mstdn.social
This Mastodon instance requires forced arbitration with class action waivers and takes a perpetual, irrevocable license to your content. However, they cap liability at only $100 and you retain ownership of your content. The terms are governed by Netherlands law.
The Bottom Line
This Mastodon instance requires forced arbitration with class action waivers and takes a perpetual, irrevocable license to your content. However, they cap liability at only $100 and you retain ownership of your content. The terms are governed by Netherlands law.
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Notable Clauses
“You retain all ownership rights you have in the Content that you submit to the Instance, but you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, copy, store, display, share, distribute, communicate and transfer the Content in ways that are consis...”
“You and the Instance agree that any and all disputes, claims, demands, or causes of action ("Claims") that have arisen or may arise between you and us, whether arising out of or relating to these Terms, the website, or any aspect of the relationship or transactions between us, will be resolved exclu...”
“You and we agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding.”
“We reserve the right (but do not have the obligation) in our sole discretion to: (1) monitor the Instance for violations of these Terms; (2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who uses or accesses the Instance in a manner that we believe violates the law or these Terms, including without l...”
“Administrator reserves the right in our sole discretion to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Instance (or any part thereof) with or without notice to you.”
“In no event will Administrator's total liability to you for all damages, losses, or causes of action exceed one hundred dollars ($100).”
“You retain all ownership rights you have in the Content that you submit to the Instance, but you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, copy, store, display, share, distribute, communicate and transfer the Content in ways that are consis...”
Protect Yourself
ACTIONABLESettings and actions you can take to limit your exposure
Set Your Profile to Private
Make your posts followers-only to limit how widely your content can be shared across the fediverse
- Go to Preferences → Privacy and reach
- Change 'Default post privacy' to 'Followers-only'
- Consider also enabling 'Require follow requests'
Regularly Export Your Data
Since they have perpetual rights to your content, keep your own backup in case you want to leave
- Go to Preferences → Import and export
- Click 'Request your archive' to download all your posts and data
- Save the downloaded file somewhere safe
Use Content Warnings Strategically
Adding content warnings gives you some control over how your posts are displayed and shared
- When composing a post, click 'CW' to add a content warning
- Use warnings for sensitive topics to limit automatic sharing
- This doesn't affect their license rights but may reduce distribution
Review Federation Settings
Control whether your posts can be seen by users on other Mastodon instances
- Go to Preferences → Privacy and reach
- Check 'Opt-out of search engine indexing'
- Consider the trade-offs of limiting federation vs. reach
Better Alternatives in Social Media
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Disclaimer:The clauses shown above are excerpts from publicly available Terms of Service documents. Ratings and severity levels reflect community and AI assessment, not legal advice, factual claims, or determinations about a company's legality or intent. Clauses marked “VERIFIED” have been confirmed as exact quotes from the source document. Clauses marked “AI-extracted” were identified by AI and may contain errors. Always verify against the original TOS.
Get notified when mstdn.social updates their TOS
We'll email you what changed and what it means
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.