Indemnification Clause
An indemnification clause makes you cover the company's legal costs — even for disputes between it and third parties.
To indemnify someone means to pay their losses. In ToS context, the clause typically makes you reimburse the company for damages, legal fees, and settlements arising from your use of the service. A narrow version covers only your own misconduct; a broad version makes you financially responsible when a third party sues the company because of something you uploaded, posted, or did with the product.
The asymmetry is easy to miss: the company's liability to you is capped at a small fixed number (see the liability cap), while your liability to the company is uncapped. One side of the contract has a ceiling and a floor; the other side has neither.
For ordinary personal use the risk is usually dormant. It wakes up if you post content that infringes copyright, run a business on a consumer plan in violation of the terms, or promote the service in ways that trigger regulatory attention. A demand letter arrives at the company, and the clause routes the bill to you.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company from any claims, liabilities, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of the Service or any content you submit.
ToS-TLDR lists broad indemnification obligations under hidden traps, with severity raised when your obligation is uncapped while the company's is limited.
Scan a terms-of-service document free →