1.About the service and these terms
HQClouds is a website where you can register and renew a domain name and rent a cloud VPS server. The services are provided by HQClouds.
By creating an account or using the site, you accept these terms. If you disagree with any of them, please do not use the service.
Separate sections below cover domains and VPS servers: these are different services and they work differently, so read both if you use both. These terms apply together with the Acceptable Use Policy (page /abuse) and the Privacy Policy (page /privacy).
2.Your account and access to it
By ordering services, you confirm that you have the capacity to enter into this agreement under the law of the operator's country of registration and that you are acting on your own behalf or on behalf of an organization you are authorized to represent.
The information you provide when registering and placing orders must be accurate and current. We contact you at the email address you provide: server credentials, renewal reminders, and other important messages are sent there. If that address is not working, you may miss something critical.
You are responsible for keeping your password safe and for everything that happens in your account. We store your password as a hash and do not know it. If you suspect that someone else has gained access to your account, change your password and write to us at [email protected].
3.Your balance, prices, and payment
All payments within the service run through your account balance: you top up the balance, and purchases and renewals are charged against it.
Top-ups are processed by third-party payment providers. We neither receive nor store your card or wallet details; they stay with the provider, whose own terms and fees apply alongside ours. A provider may take its own fee, in which case less reaches your balance than you sent.
Prices are shown in the currency you select in your account. A renewal price may differ from the price you first paid: it depends on the rates charged by the domain zone's registry and by the infrastructure provider, and on exchange rates. You see the current price in your account before you confirm an order.
Every balance transaction appears in your account history. Any unspent balance stays in your account and is used for future orders and renewals; if you want it refunded, write to [email protected] — whether and how a refund is possible depends on the top-up method and the payment provider's rules. Make sure your balance has enough funds by the time a renewal is due, since that determines whether your services keep running.
4.Domains: our role as a reseller
We are not an accredited domain registrar. We operate as a reseller: we take your order and pass it to our partner registrar, which registers the domain with the zone's registry.
You become the domain's registrant. The domain belongs to you on the terms set by the zone's registry and the registrar, not by us.
Beyond registration, you can renew the domain manually or turn on automatic renewal from your balance. You can turn automatic renewal off in your account at any time, in which case the domain simply runs to the end of the term you paid for.
5.Your obligations as a registrant
Registering a domain requires registrant contact details: name, organization if applicable, email, phone, and address. Without them, a domain cannot be registered.
This information goes to our partner registrar and to the domain zone's registry, because the zone's rules require it — it is not our decision. The registrant's email address has to be confirmed: we send a message to it with a link, and the link is valid for a limited time. The registrar or the registry may also ask you to verify your contact details.
You must provide accurate details and keep them up to date. If contacts are inaccurate or unverified, the registry or the registrar may suspend the domain or remove its delegation.
6.ICANN rules and domain disputes
Domains are governed by ICANN rules and by the rules of the relevant zone's registry. Those rules apply independently of our agreement and take precedence on matters of domain registration.
Among other things, they require WHOIS data to be accurate, set the rules for transferring a domain between registrars, and establish grace and redemption periods after a registration term expires.
Disputes over rights to a domain name are handled under the UDRP and URS. We do not resolve such disputes and do not act as an arbiter in them: the decision is made by the competent body, and we and our partner registrar carry it out.
7.Domain renewal and expiration
Money paid for a registration is not refundable once the registrar has completed it. This is a limitation imposed by the registrar and the registry, not our decision.
The domain works until the end of the term you paid for. You can renew it manually or turn on automatic renewal, in which case the amount is charged to your balance. If the balance is insufficient, the renewal does not go through. We send a reminder before the term ends to the email address on your account.
After expiration, the grace periods and the redemption period set by the zone's rules apply. Until they run out, a domain can usually still be recovered; the zone's registry decides the terms and the cost of recovery. Once those periods end, the domain is released and anyone may register it.
8.VPS rental: what you get
When you place an order, we create a server for you with our infrastructure partner. The credentials — an IP address and a root password — are emailed to you and shown in your account.
The server runs until the end of the term you paid for. After that it renews automatically, provided your balance covers the charge; you can turn automatic renewal off in your account.
If the server cannot be created, the amount charged is returned to your balance automatically.
9.Server credentials and account sharing
We store the root password encrypted (AES-256-GCM), and we keep the encryption key separate from the database. In your account the password is revealed only when you ask for it.
