LEGAL · ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Acceptable use policy

Last updated 30 October 2026

1. About this policy

1.1 This policy sets out what you can and cannot do with any website, email or service that Spectacle Ltd ("Spectacle", "we", "us") hosts, maintains or builds for you. It forms part of our Terms and Conditions, and words defined there have the same meaning here.

1.2 It applies to you and to anyone you allow to use your website or account, including your staff, contractors and your website's own users. You are responsible for making sure they follow it.

1.3 Hosting is shared infrastructure. One compromised or misused website can affect the speed, security and reputation of every other website we look after. This policy exists to keep all our customers safe.

1.4 If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask us through the Dashboard before you go ahead.

2. Content that is never allowed

2.1 You must not use our services to host, publish, link to, sell or promote anything that:

  • is illegal in the UK, or helps or encourages someone to break the law;
  • sexually exploits or endangers children in any way (we report this to the police and the Internet Watch Foundation);
  • promotes terrorism, violent extremism, or violence against people or groups;
  • harasses, threatens, bullies or stalks anyone, or publishes someone's private information without their consent (doxxing);
  • stirs up hatred against people because of their race, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or similar characteristics;
  • is defamatory, or infringes anyone's copyright, trade marks or other rights, including pirated software, films or music;
  • is fraudulent or misleading, such as fake shops, fake reviews, pyramid schemes, or impersonating another person or business;
  • sells or promotes illegal drugs, weapons, or other goods that are illegal to sell in the UK;
  • shares intimate images of anyone without their consent, or shows sexual content involving anyone who has not consented or is under 18.

2.2 We also do not host websites for the following businesses, even where they are legal and licensed:

  • age-restricted products, including alcohol, vapes, tobacco and CBD;
  • financial products, including cryptocurrency, trading, investments and loans;
  • other regulated sectors, including dating, firearms, and pharmacy or medicines.

3. Adult content needs our approval

3.1 You must get our written approval, through the Dashboard, before you use our services for sexually explicit material that is legal in the UK.

3.2 Before we approve it, we will ask you to show that your website has robust age verification that meets the Online Safety Act 2023. You must keep that age verification working.

3.3 We decide whether to approve a website. We may refuse, or withdraw approval later, if we believe the risk to us, our providers or our other customers is too high.

4. Security and abuse

4.1 You must not use our services, or let your website be used, to:

  • access, scan or test any system, network or account without permission, including ours and our other customers';
  • host or spread malware, viruses, ransomware or other harmful code;
  • host phishing pages, or collect passwords, card details or other personal data under false pretences;
  • launch or take part in denial-of-service attacks, or flood any system with traffic;
  • get around our security controls, resource limits or monitoring;
  • run open proxies, VPN exit points or anonymising services;
  • send spoofed or forged email headers, or hide where traffic really comes from.

4.2 If you want to test the security of your own website, tell us through the Dashboard first, so that we can agree when and how.

5. Email and spam

5.1 Your hosting can send transactional email only. This means messages triggered by an action someone takes on your website, such as contact form notifications, order confirmations and password resets.

5.2 You must not send marketing email, newsletters or bulk mail from your hosting. Use a dedicated email marketing service, such as Mailchimp or Brevo, which we can connect to your website.

5.3 Wherever you send email from, you must follow UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). In particular, you must not:

  • send unsolicited marketing to people who have not opted in;
  • use bought, rented or scraped email lists;
  • advertise your website in spam sent from anywhere else.

5.4 Your website's forms must be protected against spam bots. We will set this up as part of our services, and you must not remove it.

6. Fair use of resources

6.1 Your hosting is for running your website. Storage, bandwidth and processing are shared fairly between customers, within the limits of your Website Care Plan.

6.2 You can offer reasonable downloads that support your website, such as brochures, menus, price lists and PDF guides.

6.3 You must not use your hosting:

  • as general file storage, a backup destination, or a file-sharing or download service;
  • to stream or host large video or audio libraries (use a service such as YouTube or Vimeo and embed it);
  • to mine cryptocurrency, or run other processes unrelated to your website;
  • to run scripts or scheduled tasks that place an unreasonable load on the server.

6.4 Every Website Care Plan is designed for a website of up to 5GB in size and up to 15,000 visitors a month (Terms and Conditions, section 9.6). If your website goes beyond this, we will contact you through the Dashboard and suggest a fix or a more suitable plan. We will not charge you more without agreeing it with you first. If the usage is harming other customers, we may limit it straight away.

7. Keeping your website secure

7.1 Security is shared between us. We look after the server, software updates and monitoring under your Website Care Plan. You must:

  • use strong, unique passwords for your Dashboard and website logins, and turn on two-factor authentication where we offer it;
  • never share logins. Give each person their own account with only the access they need, and remove accounts when people leave;
  • not install plugins, themes or code from untrusted or pirated ("nulled") sources;
  • tell us straight away through the Dashboard if you think your website or account has been compromised.

8. Reporting abuse and what we do

8.1 Anyone can report a website we host that they believe breaks this policy by emailing [email protected]. Please include the web address and what you are concerned about.

8.2 When we receive a report, or find a problem ourselves, we will investigate. Depending on how serious it is, we may:

  1. contact you through the Dashboard and ask you to fix it within a set time;
  2. remove or disable the content concerned;
  3. suspend your website or account;
  4. end your services under our Terms and Conditions.

8.3 Where there is a risk to people, our systems or other customers (for example malware, phishing or child abuse material), we will act straight away without notice. We will tell you what we did and why, unless the law or the police prevent us.

8.4 We may report illegal activity to the police or other authorities, and share information with them where the law requires or allows it.

8.5 You can appeal a decision by replying in the Dashboard. A different member of the team will review it where possible.

8.6 You must pay any reasonable costs we incur in dealing with a breach of this policy, such as cleaning up a hacked website caused by pirated software. Suspension under this policy does not stop your fees being due.

9. Changes to this policy

9.1 We may update this policy to keep up with new risks, laws or the requirements of our providers. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of any material change through the Dashboard. Changes needed to deal with an urgent security or legal risk may take effect straight away.