The Importance of TOS and Privacy Policy on Choosing the Right Hosting for Your Website

The Digital Address for Company or Professionals

Now, website still has been used as one the the valid information of one's digital address, if you need to verified a service, the first steps would be checking the validity of website and other social media address. As one of the business venture and required a digital adress, we will need hosting and domain. There has been a few hosting, domain and cloud base server provider located in Indonesia or overseas, among others are Hostinger, HostGator, Domainesia, Hostingan, Digital Ocean, dan lain sebagainya.

Two Parties Who Need Each Other

Domain and Hosting providers and their customers should be in a buying and selling activity, which protects each other and is not biased. This is illustrated ONE OF THEM (not an absolute requirement) is in the Terms of Service. We compare TOS, Terms of Service, Terms of Service between domestic and foreign Domain and Hosting providers, in this case Domainesia, and Hostingan from within the country. Then Host Gator and Hostinger from abroad (international).

TOS (Term of Service)

What is the impact of TOS on the sustainability of the business of MSMEs, business owners and other professionals? First, we will dissect the meaning of TOS.

"Terms of service" (ToS), known also as "Terms and Conditions," is a legal document that explains the rules, requirements, and limitations of using a service or product provided by a company or website owner. This document serves as an agreement between the service provider and the user, which sets out the rights and obligations of both parties.

Did you know that AT ANY TIME the Service Provider (Domain and Hosting Service Provider) can change the TOS without notifying you? Quoted from one of the terms of service from a Hosting and Domain provider, "Through an agreement in a cooperation agreement between you as a Customer and PT XYZ, you agree that all provisions set out in the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policies (Terms and Policies) can change at any time without further written notice. All changes to the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policies (Terms and Policies) are open and can always be accessed through this webpage.

So you as a service user, must always monitor the TOS to continue to use this service, if you violate the service then you, the service users will not be able to use the services sold. Impressive! we as a customer, which called "customer is a king" but have to accept whatever the service seller does, WOW, I was a little stunned seeing the TOS above.

Privacy Policy

Privacy policy is a policy that explains how a website or application collects, uses, and processes users' personal data. This policy aims to provide transparency to users about how their data is used and protect their rights regarding privacy.

Privacy policies are an important part of websites and apps that help protect users' personal data and provide transparency about how their data is used.

What if there is "this sentence" in the privacy policy section?

By accessing the PT XYZ site, you agree that this privacy policy can be changed in any way and at any time by PT XYZ. Your continued use of the Service will be deemed to agree to the changes. If you do not wish to continue using our Service due to the changes, you may notify DomaiNesia of your desire to stop using the Service.

One of the most vital sentences in the privacy policy is "We emphasize that we will never provide this information to anyone, including third parties.

Let's imagine if this policy is removed, according to the changes section of the privacy policy? YUP, That's right, our data, your data can be handed over to a third party at any time, by using their services, without written notice or notification.

What is the difference with Domain and Hosting Providers abroad?

Pada salah satu provider hosting yang ada diluar, mereka menyatakan TOS yang jelas, dan pasti, akan memberitahukan perubahan ini pada pengguna jasa.

"HOSTXYZ may modify, add, or delete portions of this Agreement at any time. If we have made significant changes to this Agreement, we will post a notice on the HOSTXYZ website for at least thirty (30) days after the changes are posted and will indicate at the bottom of this Agreement the date of the last revision. Any revisions to this Agreement will become effective when posted unless otherwise provided. You agree to any modification to this Agreement by continuing to use the Services after the effective date of any such modification. HOSTXYZ reserves the right to modify, change, or discontinue any aspect of the Services at any time."

"HOSTABC may, in its sole and absolute discretion, change or modify this Agreement, and any policies or agreements which are incorporated herein, at any time, and such changes or modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting to this Site. Your use of this Site or the Services after such changes or modifications have been made shall constitute your acceptance of this Agreement as last revised. If you do not agree to be bound by this Agreement as last revised, do not use (or continue to use) this Site or the Services. In addition, HOSTABC may occasionally notify you of changes or modifications to this Agreement by email. It is therefore very important that you keep your shopper account (“Account”) information current. Hostinger assumes no liability or responsibility for your failure to receive an email notification if such failure results from an inaccurate email address."

Both hosting and domain providers state that they will notify you via email, on the website, at least when there are changes to the TOS or privacy policy, you will most likely be aware. Of course there is also a possibility that you will miss it, but at least they still "TRY" to notify you of changes in service, unlike what domestic providers do.

Are there any Hosting or Domain Providers in Indonesia that provide notifications or notices if there are changes to the TOS?

The answer is yes, one of the ones we surveyed online is TOS hostingan.id, here is an excerpt.

"Hostingan has the right to add or change any part of the Terms (including all rights, titles, benefits, interests, obligations, and responsibilities contained in the Terms of Service Agreement) to all persons or entities (including all services affiliated with Hostingan). Hostingan will send you a notification (which will be sent via the official Hostingan platform) regarding changes to the Terms of Service Agreement, and after receiving the notification you have consciously agreed to the changes and cannot interfere with what is in the service agreement. In this context, Hostingan has now released its responsibility, regarding claims, actions, and demands against the old agreement that binds you and the service platform. "

Conclusion

1. In choosing a hosting and domain service provider, check their service policy. If you see that the service provider often changes the TOS or service policy, leave immediately and move your service. Because most likely you will not always check the TOS from the service provider's website.
2. Domestic options are limited (located and established service provider in Indonesia), with only one currently notifying users of changes to their TOS or privacy policy, with the rest not even stating they can change "this privacy policy may be changed in any way and at any time"
3. lso choose wisely, through several comparison websites, to compare not only the price but how balanced the buying and selling activities carried out by this service provider. It should be noted and remembered that the relationship between the service provider and us (buyers) is a relationship between customers in terms of buying and selling, must be balanced, no one is harmed, let alone data privacy issues or terms of service that suddenly change without notice.