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Privacy Notice

We take your privacy seriously. This notice explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and the rights you have over your information.

Effective Date: 26 March 2025

Photo9 ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Notice explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679 and the UK GDPR.

Please read this notice carefully. By creating an account or placing an order, you confirm that you have read and understood how we use your personal data.


1. Who We Are (Data Controller)

The data controller is:

Media Rex Alliance BV Barbara Strozzilaan 201, 1083 HN Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Data Protection contact: customer.service@photonine.ai


2. Personal Data We Collect

CategoryExamplesWhy we collect it
IdentityName, usernameAccount creation, order fulfillment
ContactEmail address, delivery addressFulfilling orders, customer support, optional marketing
CredentialsEmail address, hashed passwordSecure authentication
Order dataProducts purchased, purchase amount, dateOrder fulfillment, customer service, fraud prevention
User-generated contentPhotos and videos you uploadCreating and printing your personalised products
Usage dataPages visited, features used, session durationImproving our service (with your consent for analytics)
AI interaction dataMessages sent to our AI assistant (where applicable)Providing AI-powered design assistance and pre-sale support
Device & technical dataIP address (anonymised), browser type, regionSecurity, fraud prevention, service operation

PurposeLegal Basis (GDPR Art. 6)
Fulfilling your order (manufacturing, shipping, payment)Art. 6(1)(b) — Performance of a contract
Maintaining a secure account sessionArt. 6(1)(b) — Performance of a contract
AI-assisted design and pre-sale supportArt. 6(1)(b) — Performance of a contract / pre-contractual steps
Automated content moderation of uploaded photosArt. 6(1)(f) — Legitimate interests (ensuring platform safety and legal compliance)
Analytics and service improvementArt. 6(1)(a) — Consent
Marketing emails and personalised advertisingArt. 6(1)(a) — Consent
Fraud prevention and securityArt. 6(1)(f) — Legitimate interests
Legal compliance (e.g. responding to court orders)Art. 6(1)(c) — Legal obligation

4. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site and, with your consent, to analyse usage and serve targeted advertising. Please refer to our Cookie Notice for a full list of cookies, their purposes, and how to manage your preferences.


5. AI Assistant

Our website includes an AI-powered assistant (the "Assistant") to help you design your photo book and answer pre-sale questions.

5.1 You are always interacting with an AI

In accordance with Article 50 of the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), we inform you that the Assistant is an automated AI system, not a human agent. This will always be made clear in the interface.

5.2 What data the Assistant processes

When you send a message to the Assistant, your message is transmitted to our AI service providers (Anthropic, Inc. and/or OpenAI, Inc.) to generate a response. The content of your conversation is processed solely to produce that response. We do not use your conversation content to train, fine-tune, or improve AI models.

The Assistant processes only the following data:

We do not pass your name, email address, order history, uploaded photos, or any other personal identifiers to the Assistant unless you explicitly include that information in your message.

5.3 Personal data and the AI — explicit consent required

If a future feature requires the Assistant to access your personal account data (such as your order history or uploaded designs), we will ask for your explicit, separate consent before enabling that access. You will always be clearly informed of what data will be shared and for what purpose, and you may withdraw that consent at any time.

5.4 No AI training on your data

Your conversation content, photos, or personal data are never used to train AI models — neither our own systems nor those of our AI service providers. Our agreements with Anthropic and OpenAI include contractual prohibitions on using API data for model training.

5.5 Usage limits

To ensure fair access and to prevent misuse, the Assistant operates within session-based usage limits. If you reach your limit, the Assistant will be temporarily unavailable until your next session. This is an automated process based solely on usage volume, not on the content of your messages. If you believe your access has been restricted in error, contact us at customer.service@photonine.ai to request human review.

5.6 AI sub-processors and international transfers

Our AI service providers are based in the United States. Sending conversation data to these providers constitutes a transfer of personal data outside the UK/EEA. This transfer is protected by:

ProviderRoleLocationTransfer mechanism
Anthropic, Inc.AI model provider (sub-processor)USASCCs (EU Commission 2021/914)
OpenAI, Inc.AI model provider (sub-processor)USASCCs (EU Commission 2021/914)

5.7 Retention of AI interaction data

Session metadata (anonymised usage counts, timestamps) is retained for up to 90 days for service quality, fraud prevention, and abuse monitoring, after which it is automatically deleted. Conversation message content is not stored by us beyond the duration of your session. Retention practices at our AI providers are governed by their respective DPAs.


6. Content Moderation

Because our platform allows you to upload photos and videos, we use AI-based tools to detect and filter content that is illegal or violates our Terms & Conditions (including explicit nudity, violence, and hate symbols). This processing is based on our legitimate interests in maintaining a lawful and safe platform (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)).

If your content is flagged by automated moderation, you have the right to request human review of that decision by contacting us at customer.service@photonine.ai. We will review your request and inform you of the outcome.

We reserve the right to suspend accounts and report to relevant authorities where uploaded content is unlawful.


7. Third-Party Data

If you upload photos that include other people, or provide a delivery address for a third party, that information is treated with the same protections as your own data. Please ensure you have the consent of any individuals whose images you upload, where required.


8. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only in the following circumstances:


9. Children

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 16. If we become aware that a user under 16 has submitted personal data, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at customer.service@photonine.ai.


10. Data Retention

Data typeRetention period
Account and order dataDuration of your account + 7 years (legal/tax obligations)
Uploaded photos and designsUntil you delete them or close your account
AI session metadata90 days
Analytics dataUp to 26 months (Google Analytics default)
Marketing consent recordsDuration of consent + 3 years

11. Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

Payment details are encrypted using SSL/TLS and processed directly by our payment provider. We do not store card numbers.

If you suspect unauthorised access to your data, please notify us immediately at customer.service@photonine.ai.


12. Your Rights (GDPR and UK GDPR)

You have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of them, contact us at customer.service@photonine.ai.

RightWhat it means
Right to access (Art. 15)Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification (Art. 16)Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure (Art. 17)Ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention obligations.
Right to restriction (Art. 18)Ask us to pause processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability (Art. 20)Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object (Art. 21)Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling for direct marketing.
Rights related to automated decision-making (Art. 22)Request human review of any automated decision that significantly affects you.
Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3))Withdraw consent at any time for processing based on consent (e.g. analytics, marketing). Withdrawal does not affect prior lawful processing.

We will respond to requests within 30 days (extendable to 90 days for complex requests, with notice).


13. Supervisory Authorities

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data or a complaint, you have the right to contact the relevant supervisory authority:

Supervisory Authorities may also reach our Art. 27 GDPR representative at: customer.service@photonine.ai


14. Changes to This Notice

We will update this notice when our data practices change or when legal requirements require it. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates the date of the most recent update. We encourage you to review this notice periodically.