User Generated Content A new source of monetizable renewable raw material is called User Generated Content or UGC. This is an excerpt from YouTube’s TOS, same as Google, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. Any variations are small, the substance remains the same from provider to provider:
… by submitting Content to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content …
https://tldrlegal.com/license/youtube-terms-of-service
That should cause consternation to any writer, artist, musician, or any content producer. By using their service you are granting Worldwide Copyrights to them.
You gave away your content.
How it happened Your service providers assume that you will not read their Terms of Service. That makes sense for a number of reasons. They are often long, boring, complex, and filled with legalities. If you want the phone, you’re going to sign on the dotted line. The evidence is clear, everyone is walking around with cell phone, look around anywhere, streets, public transit, shopping malls, schools. So, regardless of what is written in the TOS, you agreed to it, in order to have service.
The terms that you agreed to are based in the real problems of the provider, however, they extend far beyond what anyone would see as reasonable. To be clear, there are very few substantive differences between service providers, so it doesn’t make much difference which provider you choose.
It’s fairly reasonable that some terms are universal and non-negotiable. For example, all service providers, including Zenfoil, must abide by the laws of the land in which they are domiciled. You cannot use the services, including Zenfoil, to perpetrate crimes, harass others, distribute copyrighted content that you do not own, distribute child porn, incite violence towards others. Using services, including Zenfoil, for criminal activity is a violation of the Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP) EVERYWHERE for ALL service providers. That is common sense.
However, to uphold these types of restrictions, your provider claims the right to inspect, view, copy, or store, any of your data that enters, is transmitted, or is stored, on their infrastructure. So, having stepped onto the slippery slope of what they must do, they easily slide down into what they would like to do.
Again, while the terms differ slightly in wording, the content is substantially the same between ALL service providers. For example, with only minor variations, non-exclusive copyrights to all content you create that passes thru, is transmitted, or is stored, is retained by the provider. That should shock you, because that means they can use your baby pictures, your artwork, your photography, your videos, your emails, anything. There are many hairs to split as to if this is legal, however, you did agree when you signed on the dotted line. In some cases, like Bell Canada TOS, there is a clause that says that ANY usage of ANY of their infrastructure, software, or services, implicitly means that you have agreed to their Terms. If you use it, you have agreed.
Take ownership of your data Unlike all your other service providers, Zenfoil replaces their cloud services but makes no claims of ownership or copyrights to any client data.