WarnHN: Google Cloud account suspension – no warnings and data locked down
Background: Over the course of 3 years I have put together just shy of 20 projects which run on Google Cloud and recommended the ecosystem to many friends. Some of my projects are bigger than others and I’ve been happily paying as required without any problems. None of the projects are ‘exotic’ and shouldn’t come close to violating Google’s terms and conditions.
Queue Google-shock: Yesterday evening I checked on the status of my apps, as is my habit, and had the unpleasant shock of seeing all but two of my projects sporting a red “Suspended for abuse” tag. I ran a couple of tests on the suspended projects and discovered that:
1) Each projects’ compute engine instances had been terminated 2) My billing account had been closed 3) I was given an “unauthorised” message for https://appengine.google.com/ (usually I’d get a list of the app engine apps) 4) I could not access the settings for any apps with the supervisor log in - effectively tying my hands when it comes to notifying customers of the issues, or moving data to another cloud service provider
As I cannot access logs and therefore am unable to determine what might have triggered this suspension. I didn’t get any warning that this suspension might happen, or notice when it did. A few hours after my discovery I received an email saying I had to verify my identity via a Google Wallet link in which you send off a passport copy and utility bill (which I’ve done). I managed to have a conversation with Google Wallet today and they have confirmed it’s not an issue with them and that my account is in good standing. I’ve sent off many a request for information to Google Cloud, and filled in the “Request an appeal” box but nothing has happened. Stuck.
This post is to serve as a warning, however I’d be curious to know if any others in the HN community have experience the same problems with Google, and how they went about solving it?