Terms of Service

1. What ColdStorage is

ColdStorage is a downloadable macOS application that backs up photos and files you choose to long-term cloud storage. You pick what to upload; the app encrypts each file on your Mac before it leaves the machine, and stores the encrypted data in Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

It is not a sync service and it keeps no version history. Getting files back is a recovery, not an instant download: you are shown an exact fee and wait time first, and nothing starts until you approve it.

2. Your subscription

The app is free to download. Storage is a paid subscription, sold in capacity tiers (500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB) on a prepaid term of one, two, three, or five years, charged up front.

Each term is a rate lock — that many years at the price shown when you buy. If our own costs rise during your term, we absorb the difference until the term ends.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of the term unless you cancel. We remind you before a renewal is charged.

Payments are processed by Paddle.com, our Merchant of Record and reseller. Paddle handles billing, tax, and receipts; your card details never touch our systems. Your purchase is also subject to Paddle's buyer terms.

3. Cancelling, and what happens if a payment lapses

You can cancel at any time from the app or the customer portal. See our Refund Policy for money-back terms.

If a subscription lapses or you cancel, your archive is not deleted. It becomes read-only — browsable, with nothing new going in — and is kept through a grace period of about six months, with clear reminders and a final warning before anything is removed. We never delete an archive over a single lapsed card.

4. Recovering your files

Retrieving data from deep storage carries a real cost that Amazon charges us. We pass that through at cost, with no markup. Before any recovery, you see the exact fee and ready-time and must approve it. Retrieval fees are usage charges for work performed on your request and are separate from your subscription.

5. Your files and your responsibilities

Your files are yours. You keep all rights to what you upload, and you are responsible for having the right to store it and for using ColdStorage lawfully.

• Only upload data you own or have permission to store.
• Don't use ColdStorage to store unlawful content or to break the law.
• Keep your Mac and account credentials secure.

6. Your encryption key

Your files are encrypted on your Mac with a key tied to your account. Today we hold that key in escrow so recovery works when you need it. Access to it is audit-logged and only ever used with your say-so. We are moving toward holding the key on your device alone; this section will be updated when that ships.

7. Availability and our wind-down promise

We work to keep the service available but don't guarantee uninterrupted access, and deep-archive recovery is inherently not instant by design.

If we ever wind the service down, you get at least six months' notice to take your archive elsewhere before anything is deleted. It's a commitment we publish and stand behind: your archive shouldn't disappear because our business did.

8. Liability

ColdStorage is provided on an "as is" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability is limited to the amount you paid for your subscription in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited by law.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the product changes. If a change is material, we'll give reasonable notice. Continuing to use ColdStorage after a change means you accept the updated terms.

10. Governing law and contact

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada. Questions about them can go to support@m.coldstorage.sh.