Our Commitment
SnapStaq is built on a simple principle: your data belongs to you. We collect only what is necessary to run the platform, we do not sell your data, and we do not track you for advertising purposes. This policy explains what we collect, why, and how long we keep it.
1. Who This Policy Applies To
This policy applies to two groups of people:
- Photographers — professionals and studios who create accounts and use SnapStaq to manage and deliver photo galleries to their clients.
- Clients — individuals who access galleries shared by Photographers, whether to view, download, or make selections.
2. Information We Collect
Account information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, username, and password. Photographers may also provide a business name, a separate contact email for billing and notifications, and optional profile information including a bio, location, phone number, website, and social media links.
Photos and content: Photos, videos, and files you upload are stored securely on your behalf and served to your clients quickly across their devices.
Usage and activity data: We record download events, photo selection submissions, and email registrations so that Photographers can see how clients are engaging with their galleries. This activity data belongs to the Photographer.
Client information: When a Client accesses a gallery or downloads photos, we may collect their email address if they provide it or if the Photographer has enabled email-gated access. Client email addresses and their activity on a gallery are visible only to the Photographer who owns that gallery.
Payment claims: Where a Photographer enables a payment gate on a gallery, Clients may submit their name, email address, and the amount they claim to have paid. This information is visible only to the relevant Photographer and is used solely to help them confirm payment before releasing the gallery.
Device and session data: When you sign in, we record your device type, approximate location (city and country derived from your IP address), and the time of sign-in. This is used to send you login alert notifications to help you identify unauthorised access to your account.
Billing information: If you subscribe, we record your chosen plan, billing interval, subscription status, and billing history. Payment card details are handled entirely by our payment processor and are never stored by SnapStaq.
Location data: We detect your country from your IP address when you visit SnapStaq. This is used solely to display pricing in your local currency. We store a country-level code only (for example, "NG" for Nigeria). This data is never used to identify you personally or to restrict your access.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To provide and operate the SnapStaq platform
- To keep your account secure and your session active
- To send login alert notifications to help you detect unauthorised access
- To send transactional emails: gallery share notifications, download alerts, selection submission confirmations, billing receipts, billing reminders, and account lifecycle notifications
- To display your galleries to the clients you choose to share them with
- To process payments and manage your subscription
- To display pricing in your local currency
- To send you in-app and email notifications about activity on your galleries, which you can configure or disable in your notification settings
We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose outside of delivering and improving the service.
4. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for their own purposes. To operate the platform, we work with a small number of trusted infrastructure providers in the following categories:
- Payment processing
- Transactional email delivery
- Cloud storage for photos and files
- Hosting and server infrastructure
- Content delivery
Each provider is contractually required to handle data securely and only for the purpose of delivering our service. A list of current sub-processors is available on request at [email protected].
Within the platform: Photographers can see all activity on their own galleries, including client email addresses, download events, selection submissions, and payment claims. SnapStaq platform operators may access account information for the purposes of support and platform operations.
5. Cookies and Local Storage
SnapStaq uses five cookies, all of which are essential to the operation of the platform. We do not use advertising cookies, analytics trackers, or any third-party tracking scripts. Full details are in our Cookie Policy.
- Session cookie — keeps you signed in to your account. Lasts 30 days from your last sign-in. Not accessible by JavaScript.
- Theme preference cookie — remembers your display theme (light, warm, or dark) so it is applied instantly without a visual flash. Lasts one year. Contains no personal information.
- Country preference cookie — stores your country code to display pricing in your local currency. Lasts one year. This is a display-only preference and does not gate access to any feature.
- Gallery access cookie — when a Client enters a gallery's exclusive access password, a temporary cookie verifies that access for up to 24 hours. Not accessible by JavaScript.
- Cookie consent cookie — records that you have acknowledged the cookie notice, so the banner does not reappear. Shared across all SnapStaq subdomains. Lasts one year.
6. Data Retention
- Active accounts: Your photos, galleries, and activity data are retained for as long as your account is active.
- Deleted content: Photos and galleries you delete are permanently removed from storage immediately and cannot be recovered.
- Trial accounts: If a trial ends without a subscription being started, your account enters a restricted state. If no subscription is started within 30 days of the trial ending, all galleries, photos, and files are permanently deleted. We send reminder emails before this happens.
- Lapsed paid accounts: If a paid subscription lapses and is not renewed for 30 days after the post-payment grace period, all galleries, photos, and files are permanently deleted. We send multiple reminder emails before this happens. Your profile may be retained to allow re-subscription.
- Account deletion: If you request deletion of your account, all personal data associated with your account is permanently removed within 30 days of your request.
- Billing records: Invoices, payment history, and subscription records are retained for as long as required by applicable law, and for business, tax, and fraud-prevention purposes.
- Download and activity logs: Retained as part of your account records for up to 24 months from the date of the activity, or until account deletion, whichever comes first.
7. International Data Transfers
SnapStaq operates globally and our infrastructure providers may process data outside your home country. Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate contractual safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and Kenya's Data Protection Act.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you have the right to:
- Access all personal data we hold about you
- Request correction of any inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your account and all associated data
- Export your photos at any time directly from within the platform
- Object to or restrict certain types of processing
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
- Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority in your jurisdiction
Relevant data protection authorities:
- Nigeria: National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) — nitda.gov.ng
- South Africa: Information Regulator — inforegulator.org.za
- Kenya: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner — odpc.go.ke
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected].
9. Data Breach Notification
In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights or freedoms, we will notify affected users and the relevant data protection authorities as required by applicable law and within the timeframes prescribed by that law. We maintain internal procedures to detect, investigate, and respond to security incidents promptly.
10. Security
All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Photos are stored with access controls that prevent unauthorised access. Sessions are protected with cryptographically signed tokens. We conduct regular security reviews of our platform and its infrastructure.
11. Children
SnapStaq is not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us at [email protected] and we will delete it promptly.
12. Changes to This Policy
We will notify you by email when material changes are made to this policy. The effective date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version. Continued use of SnapStaq after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact
Questions or concerns about this policy? Contact us at [email protected].