Amazon Web Services
Weighted across nine legal categories. Lower is worse.
Executive summary
The AWS Service Terms are a 294,000 character catalog of extra rules for more than 100 individual AWS services, layered on top of the separate AWS Customer Agreement. You keep ownership of your content and AWS makes some genuinely strong commitments, including a promise not to use your data to compete with you and an uncapped legal defense if AI output from certain services infringes someone's copyright. The biggest money risk is payment terms: reserved capacity and savings plans are noncancellable and nonrefundable, you stay on the hook for the full term even if you quit AWS, and fees keep accruing even when messages or emails fail to deliver for reasons outside AWS's control. Many AI powered services use your data to improve AWS technology by default unless you actively opt out, and AWS can change service features, prices, and incorporated policies at any time. Expect to sign away liability and indemnify AWS in several service specific situations, especially around emergency calling and facilities access.
Category breakdown
Acceptance of Terms & Scope
Contract formation and service boundaries
These terms bind you the moment you use any AWS service, and they pull in dozens of other documents by reference: the Customer Agreement, data addenda, acceptable use policy, trademark guidelines, third party EULAs, and policies posted at web addresses AWS can change. Using one service can automatically subject you to the terms and fees of other associated services. At 294,000 characters with no plain language summary, no ordinary customer can realistically read what they are agreeing to.
Key findings
- Terms incorporate dozens of external documents hosted at URLs that AWS may relocate at will
- Using one service can automatically bind you to the terms and fees of other associated services
- Beta services carry extra terms posted on the AWS Site that you must comply with however they are made available
- Extremely long document with no summary or plain language layer
- Scope per service is clearly labeled by section, which helps sophisticated users find the rules that apply to them
Evidence from the document
The Service Terms below govern your use of the Services.
When you use a Service, you may be able to use or be required to use one or more other Services (each, an “Associated Service”), and when you use an Associated Service, you are subject to the terms and fees that apply to that Associated Service.
You must comply with all terms related to any Beta Service or Beta Region as posted on the AWS Site or otherwise made available to you.
(and any successor or related locations designated by us).
Recommendations
- Before enabling any new AWS service, read that service's numbered section here plus any linked service specific terms
- Bookmark and archive copies of the incorporated documents you rely on, since posted policies can change
- Check whether a service you enable silently activates associated services with their own fees
- Treat beta and preview features as governed by extra terms you may not have seen
User Accounts
Registration, suspension, and termination
For ordinary content violations AWS gives you notice and 2 business days to fix the problem before removing content or suspending service, which is fairer than most platforms. But AWS can act without prior notice for illegal or disruptive content, beta access can be cut at any time, and if a management account misses a payment every linked member account gets suspended too. Detailed suspension and termination rights sit in the separate Customer Agreement, so this is a partial picture.
Key findings
- Notice plus a 2 business day cure period before content removal or suspension in ordinary cases
- Removal without prior notice allowed for illegal content or threats to the service, with prompt notice afterward unless prohibited by law
- Repeat infringer accounts are terminated
- Nonpayment on a management account suspends every member account in the organization
- Beta services and several individual services can be suspended or terminated at any time
- After account closure AWS deletes your content per its documentation, and several idle services delete data after 30 days notice
Evidence from the document
If you do not remove or disable access to the Prohibited Content within 2 business days of our notice, we may remove or disable access to the Prohibited Content or suspend the Services
We terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
AWS may suspend or terminate your access to or use of any Beta Service or Beta Region at any time.
If a Management Account is suspended for non-payment, then all Member Accounts in the Organization will be suspended.
Following closure of your AWS account, we will delete Your Content in accordance with the technical documentation applicable to the Services.
