FC2 Terms of Use

US law governs everything and a US court has exclusive jurisdiction, which is expensive and impractical if you live elsewhere. A separate contract between you and the merchant for card payments may instead be governed by United Kingdom law, so you may face two different legal systems.

“A contract may be created between the merchant and cardholder, where in this case, the governing jurisdiction would be United Kingdom.”

FC2 can freeze or cancel your account if it decides your use is "inappropriate," if you do not reply to a message in time, or if it judges you broke a rule — and it does not have to tell you. When that happens your contract ends early, the remaining balance is not refunded, and your Points are wiped. Points also become worthless if you close your own account.

“Members who have been deemed to have violated the Terms of Service and have their accounts frozen or canceled, will also have their contracts canceled.”

What you can do — Do not hold a large FC2 Points balance, and back up anything you have posted, since access can end without warning.

FC2 promises not to share your name, address, email or phone number without consent, then lists seven exceptions it decides for itself — including whenever FC2 thinks sharing is needed to run the service, to pass data to partner companies, or even to protect its own search rankings and "Service Quality." That last one is not a normal legal or safety reason.

“FC2 finds it necessary to disclose such information in order to restore or prevent a reduction in FC2's SEO, Service Quality etc.; due to actions or conduct conducted by a User or Member.”

What you can do — Give FC2 the minimum personal details needed to use the service.

FC2 says it is not responsible for lost or corrupted files, for what other users post, for external links, for service outages, or for any damage from using or not being able to use the service. It also gives no guarantee against viruses on the platform. If something goes wrong, you carry the loss.

“FC2 shall not be held responsible for any loss of data due to system failure or file corruption etc.”

What you can do — Keep your own backups of anything you upload to FC2 — blogs, videos and photos included.

FC2 can stop any service at any time with no advance notice, turn a free service into one you have to pay for, and then decide whether to delete everything you posted. It says it owes you nothing for the loss.

“FC2 retains the right to discontinue any or all of our services without forewarning, or to convert previously free services into premium services.”

What you can do — Export or back up content you rely on rather than treating FC2 as long-term storage.

Files you download can have information embedded in them that identifies you personally. If such a file ever spreads, it can be traced back to your account.

“For the purposes of copyright protection and the prevention of misuse, the Company may embed information to identify the customer (digital watermarks) in the files of digital content that customers download.”

What you can do — Read FC2's Privacy Policy for details on what the watermark records.

If you post adult content you must hand FC2 a government-issued ID, plus signed consent forms and copies of ID for everyone shown, and produce them within three business days on request. That is a large amount of sensitive identity data sitting with the company, and the terms give no assurance about how long it is kept or how it is protected.

“Users who post Adult Contents are required to submit an identification document issued by a public institution to FC2.”

You have no right to unsubscribe from FC2's messages, you must update your email address immediately if it changes, and if you miss the deadline to reply to a message that needs an answer, FC2 can freeze or cancel your account. Phone, fax and in-person contact are refused.

“Users do not retain any right to refuse emails from FC2, and Users are obligated to inform us of any change in contact email address, immediately.”

What you can do — Use an email address you actually monitor and keep it current in your FC2ID settings.

You agree not to file complaints that FC2 judges "groundless, abusive, or malicious," and FC2 decides what counts. Breaking that promise can get your account suspended or terminated, which may discourage people from reporting genuine problems. FC2 also does not have to tell you the outcome of your complaint.

“You agree not to lodge any complaint under this section that is groundless, abusive, or malicious. A breach of this agreement may result in the suspension or termination of your FC2ID.”

A 25-item list of banned conduct ends with a catch-all covering anything FC2 "deems to be inappropriate," and FC2 explicitly reserves the right to decide what a violation is. Even content you marked private counts as a violation the moment it reaches FC2's servers. Bans come without warning and FC2 may demand compensation from you.

“Engaging in any other action which FC2 deems to be inappropriate.”

The terms name Clearvance Ltd for credit card payments but the sentence naming who handles other payment methods has no company name in it. That means you cannot tell from the terms which business actually receives your money on those methods.

“ is responsible for alternative payment methods collection on”

What you can do — Ask FC2 support which company processes your payment method before using a non-card option.

FC2 can edit, translate, publish, promote and distribute your blogs, videos and photos "unconditionally" and for "any other reason." Nothing limits how long this lasts or lets you cancel it, so in practice FC2 can keep using your work even after you delete it or leave.

“All User Content may be edited, translated, adapted, published, performed, presented, promoted, distributed or used for any other reason, by FC2 unconditionally.”

What you can do — Only post content you are comfortable having FC2 reuse or republish anywhere, permanently.

Refunds are ruled out entirely for Points and premium services. One approved card charge is treated as approval for all future charges until you finish the cancellation steps, and if you dispute a charge with your bank your account gets suspended. That leaves you with almost no way to get money back.

“No requests for refunds, after purchasing Points or agreeing to use Premium Services, will be valid under any circumstances.”

What you can do — Cancel a premium service well before the renewal date and keep a screenshot confirming the cancellation went through; do not rely on a chargeback as a backup.

FC2 can rewrite these rules whenever it wants, without your consent and with zero notice — the new version applies as soon as it appears on the website. You are treated as agreeing just by continuing to use FC2.

“New stipulations in a revised Terms of Use will come into effect immediately after the Terms of Use have been posted onto the web.”

What you can do — Check the terms page yourself from time to time; FC2 does not promise to notify you of changes.

FC2 can change what you pay and what the paid service includes without asking you. The new price applies automatically at renewal, so a subscription can get more expensive without a separate confirmation from you.

“We may revise charges or contents of premium services without users' approval.”

What you can do — Review your card statement each renewal period and cancel before renewal if the price has changed.

You cannot simply take FC2 to your local court. Disagreements have to go through arbitration recognised in the USA, and only if that fails can a US court hear the case. Arbitration is usually private, costs money, and each side pays its own legal fees.

“Any disputes resulting from the use of Our Service(s), will be resolved through arbitrary proceedings recognized by U.S.A.”