed backups.
2. DATA OWNERSHIP AND METADATA
2.1. Customer Data Ownership.
As between the Provider and the Customer, the Customer retains all right, title, and interest in and to the content of the files, objects, and block data stored on the Service ("Customer Data").
2.2. Metadata and Telemetry Ownership (The "Telemetry" Clause).
(a) Distinction: You acknowledge the distinction between "Customer Data" (the content you upload) and "Metadata" (technical data generated by the system regarding your usage).
(b) Provider Rights: The Provider may collect, retain, and use technical metadata related to storage usage, performance metrics, access patterns, API error rates, and operational telemetry for billing, capacity planning, service improvement, fraud detection, and security purposes.
(c) No Claim: Such metadata does not constitute Customer Data. You have no ownership claim over the system logs, bandwidth metrics, or routing data generated by your use of the Service.
2.3. No Fiduciary Duty.
The Provider is not a data custodian, escrow agent, or fiduciary with respect to Customer Data. The Provider’s role is strictly limited to that of an infrastructure service provider. No special relationship or heightened duty of care is created by your use of the Services to store sensitive, confidential, or mission-critical data.
3. DATA DURABILITY AND INTEGRITY
3.1. Durability vs. Availability.
(a) Redundancy Mechanisms: While the Provider utilizes commercially reasonable redundancy mechanisms commonly used in cloud storage infrastructure (e.g., Erasure Coding, Replication, RAID-6, or ZFS) to protect data against hardware failure, Provider does not guarantee 100% data durability.
(b) No Availability Guarantee: The Provider does not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the Storage Service unless explicitly stated in a separate Service Level Agreement (SLA).
(c) Hardware Failure: You acknowledge that all physical storage media (HDD, SSD, NVMe) have a non-zero failure rate. In the event of a catastrophic double-disk failure or chassis destruction beyond the Provider’s redundancy capabilities, data may be lost.
3.2. Object Versioning Is Not Backup.
(a) Feature Definition: The Service may offer "Versioning," which retains multiple variants of an object in the same bucket.
(b) Limitation: Object versioning, replication, or redundancy features do not constitute a backup service unless explicitly designated as such in an Order Form.
(c) Liability: If a bucket is deleted (accidentally or maliciously), all versions within that bucket are permanently erased.
3.3. Checksums and Verification.
(a) Upload Verification: You are responsible for verifying the integrity of data immediately upon upload using cryptographic checksums (e.g., MD5, SHA-256).
(b) Acceptance: If you do not receive a successful hash match response from the API, you must assume the upload failed. The Provider is not responsible for partial objects or zero-byte files resulting from interrupted connections.
4. PUBLIC ACCESS, CONTENT, AND LIABILITY
4.1. The "Public Bucket" Responsibility.
Object Storage buckets can be configured as "Public" (accessible to the entire internet) or "Private."
(a) Default Setting: New buckets are created as "Private" by default.
(b) Customer Risk: If you configure a bucket, object, or Access Control List (ACL) to allow public read/write access, you are solely responsible for all bandwidth charges (Egress) and data leakage resulting from such access.
(c) Viral Traffic: The Provider will not issue refunds for Egress Overage caused by "viral" content, hotlinking by third parties, or DDoS attacks targeting your public files.
4.2. Passive Conduit (DMCA & Illegal Content).
The Provider acts strictly as a passive conduit. We do not index, monitor, or inspect the contents of your storage buckets unless required by law or to maintain the technical integrity of the Service.
(a) Prohibited Content: You may not store illegal content, including but not limited to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), non-consensual sexual imagery, malware/ransomware executables, or terrorist propaganda.
(b) Takedowns: Upon receipt of a valid removal order or credible abuse report, the Provider reserves the right to disable access to or delete the offending content immediately and without notice.
4.3. Law Enforcement and Legal Holds.
(a) Compliance: The Provider may preserve, freeze, or disclose Customer Data if required to comply with applicable law, court orders, subpoenas, warrants, or governmental requests.
(b) No Notice: We may be legally prohibited from notifying you of such disclosures ("Gag Orders"). In such cases, we will comply with the order without prior notice to you.
(c) Cost of Compliance: If the Provider is required to perform extensive data retrieval or preservation on your behalf due to a legal dispute involving your account, we reserve the right to charge you for the administrative time and resources incurred.
5. BILLING, TIERS, AND LIFECYCLE
5.1. Storage and Request Fees.
You agree to pay for:
(a) Storage Capacity: The average amount of data stored (in GB/TB) during the billing cycle, calculated on a GB-Month basis.
(b) API Requests: The number of operations performed. "Class A" operations (PUT, COPY, POST, LIST) and "Class B" operations (GET, HEAD) may be billed at different rates.
(c) Data Transfer (Egress): Data transferred out of the storage system to the internet. Internal transfer (within the same region) is typically free unless specified otherwise.
5.2. Minimum Storage Duration.
To prevent abuse of the storage system (e.g., using it as a temporary RAM buffer):
(a) Minimum Time: Objects deleted before a minimum duration (e.g., 30 days for Standard, 90 days for Cold) may be charged as if they were stored for the full minimum duration ("Early Deletion Fee").
5.3. Retrieval Fees (Cold Storage).
If you utilize "Archive," "Cold," or "Glacier-like" storage classes:
(a) Restoration Cost: You acknowledge that retrieving data from these tiers attracts higher fees per GB.
(b) Latency: Data in Cold storage is not available immediately. Retrieval times may range from minutes to hours.
6. SECURITY AND ENCRYPTION
6.1. Encryption at Rest.
(a) Provider Encryption: The Provider may encrypt data at rest using its own keys (Server-Side Encryption). This protects against physical disk theft but does not protect you from a compromised account password or API key.
(b) Client-Side Encryption: For sensitive data (PII, PHI, financial records), you are solely responsible for encrypting data before uploading it ("Client-Side Encryption").
(c) Key Management: The Provider does not possess your private keys and cannot recover encrypted data if you lose them.
6.2. Access Credentials.
(a) API Keys: You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your Access Keys and Secret Keys.
(b) Root Key Usage: You agree to create granular Service Accounts (IAM users) rather than using Root credentials for daily application access.
7. TERM AND DELETION
7.1. Termination Effect.
Upon termination of the Service or your Account:
(a) Immediate Wipe: You expressly instruct the Provider to delete all encryption keys and data pointers associated with your storage. This process is cryptographic and irreversible.
(b) Customer Responsibility: The Customer is solely responsible for any deletion actions performed through authenticated credentials, including accidental or malicious deletions.
(c) No Recovery: The Provider has no obligation to retain data after termination and cannot recover data once the "Purge" command has been issued.
7.2. Abandonment and Capacity Reclamation.
(a) Non-Payment: If your account is suspended for non-payment for more than thirty (30) days, the Provider reserves the right to delete all stored data to reclaim capacity.
(b) Orphaned Data: Data left in buckets associated with cancelled accounts will be scheduled for garbage collection immediately.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY (STORAGE SPECIFIC)
8.1. Liability Cap.
IN ADDITION TO THE LIMITATIONS IN THE MASTER TERMS, THE PROVIDER’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY DATA LOSS, CORRUPTION, OR UNAVAILABILITY OF THE STORAGE SERVICE SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE SERVICE CREDITS APPLICABLE TO THE AFFECTED BILLING PERIOD.
8.2. Exclusion of Consequential Damages.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THE PROVIDER BE LIABLE FOR THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE DATA STORED, COSTS OF DATA RECONSTRUCTION, LOST PROFITS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION ARISING FROM THE LOSS OR UNAVAILABILITY OF DATA.