Meranti Acceptable Use Policy

Effective Date: October 2, 2026
Last Updated: October 2, 2026

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) is part of the Meranti Terms of Service (“Terms”). Capitalized terms used in this AUP but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings set forth in the Terms, including “Services,” “Customer Site,” “Customer Content,” “Visitor Content,” and “Your Content,” have the meanings given in Section 1 of the Terms.

1. Who and what this policy covers

This AUP applies to your use of the Services and to everything on your Customer Sites, including Customer Content and any Visitor Content you allow on your site. You are responsible for violations by anyone using your account and for Visitor Content you choose to leave up after you become aware of it.

2. Prohibited content and activity

You may not use the Services, or allow a Customer Site to be used, to create, store, publish, transmit, or link to any of the following:

2.1. Illegal Content and Activity. Anything that violates applicable law, including fraud, scams, sale of illegal goods or services, and unlicensed gambling.

2.2. Child Sexual Abuse Material. Any content that depicts or sexualizes minors. We remove this material immediately, terminate the account without notice or refund, preserve the material and related records as the law requires, and report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2258A.

2.3. Malware and Intrusion. Viruses, ransomware, spyware, or other malicious code, and any unauthorized attempt to access, scan, probe, or disrupt any system, network, or account, whether ours or anyone else’s.

2.4. Phishing and Deception. Content that impersonates a person, business, government agency, or organization, or that is designed to trick people into giving up credentials, payment details, or other sensitive information.

2.5. Harassment and Threats. Content that threatens violence, promotes terrorism or violent extremism, harasses or intimidates a specific person, or publishes someone’s private information (such as home address or government ID numbers) without permission.

2.6. Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery. Sexual or intimate images of a person shared without that person’s consent, including realistic synthetic or AI-generated images.

2.7. Infringing Content. Content that infringes someone else’s copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property or privacy rights. Copyright complaints are handled under the Meranti DMCA Policy.

2.8. Resource Abuse. Placing excessive or abusive load on shared infrastructure, including cryptocurrency mining, using the Services as a file-storage locker, proxy, VPN, or relay, running automated processes unrelated to operating your website, or any activity that materially interferes with the operation, performance, or security of the Services.

The Services do not send marketing or bulk email. You may not use the Services, including a plugin or theme, to send unsolicited bulk email or messages.

A newsletter sign-up form adds an email address to your list only after the Visitor confirms through a verification link we email to that address. You may not bypass or interfere with that step, or add addresses to your list by any other means. When you export your list and send email through another provider, you are responsible for complying with the CAN-SPAM Act and similar laws, including honoring unsubscribe requests and the email provider’s own policies.

4. Sensitive information in forms

Contact forms deliver Visitor messages to you by regular email. You may not use our contact or newsletter forms to request or collect payment card numbers, bank account numbers, Social Security or other government ID numbers, passwords, health information, or similar sensitive information. If you need to collect that kind of information, use a third-party service designed and secured for that purpose.

5. Security testing

You may not run penetration tests, vulnerability scans, or other security testing against Meranti’s infrastructure or another customer’s account without our written permission. You may test the security of your own Customer Site, provided the testing does not adversely affect the Services, shared infrastructure, or other customers. If you find a vulnerability in the Services, please report it to security@meranti.host and do not test it further.

6. Compromised sites

If a Customer Site is hacked or infected, including through a vulnerable plugin or theme, we may suspend or isolate the site, disable the plugin or theme, or take other steps to protect the Services, other customers, and the public, even if you did nothing wrong. We will tell you what happened and restore the site once the problem is fixed. A compromise you did not cause and that you work with us to fix is not a violation of this AUP and is not grounds for termination for cause.

7. Domain names

If you register or manage a domain through Meranti, you must provide accurate registrant contact information and keep it current, even if privacy protection hides it from public view. You may not register or use a domain in bad faith to profit from someone else’s trademark (cybersquatting), or otherwise violate the registrar’s registration agreement or ICANN or registry policies.

8. Resale and work for clients

You may not resell, sublicense, or offer the Services to others as a standalone hosting product without our written permission. If you build, manage, or maintain a Customer Site for a client (for example, as an agency, web designer, developer, or freelancer), the client that owns the Customer Site and its content must maintain its own account with us. Third parties who assist with managing a Customer Site may be granted collaborator access by the account owner, but the account owner remains responsible for the site, compliance with the Terms and this AUP, payment obligations, and receipt of all account, billing, legal, and service-related notices.

9. Enforcement

9.1. What We May Do. If we reasonably determine this AUP has been violated, we may remove or disable content, suspend a Customer Site or Service, or suspend or terminate an account, as described in Section 13 of the Terms. We choose the response we believe is proportionate, and where practical we will contact you first and give you a chance to fix the problem. We may act without notice where we reasonably believe it is needed to prevent harm or comply with law.

9.2. No Duty to Monitor. We do not monitor Customer Sites as a matter of course and have no duty to do so. Not acting on a violation is not a waiver of our right to act later.

9.3. No Refund. Termination for violating this AUP is termination for cause under the Terms and is not eligible for a refund.

9.4. Law Enforcement. We may preserve and disclose account information and content in response to valid legal process, or where we reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent harm to a person, to us, or to the Services, as permitted by applicable law and described in our Privacy Policy.

10. Reporting a violation

To report abuse of the Services or of a Customer Site hosted with us, email abuse@meranti.host with the website address or domain name and a description of the problem. Copyright complaints must follow the Meranti DMCA Policy. If your concern is about content on a Customer Site, you may also want to contact the site’s owner directly, since they control that content.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this AUP from time to time using the notice process in Section 17 of the Terms.