Terms of Service

You must be at least 16 years old to use the Platform. By creating an account you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity on your account. Notify us immediately at legal@hacking.community if you suspect unauthorised access.

One account per natural person. Sockpuppet and impersonation accounts will be terminated.

You agree to use the Platform only for lawful, ethical, and legitimate cybersecurity purposes. Specifically, you must not:

• Use Platform knowledge, tools, or content to attack, access, or interfere with systems you are not explicitly authorised to test.
• Upload malware, weaponised exploits aimed at third parties, stolen data, or illegally obtained credentials.
• Harass, threaten, dox, or discriminate against other users.
• Scrape, mirror, or systematically copy Platform content without our written permission.
• Use automated means (bots, scripts) to inflate karma, votes, or any other metric.

The full list of prohibited conduct is in our Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated by reference.

You retain ownership of the content you post (questions, answers, writeups, code snippets, profile data, messages). By posting public content to the Platform you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, display, reproduce, and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Platform.

This licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except where we are legally required to retain it (e.g. abuse investigations, tax records, payment evidence).

Direct messages are end-to-end encrypted. We cannot read them and they are not covered by this licence.

Some features (Pro membership, Team plan, hint packs) require payment. Pricing is shown at the point of purchase. All amounts are charged in the currency stated at checkout. Sales taxes and applicable UAE VAT are added where required by law.

Payments are processed by third-party providers (e.g. Stripe). We do not store full card numbers on our servers.

Refund eligibility is governed by our Refund & Dispute Policy.

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, the Community Guidelines, or applicable law. We may also remove or restrict any content that violates our policies.

You may delete your account at any time from /settings. Public contributions (questions, answers) may remain visible in anonymised form to preserve thread integrity for other users, in line with the licence in Section 3.

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Cybersecurity content is provided for educational purposes only. We do not warrant that any technique, tool, or solution discussed on the Platform is current, complete, or safe for any specific environment. You are solely responsible for testing only systems you are authorised to test.

To the maximum extent permitted by UAE law, in no event will HACKASTRA INFOSEC L.L.C-FZ, its directors, employees, or affiliates be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business interruption — arising out of or in connection with your use of the Platform.

Our total aggregate liability for any claim related to the Platform will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD 100.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or anything that cannot be limited under applicable law.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HACKASTRA INFOSEC L.L.C-FZ and its affiliates from any third-party claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of these Terms, your content, or your use of the Platform.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates (UAE Free Zone), without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. The courts of the UAE Free Zone in which HACKASTRA INFOSEC L.L.C-FZ is registered have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, subject to any non-derogable rights you may have as a consumer in your country of residence.

Before filing a formal claim, please contact us at legal@hacking.community so we can try to resolve the matter informally.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced on the Platform and, where required, by email. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@hacking.community.