Fair Use Policy
Chocolate Cloud ApS · Last updated: 8 October 2026
This Policy forms part of the Terms of Service and sets out the limits that apply to use of the IronShard service on the free tier. Capitalised terms have the meaning given in the Terms.
1. Published limits
| Limit | Free tier | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | 10 GB | Each account |
| Total storage across multiple accounts | 25 GB | All free accounts created or used from the same network origin, taken together |
| Egress | 10 GB per calendar month | Each account |
| Objects | 100,000 | Each account |
| Minimum billable object size | 128 KB | Each object |
| Request rate | 50 per second sustained | Each Credential |
| Upload rate | 2 GB per hour | Each account |
The total storage limit exists to prevent circumvention of the per-account limits by creating multiple free accounts. It is not a limit on the service as a whole. The free tier does not require you to identify yourself. There is no limit on the number of buckets in an account; the limits above apply to the account as a whole, however many buckets it holds.
We may change these limits. Changes are published on this page with the effective date.
2. Minimum object size
Objects smaller than 128 KB are counted as 128 KB against your storage and object quotas. This reflects the fixed cost of storing an object across multiple providers, which does not fall below a floor regardless of object size.
3. Rate limiting
Where you exceed a request rate limit we return HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. Your client should honour it. Automated retry without backoff may be treated as resource abuse under the Acceptable Use Policy.
4. What happens when you exceed a limit
We will, where practical, notify you as you approach a limit. Where you reach or exceed a limit we may throttle requests. On sustained excess we may block writes while continuing to allow reads. We may apply these limits through automated controls or by review, and we may act on use that is abusive even where a limit has not been reached. Repeated or abusive excess may result in suspension under clause 8 of the Terms.
5. Inactive buckets
Where a bucket is not accessed for 30 days we may move it to lower-performance storage, from which it is restored on access. Where a bucket is not accessed for 180 days we may delete it and its contents. We will attempt to notify you beforehand where we hold contact details. The free tier is not a backup service.
6. Circumvention
You must not use multiple buckets, Credentials, accounts, identities or network addresses to obtain resources beyond the limits that apply to you. See clause 6 of the Terms and section 2 of the Acceptable Use Policy.
7. Changes
We may update this Policy. Changes are published on this page with the effective date. Limits for paid plans will be published when those plans are offered.