Recommendations
- Keep independent backups of everything you store on AWS, since closure or prolonged inactivity leads to deletion
- Monitor billing on management accounts closely, because one missed payment can take down every linked account
- Do not keep production data in beta or preview services, where access can end at any time without notice
- Respond within 2 business days to any AWS notice about prohibited content to avoid wider suspension
Intellectual Property & UGC
Content ownership and licensing
You keep ownership of your content and of output you generate with AWS AI services, and AWS promises not to use your content or usage data to compete with you, which is a strong protection. The catch is in the defaults: content you publish through sharing features like ECR Public or CodeCatalyst can carry broad, irrevocable licenses if you do not set your own terms, AWS owns any feedback you give on beta services, and AWS claims the right to benchmark your products even if your own terms forbid it.
Key findings
- You retain ownership of Your Content, and AI service output is Your Content
- Express promise that AWS will not use your content or individualized usage data to compete with you
- Beta test observations and feedback become AWS property
- If you share content on ECR Public or CodeCatalyst without picking a license, other users get broad rights to use and modify it, irrevocable in CodeCatalyst's case
- One sided benchmark clause lets AWS publish benchmarks of your products regardless of your own restrictions
- For Amazon One Enterprise, palm biometric data derived from your end users is AWS property and a trade secret, not Your Content
Evidence from the document
We will not use Individualized Usage Data or Your Content to compete with your products and services.
The output that you generate using AI Services is Your Content.
AWS will own and may use and evaluate all Test Observations for its own purposes.
you hereby grant to any other Registry User a non-exclusive license to access, download, use, modify or otherwise exploit Your Content for any personal or business purposes.
agree that we may perform and disclose the
Recommendations
- Always attach an explicit license before publishing anything through ECR Public, CodeCatalyst spaces, or B2B Data Interchange portals
- Assume any feedback you give about beta services belongs to AWS
- If your product's terms restrict benchmarking, know that AWS reserves the right to benchmark you anyway once you benchmark AWS
- Before deploying Amazon One Enterprise, understand that neither you nor your users can ever access the palm data it generates
Data Privacy
Data collection, usage, and protection
AWS builds in a serious privacy framework: GDPR standard contractual clauses, a data processing addendum, CCPA terms, deletion of your content after account closure, and the Nitro System design that blocks AWS staff from reading your compute instances. The main weakness is that many AI and security services use your processed content to improve AWS technology by default, with storage possibly outside your chosen region, and you must find and configure an opt out. AWS also shares account and usage information with partners like Oracle, Broadcom, NetApp, and IBM for support purposes.
Key findings
- DPA, EU standard contractual clauses, UK and Swiss addenda, and CCPA terms are incorporated automatically when they apply
- Nitro System EC2 gives AWS personnel no technical means to access your content
- Content deletion after account closure is an express commitment
- Many AI services use your content for service improvement by default, opt out required via AWS Organizations policy
- Bedrock stores AI inputs and outputs up to 30 days for abuse detection, with human review if a violation is suspected
- Account and usage data is shared with third party software partners for support and license checks
- All privacy compliance toward your own end users is your responsibility, including notices and consents
Evidence from the document
AWS personnel do not have access to Your Content on AWS Nitro System EC2 instances.
we may use and store AI Content that is processed by each of the foregoing AI Services to develop and improve the applicable AI Service and its underlying technologies
Amazon Bedrock stores Service inputs and outputs for up to 30 days (unless otherwise required by law) solely to detect activity that violates our, or third-party model providers’, terms of service or use policies.
We may use information about how you use and interact with the Services to improve those Services.
AWS recommends that you do not include personally identifying, confidential, or sensitive information in these items.
Recommendations
- Configure the AI services opt out policy in AWS Organizations on day one if you do not want your data improving AWS models
- Check each AI service section for where your data may be stored, since cross region storage is the default for service improvement
- Execute the DPA relevant addenda and the HIPAA BAA if you handle regulated data
- Keep personally identifying data out of resource names, tags, and metadata, which AWS says are not protected as Your Content
Payment & Subscriptions
Billing and subscription management
This is the riskiest area for your wallet. Reserved instances, savings plans, capacity blocks, and similar commitments are noncancellable and nonrefundable, and you keep owing the full term even if you stop using AWS entirely. Fees for messaging and email services keep accruing even when delivery fails for reasons outside AWS's control. Training subscriptions auto renew and AWS charges any payment method on file without further notice. On the plus side, you can request service credits for outages, price changes never hit already purchased commitments, and pro rata refunds apply when AWS itself cancels a program.
