[dx034]

To be fair, GCP/AWS also don't have unlimited grace periods if you fail to pay. At some point everyone deletes. That's why you should always have two backups with different providers using different credit cards. A blocked credit card has led to failed businesses in the past.

[ad_hominem]

Right, didn't mean to imply they didn't. But the differences are that Tarsnap is pre-pay[1], while AWS/GCP automatically debit your card.

How many people have several months, or a year, of runway on their Tarsnap account balance? Meanwhile, there have been cases of people being dead for years[2] with their auto-pay agreements keeping everything humming along while they rot. Keep in mind that recurring payment agreements often aren't cancelled when a credit card number or expiration date changes.[3]

Finally, AWS will give you about five months of unpaid bills before they suspend your account and delete your data.[4] I would assume GCP has a similar policy.

[1]: https://www.tarsnap.com/legal-why.html#PAYMENTINADVANCE

[2]: https://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/us/michigan-mummified-body-fo...

[3]: https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/card-updater-se...

[4]: https://www.quora.com/What-happens-after-AWS-suspend-an-acco...