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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 22, 2026

1. Introduction

PhotoGate ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at photogate.app and provides a SaaS platform that helps photographers and videographers deliver content to clients and collect payments. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use our platform, whether as a photographer or videographer, a client viewing a gallery, or a visitor to our website.

By using PhotoGate, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Photographer Account Information

When you register for a PhotoGate account, we collect:

  • Full name and organization/business name
  • Email address
  • Password (securely encrypted — we never store or have access to your plaintext password)
  • Company logo (if uploaded)
  • Bank account details (account name, account number, bank name) for display to your clients
  • Preferred currency

2.2 Client Information

When a creator creates a project, they provide us with their client's information:

  • Client name
  • Client email address

Clients do not create accounts on PhotoGate. Their information is provided by creators and used solely for project delivery and payment-related communications.

2.3 Payment Information

Subscription payments are processed by our payment processing partners. We do not store credit card numbers, CVVs, or other sensitive payment card data on our servers. We store only:

  • Payment processor customer and subscription identifiers
  • Transaction references
  • Payment amounts and subscription status

For client-to-creator payments, PhotoGate tracks payment claim amounts, currency, and confirmation status. Actual money transfers occur directly between clients and creators via bank transfer — PhotoGate does not process or hold these funds.

2.4 Photos and Files

  • Direct uploads: Photos uploaded by creators are stored on our cloud storage infrastructure, encrypted at rest.
  • Linked folders: When a creator links an external cloud storage folder, we access images via a read-only connection. We do not copy or permanently store these images — they are fetched on demand to generate watermarked previews.

2.5 Invoice Data

If you use our invoice builder, we store invoice details including sender and recipient names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, line items, and totals. This data is used to generate and email PDF invoices.

2.6 Support Tickets

When you contact support through our platform, we collect the subject and body of your message, as well as any admin replies. This data is used solely to resolve your inquiry.

2.7 Automatically Collected Information

  • Usage analytics: We use analytics tools to collect anonymized data about how visitors interact with our website, including pages viewed, time on site, and referral sources.
  • Error monitoring: We use error monitoring services to capture technical errors and performance data. This may include your IP address, browser type, and details about the error encountered.
  • Log data: Our servers automatically record information such as IP addresses, browser user agents, and request timestamps for security and debugging purposes.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Create and manage your creator account
  • Process subscription payments
  • Generate watermarked photo previews for client galleries
  • Send transactional emails (project notifications, payment claim updates, invoices, password resets)
  • Display your bank account details to clients for payment
  • Generate and deliver invoices on your behalf
  • Convert and display amounts in your preferred currency
  • Provide customer support
  • Monitor and improve platform performance and reliability
  • Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security threats
  • Comply with legal obligations

4. Data Storage and Security

We implement industry-standard encryption and security measures to protect your data:

  • Password security: All passwords are cryptographically hashed before storage. We never store or transmit plaintext passwords.
  • Authentication: Sessions are managed via secure, encrypted tokens stored in protected cookies, preventing unauthorized access and cross-site attacks.
  • Database security: Our database is hosted with trusted database hosting providers and protected by strict access control policies. All application queries use parameterized statements to prevent injection attacks.
  • File storage: Uploaded photos are stored on secure cloud storage infrastructure, encrypted at rest. Access is controlled via signed URLs with limited lifetimes.
  • Network security: All traffic is served over HTTPS. Our infrastructure is protected by web application firewall and DDoS mitigation services.
  • Payment verification: All payment-related webhook events are cryptographically verified to ensure authenticity before processing.

While we employ industry-standard security practices, no system is completely immune to risk. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account.

5. Data Sharing and Third-Party Services

We do not sell your personal information. We work with trusted third-party service providers for payment processing, cloud storage, email delivery, analytics, and infrastructure. Data is shared with these providers only to the extent necessary to operate and improve PhotoGate:

  • Payment processing partners — receive your email address and payment details to process subscription charges. We do not store your payment card information on our servers.
  • Cloud storage infrastructure — stores creator-uploaded photos, encrypted at rest, with strict access controls.
  • External storage integrations — used to read images from creator-linked cloud storage folders. We use read-only access and do not access any data beyond the shared folders.
  • Email delivery services — receive recipient email addresses and email content to deliver transactional emails on our behalf.
  • Analytics tools — collect anonymized usage data to help us understand how visitors interact with our site.
  • Error monitoring services — receive technical error data, which may include IP addresses and browser information, to help us identify and fix bugs.
  • Database hosting providers — host our production database with enterprise-grade security and encryption.

Each of our service providers is contractually obligated to handle your data in accordance with applicable privacy laws and their own published privacy policies.

We may also disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

6. Cookies and Tracking

PhotoGate uses the following cookies:

  • Authentication cookies — secure, encrypted session cookies that keep you logged in. These are essential for the platform to function and cannot be accessed by third-party scripts.
  • Analytics cookies — used to distinguish unique visitors and track anonymized usage patterns. These help us understand how our site is used and how to improve it.

We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies beyond those listed above. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

7. Data Retention

  • Active accounts: Your data is retained for as long as your account is active and your subscription is current.
  • After subscription expiry or cancellation: We retain your account data and uploaded files for 30 days after your subscription expires or is cancelled. This grace period allows you to reactivate your subscription without losing your data.
  • After the 30-day retention period: Uploaded photos are permanently deleted from our storage. Account data (profile, project records, invoices) may be retained in our database for an additional period for legal and accounting purposes.
  • Audit logs: Administrative audit logs are retained indefinitely for security and compliance purposes.
  • Linked storage content: We do not store externally-linked images permanently. They are fetched on demand and any generated previews are cached temporarily.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your data: View and download the personal information we hold about you through your dashboard profile.
  • Correct your data: Update your profile information, including your name, email, organization name, logo, and bank details, at any time from your dashboard.
  • Delete your data: You may delete individual projects and their associated photos. To delete your entire account, contact us at photogateofficial@gmail.com.
  • Export your data: You can download your invoices as PDFs. For a full data export, contact us.
  • Withdraw consent: You may cancel your subscription at any time. For analytics, you can opt out using your browser's built-in privacy settings or a standard analytics opt-out mechanism.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at photogateofficial@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

PhotoGate is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at photogateofficial@gmail.com and we will promptly delete that information.

10. International Data Transfers

PhotoGate serves photographers and videographers across multiple countries. Your data may be processed and stored in countries other than your own, including the United States and other regions where our infrastructure providers operate. By using PhotoGate, you consent to the transfer of your data to these locations. We ensure that our third-party providers maintain appropriate data protection standards.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will notify registered users via email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of PhotoGate after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: