Terms of Service

The rules for using ScaleHost. We tried to keep it readable. If anything is unclear, email hello@scalehost.gg.

LAST UPDATED: 2026-05-15

1.Who we are

ScaleHost is a Rust dedicated server hosting service operated from Ontario, Canada. In these Terms, "ScaleHost", "we", "us", and "our" mean the operator of the service. "You" means the person or entity holding the account.

By signing up or using the service, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use the service.

2.Your account

You must be at least 18, or have a parent or guardian's permission and supervision.
Provide accurate information when you sign up. Keep it current.
You're responsible for everything that happens under your account. Pick a real password and don't share it.
One person, one account. Don't impersonate anyone or pretend to be someone you're not.
Let us know promptly if you think your account has been accessed by someone else.

3.What we provide

We provide hosted Rust dedicated server instances, a web control panel to manage them, a plugin library, and supporting tooling. The specific features available on your plan are listed on the plan you signed up for.

We aim for high uptime and consistent performance, but we don't guarantee 100% uptime. Game servers depend on the upstream game (Facepunch's Rust), our hardware provider, your internet, and other things outside our control. We do our best to keep things running and to be honest when they aren't.

4.What you pay

Plans are billed monthly, in advance, in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
If you switch plans or add an add-on mid-cycle, we bill or credit the prorated difference for the days remaining in your cycle. We don't charge you the full plan twice.
You can cancel anytime from the panel. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, so you keep what you already paid for.
Prices may change. We'll give you at least 30 days notice by email before any increase takes effect on your account, and the new price applies from your next renewal.
You're responsible for any taxes applicable in your jurisdiction. Where we're required to collect tax (Canadian GST/HST/PST/QST, US state sales tax in applicable states, EU/UK VAT, etc.) it's added at checkout.

5.Payments are processed by Stripe

We use Stripe as our payment processor. When you sign up or update a card, you're entering your card details directly into Stripe's hosted form, not ours. We never see, touch, or store your full card number, CVC, or bank credentials. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified.

Your use of Stripe as a payment method is subject to Stripe's Services Consumer Terms and Stripe's Privacy Policy, in addition to ours.

For payment-related issues like failed charges, duplicate charges that ScaleHost did not initiate, card disputes, fraud alerts, 3-D Secure verification problems, or anything that's clearly happening on the payment processor's side, contact Stripe support directly through your bank or card issuer's fraud department, or via support.stripe.com. We can confirm what ScaleHost charged you for and when, but we can't reverse processor-side activity or override your bank's fraud rules.

For anything that's clearly on our side (you were charged for a plan you didn't sign up for, the proration math looks wrong, your add-ons didn't apply correctly, etc.), email billing@scalehost.gg and we'll fix it.

6.Refunds

We offer a refund for the first 7 days of a new account, no questions asked. Outside that window we don't refund partial months as a rule. We may make exceptions case by case where something has genuinely gone wrong on our end (multi-day outage caused by us, a clearly broken feature, repeated billing errors). Email billing@scalehost.gg.

We do not refund for: downtime caused by upstream providers (Hetzner, Facepunch, Stripe, your ISP, your registrar), force-majeure events, your own configuration mistakes, plugin conflicts, dissatisfaction with mod or game-engine changes, or accounts terminated for breach of these Terms.

7.Chargebacks

If you dispute a charge with your bank instead of contacting us first, your account may be suspended pending resolution and you may be charged a $25 USD chargeback processing fee. If the chargeback is upheld in your favour for legitimate reasons (unauthorized use of your card, a clear billing error we refused to correct), we waive the fee. If it's reversed in our favour, the account is reinstated only after the disputed amount plus the fee are paid.

Filing a chargeback for a charge that was legitimate and that we offered to refund is treated as a breach of these Terms.

8.Acceptable use

Don't use ScaleHost for any of the following:

Illegal activity under Canadian, US, or your local law.
Hosting or distributing child sexual abuse material. This results in immediate suspension and a report to the authorities.
Launching DDoS, network attacks, scanning, brute-force attempts, or other abuse against any system you don't own.
Sending spam, phishing emails, or malware.
Bypassing or attempting to bypass our limits, security, or billing.
Running content unrelated to a Rust game server (we are a Rust host, not a general-purpose VPS or web host).
Harassing other users or our staff.

If we determine you've broken these rules, we may suspend the server, terminate the account, refuse refunds for the violating period, retain any prepaid fees, and cooperate with law enforcement where required. Determination of breach is at our sole discretion, exercised in good faith.

9.Your content

Your world saves, plugin configs, settings, and uploaded files are yours. We host them so the server can run. We don't claim ownership and we don't use them for anything other than operating the service for you.

You're responsible for the legality of what you upload, including plugins, mods, and any custom content. If a plugin you install violates someone else's copyright, license, or terms, that is between you and them.

10.Your data and backups

We provide automatic backup features (snapshots, world retention, off-site backups depending on plan and add-ons). These features are provided on a best-effort basis and we make no guarantee that any specific backup will exist, be accessible, or be recoverable at any given time.

You are responsible for your own backups. If your server's world, plugins, or configs are critical to you, download a copy regularly from the panel. We are not liable for any loss of data, even if a backup feature we provide fails. The data-export tools in the panel are the canonical way to keep an independent copy.

11.Changes to the service

We may add, remove, or change features over time. If we make a change that materially reduces what you get on your current plan, we'll give you at least 30 days notice by email and you'll have the option to cancel and receive a prorated refund of the remaining cycle.

12.If we have to shut down

Our commitment

We're a small business and we can't promise to exist forever. But if we wind the service down voluntarily, we will not disappear with your money or your data. The following applies if we elect to shut down the service:

At least 90 days notice by email before the service goes offline.
One month of hosting free beyond your paid period, so you have extra time to migrate.
Refund of any unused subscription days that fall after the shutdown date.
Full data export available throughout the wind-down period: world saves, plugin configs, settings, every file we hold for you.
Backup retention extended to 90 days after the final shutdown, so even if you miss the deadline you can email us to recover your data.

These commitments are limited by our ability to operate. If the shutdown is forced by events outside our control (insolvency, court order, loss of upstream provider, force majeure), we'll do as much of the above as is reasonably possible in the circumstances.

13.Force majeure and third-party providers

ScaleHost depends on third parties, including but not limited to: our hardware provider (currently Hetzner), our payment processor (Stripe), our DNS and edge providers, the game publisher (Facepunch Studios for Rust), upstream network carriers, your ISP, and the operating system, runtime, and plugin ecosystems we build on.

We are not liable for outages, errors, data loss, or other failures caused by these third parties, by upstream network issues, by changes to the Rust game itself, by acts of God, war, civil unrest, government action, labour disputes, pandemic, internet failure, or any event outside our reasonable control.

14.Termination by us

We may suspend or terminate your account for material breach of these Terms (especially the Acceptable Use section), non-payment after a reasonable grace period, fraud, or chargeback activity. We'll give you notice and a chance to fix the problem where it makes sense. We may terminate immediately and without notice in cases involving illegal activity, abuse, or risk to other customers or our infrastructure.

If we terminate for non-payment, your data remains available for download for 30 days. After that, it may be deleted. Prepaid fees for terminated accounts are non-refundable to the extent allowed by law.

15.Termination by you

Cancel anytime from the panel. The server keeps running through the end of your paid period. World files and plugin configs are retained for one year after cancellation, so you can resume the same server if you change your mind. After that, your data may be deleted.

16.Service provided "as is", no warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SCALEHOST AND EVERYTHING WE PROVIDE IS DELIVERED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR TRADE USAGE.

We do not warrant that:

The service will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or virus-free.
Any specific tickrate, frame time, latency, uptime percentage, player count, plugin compatibility, or backup recovery will be achieved in any given instance.
Marketing claims about performance, density, optimization stack, or competitor comparisons constitute warranties or guarantees. Those describe our design targets and intentions, not legally binding promises.
Defects or bugs will be corrected on any specific timeline.
The Rust game itself will remain compatible with the service, or will continue to be supported by its publisher.

No advice or information you receive from us, whether oral or written, creates any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms.

17.Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

IN NO EVENT WILL SCALEHOST, ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, OR SUCCESSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, REPUTATION, PLAYERS, COMMUNITY, WIPES, OR DATA, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR WERE OTHERWISE FORESEEABLE.
OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO SCALEHOST, THE SERVICE, OR THESE TERMS, IN ANY 12-MONTH PERIOD, IS CAPPED AT THE LESSER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU ACTUALLY PAID US IN THE 3 MONTHS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) CAD $50.
These limits apply regardless of the legal theory (contract, tort, negligence, statute, strict liability, or anything else), even if any remedy is found to have failed of its essential purpose.
You waive any right to claim damages outside these limits, and you agree these limits reflect a reasonable allocation of risk for a low-cost subscription service.

Some jurisdictions don't allow the full exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, the disclaimers and limits in sections 16 and 17 apply only to the extent permitted, and the rest of the Terms remain in full force.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, intentional misconduct, or gross negligence by ScaleHost where such exclusion is not permitted under Ontario law.

18.Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ScaleHost and its owners, operators, employees, contractors, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the service, (b) your content, (c) your violation of these Terms, (d) your violation of any third-party right (including intellectual property, privacy, or contractual rights), or (e) any chargeback, fraud, or fraudulent activity originating from your account.

We may, at our option, assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with us.

19.Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply in Ontario, without reference to conflict-of-laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the service will be resolved exclusively in the courts located in Ontario, Canada, and both parties consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts. To the extent permitted by law, each party waives any objection based on inconvenient forum.

If you're a consumer in a jurisdiction whose mandatory local consumer protections cannot be waived by contract, this section applies only to the extent permitted.

20.Severability, entire agreement, assignment

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the rest of the Terms remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision is modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving its intent.

These Terms (with the Privacy Policy and any plan-specific terms shown at checkout) are the entire agreement between you and ScaleHost regarding the service, and they supersede any prior or contemporaneous understandings.

You may not assign or transfer your account or these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms (including in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or by operation of law) without notice or consent. No waiver of any provision is a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.

21.Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms occasionally. If we make a material change, we'll email you and post a notice in the panel at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of the service after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms. If you don't accept them, cancel your account before the change takes effect for a prorated refund of the remaining cycle.

22.Contact

Questions about these Terms, abuse reports, refunds, legal notices, or anything else: hello@scalehost.gg. For payment-specific issues, see section 5 above.