Key findings
- Reserved pricing commitments are noncancellable, nonrefundable, and survive your termination of the whole agreement
- Fees continue when notifications, SMS, or email fail to deliver for reasons outside AWS control
- Digital Training auto renews and charges stored payment methods without notice unless law requires it
- Prepaid training funds are nonrefundable and expire at term end
- Price changes take 30 days notice at most and never apply retroactively to existing commitments
- Service credits are available when a service misses its SLA, and pro rata refunds apply if AWS ends a program
Evidence from the document
Savings Plans, EC2 Reserved Instances and EC2 Dedicated Host Reservations are noncancellable
you will be charged for the duration of the term you selected, even if you terminate the Agreement.
Fees for Amazon SNS will apply regardless of whether delivery of your notifications is prevented, delayed, or blocked due to reasons outside of our control.
your Digital Training subscription will automatically continue and you authorize us (without notice to you, unless required by applicable law) to collect the then-applicable subscription service fees
Prepaid Funds are non-refundable and expire at the end of the term in the applicable Order.
Recommendations
- Treat every reserved instance or savings plan as an unbreakable debt for the full term, and size commitments conservatively
- Set billing alarms and budgets, since usage fees accrue regardless of delivery success on messaging services
- Cancel or disable auto renewal on training subscriptions you do not intend to keep
- File SLA credit requests promptly whenever you are charged during an outage
Limitation of Liability
Risk allocation and legal protection
The general liability cap lives in the separate Customer Agreement, but this document adds many total exclusions on top of it. Beta services come as is with all warranties disclaimed and liability capped at what you paid for the beta in the past year. AWS accepts zero liability for emergency call failures, for patent claims over media encoding, for actions taken on your instructions in managed services, and for third party software, where Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat each disclaim all damages. Several clauses strip both defense and payment obligations entirely.
Key findings
- Beta and preview services are provided as is, with all warranties disclaimed and a 12 month fees paid cap
- Complete exclusion of liability for emergency calling failures on Chime and Connect
- No AWS obligations at all for third party patent claims tied to encoding or transcoding media
- Managed services and incident response exclude liability for anything done on your instructions or delayed by your approvals
- Third party software vendors disclaim all damages, leaving you without recourse against them through AWS
- The headline damages cap sits in the Customer Agreement, not judged here
Evidence from the document
EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, AWS AND ITS AFFILIATES AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
Neither AWS nor its affiliates are liable for any damages resulting from any Emergency Services call or any inability to place or complete an Emergency Services call using Amazon Chime.
AWS will have no obligations or liability (including defense and/or payment obligations under the Agreement) with respect to any claim arising from or relating to alleged infringement of third-party patents
AWS and its affiliates will not be liable to you for any damages arising from (a) AWS’s actions taken pursuant to any instructions or requests that you provide or approve
Recommendations
- Never route emergency calls through Chime or Connect without an independent backup telephone arrangement
- Keep production workloads off beta services, where you effectively waive nearly all remedies
- If you transcode media at scale, get your own patent licenses since AWS will not defend those claims
- Read the AWS Customer Agreement's liability section before relying on any assumption about damage caps
Indemnification
Legal responsibility allocation
This document layers several one sided indemnities on top of whatever the Customer Agreement says. You must indemnify AWS for marketplace tax issues, for anything you or your visitors do at a Data Transfer Terminal facility, for disputes with third party sellers, and for a broad range of emergency calling failures. The notable counterweight is real: AWS will defend you against copyright and IP claims over output from its main generative AI services, and that obligation is not subject to the damages cap.