When credentials are issued, the password is also sent to you by email, and email is a channel we do not control. We recommend changing the root password on the server as soon as you receive it and deleting the message that contains the credentials.
Do not give account access to third parties: you are responsible for everything done under your account. You remain the registrant of a domain you bought even if you stop using the service; changing the registrant follows the rules of the registry and the registrar.
10.Your data and backups
There are no backups by default. We do not back up your server and will not be able to restore data if you lose it.
Backups are entirely your responsibility. Keep copies of important data outside the server you rent.
You are responsible for everything you host and run on the server: files, websites, software and its configuration, system updates and security, and the actions of anyone you give access to.
11.What happens if a VPS goes unpaid
When the paid term ends, the service attempts to renew it and charge the amount to your balance. If the balance covers it, the server keeps running without interruption.
If your balance is insufficient, a grace period of about 24 hours begins. During that time the server keeps running and you can top up your balance. If payment still does not go through, the server is powered off.
Roughly six days after the server is powered off, it is deleted along with all its data. Deletion is irreversible: the data cannot be recovered, so download anything you need in advance.
12.Acceptable use
What you may and may not do with our services is set out in the Acceptable Use Policy, published on the page /abuse. That policy is part of these terms: by accepting the terms, you accept the policy as well.
If one of our customers is abusing the service, report it to [email protected].
13.Personal data
What data we collect, why, and how long we keep it is described in the Privacy Policy on the page /privacy. It also explains how to reach us with questions about your data.
To make the services work, we share some data with partners: the registrar and the registry of the domain zone, the infrastructure provider, payment providers, the email delivery service, and web analytics, DNS, and content delivery services. We also disclose data where the law of the operator's country of registration requires it.
Note in particular that registrant contact details leave our platform for the registrar and the zone's registry, and some of them may be published under the zone's rules. Data you place on a rented server is under your control; we do not back it up, and when the server is deleted it goes with it.
14.Suspension and termination of service
We may suspend or terminate services if these terms or the Acceptable Use Policy are violated, if a service is unpaid, or if the rules of the registrar, the zone's registry, or the infrastructure provider require it.
Suspension of a VPS means the server is powered off and, if it remains unpaid, deleted along with its data within the timeframes described above.
You may stop using the service at any time: turn off automatic renewal and let your services expire. Please note that money paid for a domain registration already completed is not refundable.
15.The service is provided "as is"
Services are provided "as is." We do not promise that the service will run without interruptions or errors, or that it will fit your particular purpose. We offer no availability guarantee in the form of an SLA with uptime percentages, and we pay no compensation for downtime.
The service also depends on partners: the registrar, the zone's registry, the infrastructure provider, and payment, email, and network services. Outages and restrictions on their side affect the service, and we cannot always fix them.
We are not liable for delays and failures caused by circumstances beyond our control: outages at our partners, network attacks, demands from public authorities, or natural disasters. Once such circumstances end, we return the services to normal operation.
16.Limitation of liability
We are not liable for loss of your data, lost profits, or indirect damages arising from your use of the service or your inability to use it.
We are not liable for the content you host, for the consequences of your actions on a server or with a domain, or for decisions made by competent bodies in domain disputes.
In any event, our liability is limited to the amount you actually paid for the service in question. These limitations do not apply to the extent that applicable law prohibits them.
17.Changes to these terms
We may change these terms, for example when our services change or when the requirements of our partners, the registrar, or a registry change.
We notify you of material changes by email at the address on your account.
If you continue using the service after changes take effect, you are considered to have accepted the new version. If you do not agree, stop using the services.
18.Governing law, disputes, and contact
These terms are governed by the law of the operator's country of registration. Disputes we cannot resolve by correspondence are handled in accordance with that law.
Before starting a dispute, write to us — most issues are resolved faster directly. Disputes over rights to a domain name are handled under the UDRP and URS rules, as described above.
For questions about the services, your account, or these terms, write to [email protected] or open a ticket in your account. Automated messages about orders, credentials, and renewal dates are sent from a no-reply address — there is no need to answer them, and replies sent there are not read.
19.Language of this document and its version
The Russian version of this document is the original; the English version is a translation. If the two versions differ, the Russian version governs the meaning.
The version of the terms currently in force is always published on this page, together with the date it was last updated. From the moment a new version takes effect, earlier versions no longer apply.