Timeline: what stops when
| Date | What happens | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| From 10/17 | No new dedicated servers or domains can be bought | Don’t buy more |
| 12/1 | Shared clusters suspended (services can still be resumed manually for backups); dedicated servers stop renewing | Move anything on a shared cluster by the end of November |
| December, by expiry date | Each dedicated server shuts down when it expires | Find your server’s expiry date. That is your real deadline |
| 12/31 | All services stop | — |
| To be announced | Data deletion date, final export deadline, end of support | Don’t bet on this date |
Domains bought on Zeabur can already be transferred out self-service. Balance refunds and compensation for the security incidents are separate requests, both handled by Zeabur Support.
Step 0: Take inventory (two Zeabur features help)
1. Export Project. In the project sidebar, open Settings, then click Export under General. You get the whole project as YAML: Docker images, Git repositories, environment variables and volume mounts. Zeabur’s docs are explicit: the export does not include data. The YAML contains your secrets, so keep it on your own machine, not in a cloud notes app or a chat.
2. Raw environment variables. On each service’s Variables tab, Edit as Raw shows every variable in .env format so you can copy them in one go.
For each service, write down:
- Type: deployed from GitHub, a Docker image, or a template (n8n, Dify, WordPress…)
- Data: any databases or mounted volumes (uploaded images, SQLite files)
- Domain: bought on Zeabur, or only pointed at Zeabur via DNS
- Inbound callback URLs: chatbot webhooks, payment notification URLs, Google/Facebook login redirect URIs. Once the URL changes, all of these need updating
Step 1: Deal with security first
Zeabur had security incidents in late August and on 10/14. Assume every environment variable you stored on Zeabur may have leaked. Which keys to rotate, and in what order: Which keys to rotate after the Zeabur incidents.
Step 2: Back up your data
The Backup tab on Zeabur lets you download database and volume backups (paid plans only; backups are kept for 7 days). We recommend taking a second backup yourself with a tool like pg_dump: in our tests, Zeabur’s backup format fails to restore into managed databases such as Neon or Supabase. Commands and pitfalls: Zeabur database backup and restore.
Step 3: Decide where to move
| Your service | Easiest destination | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Static sites, frontends (React/Vue/Vite) | Cloudflare | Alternatives compared |
| Backend APIs, LINE/Discord bots | Google Cloud Run | Cloud Run, tested |
| PostgreSQL | Managed services such as Neon or Supabase | Database guide |
| Self-hosted tools such as n8n | VPS + Docker Compose | n8n migration, tested |
| Domains bought on Zeabur | Transfer to another registrar | Domains and DNS |
Step 4: Post-migration checklist
- The site loads and HTTPS works
- Log-in, payment and email flows actually exercised once
- Row counts of a few important tables match the old site
- Upload an image, redeploy, and check the image is still there
- Chatbots, scheduled jobs and webhooks all fire
- Daily automatic backups are set up on the new platform
- Old keys are revoked and the Zeabur GitHub App is uninstalled
- A full backup is kept on your own machine until at least next year
Refunds and claims
- Balance refunds and compensation for the security incidents are two separate requests to Zeabur Support
- A consumer protection officer in Taipei said refunds should in principle be returned in the currency you originally paid in
- Zeabur is registered in the US and has no branch in Taiwan. If support can’t resolve it, you can file a cross-border complaint at eConsumer.gov or ask your card issuer about a chargeback
- Include invoices, payment records and evidence of losses caused by the incidents (for example, unusual charges on an API bill)
When a platform fails, where does your data go? The Character.ai case
The same week, the AI chat platform Character.ai filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware and plans to sell its assets. Users dug into its privacy policy: user data, including chat transcripts, voice recordings, images and videos, may be disclosed in connection with a sale, or negotiations to sell, the company or its assets.
According to CBS and KQED:
- The company says user data “continues to be protected” under its privacy policy, but has not said whether chats are part of the assets for sale
- Disney agreed to pay $20 million for a non-exclusive license to Character.ai’s intellectual property. Reports say that bid excludes user data and accounts; what other bidders would get is unclear
- Data exports take 3–4 weeks and the download link expires after 7 days; the sale’s deadline is 12/17
- Precedent: when 23andMe went bankrupt last year, customers’ genetic data was sold to a nonprofit led by the co-founder, despite lawsuits from more than two dozen states
Zeabur is a different case: it is shutting down, not selling its assets, and there is no news of any data transfer. But the underlying problem is the same: when your data lives on someone else’s platform and that platform fails, you no longer decide where the data goes.
After leaving Zeabur, we suggest three things:
- Confirm your backups are in your hands, then delete your data on Zeabur. Delete services, volumes and projects. When requesting a refund, also ask Zeabur to delete your account data, and keep a written record
- When choosing a new platform, check how you get your data out first. Can you download a full backup at any time, in a standard format such as
.sql? If not, that platform is your next risk - Count your AI tools too. Customer data, contracts and code you paste into an AI chat tool are equally subject to that company’s privacy policy and any bankruptcy proceedings. For confidential company data, prefer business plans with explicit data retention and deletion terms