Key findings
- You indemnify AWS for taxes on marketplace transactions, including fines and penalties
- Broad facility indemnity covers any and all claims arising from your actions at Data Transfer Terminal sites
- You release and indemnify AWS for emergency call failures, including third party conduct you do not control
- Marketplace disputes with third party providers require you to hold AWS harmless
- AWS reciprocates with an uncapped defense obligation for IP claims over generative AI output from listed services
- The generative AI indemnity has strict conditions: prompt notice, AWS controls the defense, and it dies if you disabled filters or modified the model
Evidence from the document
You will defend and indemnify AWS and its Affiliates for any and all claims, damages, liabilities, penalties, fines, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees)
you agree to release, indemnify, and hold harmless AWS and its affiliates from and against any liability relating to
Each Seller will indemnify us and our affiliates against any claim or demand for payment of any Taxes imposed in connection with any Transaction
Any disputes with a third party provider must be resolved directly with the third party provider, and you will hold AWS harmless from all related claims.
AWS will defend you and your employees, officers, and directors against any third-party claim alleging that the Generative AI Output generated by an Indemnified Generative AI Service infringes
Recommendations
- Keep the content filters on for indemnified generative AI services, since disabling them voids AWS's defense obligation
- Give AWS prompt written notice of any IP claim over AI output to preserve the indemnity
- Budget for tax compliance on marketplace sales, because the tax risk is entirely yours
- Limit who you bring into AWS facilities, since you answer for everything they do there
Modification of Terms
How agreements can be changed
The formal amendment mechanism for these Service Terms sits in the Customer Agreement, but everything visible here points one direction: AWS changes things unilaterally. Beta terms and usage limits can change at any time, marketplace features and third party integrations can vanish without prior notice, prices for future purchases can change at any time, and the incorporated policies live at web addresses AWS controls and updates. The saving graces are that price changes never touch commitments you already bought and that a few changes, like Windows and RHEL rate increases, carry 30 days notice.
Key findings
- AWS may add or modify beta terms and usage limits at any time
- Multiple services reserve the right to change, discontinue, or deprecate features or third party support without prior notice
- AWS Marketplace and its listings can be stopped without prior notice
- Incorporated policies are posted documents AWS can revise, and the document itself carries only a Last Updated date
- Existing reserved purchases are shielded from price changes, and some specific increases require 30 days notice
Evidence from the document
AWS may add or modify terms, including lowering or raising any usage limits, related to access to or use of any Beta Services or Beta Regions at any time.
We may change, discontinue, or deprecate support for any third-party identity provider at any time without prior notice.
AWS may stop providing AWS Marketplace (or any features of or listings within AWS Marketplace), without prior notice to you.
We may change Savings Plans, EC2 Reserved Instance and EC2 Dedicated Host Reservation pricing at any time, but price changes will not apply to previously designated Savings Plans
Recommendations
- Snapshot the Service Terms and every incorporated policy you rely on at contract time
- Design your architecture so a discontinued feature or deprecated integration is not an existential event
- Watch AWS notices and health dashboards, since some changes arrive with little or no warning
- Lock in pricing with reserved commitments only where the noncancellable risk is worth the rate protection
Governing Law & Disputes
Jurisdiction and conflict resolution
This document does not set governing law, venue, arbitration, or class action rules. Those all live in the separate AWS Customer Agreement, which defines the contracting entity for your country and the dispute framework. The only signals here are entity tables assigning your contract to different AWS companies by country and scattered clauses like the exclusion of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act for Oracle software. Because the category is essentially not covered, this score is neutral rather than an endorsement.
Key findings
- No governing law, jurisdiction, arbitration, or class action language appears in this document
- Your contracting AWS entity, and likely your dispute forum, varies by country per tables in the marketplace and training sections
- Statements of work are declared the final and complete agreement for their subject matter
- The Customer Agreement is the controlling document for dispute resolution
Evidence from the document
Capitalized terms used in these Service Terms but not defined below are defined in the
The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act does not apply to your use of the Oracle Software.
Recommendations
- Read the dispute resolution and governing law sections of the AWS Customer Agreement for your region before relying on any assumption
- Identify which AWS contracting entity your account maps to, since it determines whose courts and law likely apply
- Keep records of invoices showing the contracting entity for each billing period
Ex-TerCo provides automated analysis of legal documents for informational purposes. This is not legal advice. Terms can change at any time.