Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Account Data

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address
• Name (if provided)
• Password (stored as a secure hash)

2.2 Payment Data

Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number. Stripe provides us with:

• Last four digits of your card
• Card brand and expiration date
• Billing address (if provided)
• Transaction history

2.3 Usage Data

We automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited and features used
• Time and date of access
• Referring website

We use two clearly separated analytics systems. Our self-hosted Umami installation in Germany provides cookieless aggregate page, event, campaign, device, coarse location, and Web Vitals data under our legitimate interest. It derives rotating pseudonymous sessions, removes URL fragments and arbitrary query parameters, does not track visitors across sites, and has session replay disabled. Optional PostHog product analytics remains consent-gated and can be declined in cookie preferences.

2.4 Content You Provide

When you use our service, we process:

• URLs of websites you request us to crawl
• Images discovered on those websites
• Metadata about images (dimensions, format, file size)
• Optimized versions of images

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we process your data based on:

• Contract Performance (Art. 6(1)(b)): Processing necessary to provide our service, including account management, image optimization, and billing.
• Legitimate Interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): Security monitoring, fraud prevention, service improvement, and analytics.
• Legal Obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): Compliance with tax, accounting, and other legal requirements.
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): For optional marketing communications (you can withdraw consent at any time).

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

• Provide and operate the image optimization service
• Process payments and manage your subscription
• Send service-related communications (e.g., account alerts, updates)
• Respond to your support requests
• Improve and develop new features
• Detect and prevent fraud and abuse
• Comply with legal obligations

5. Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following types:

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari
• Microsoft Edge

Note: Disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using some features.

6. Data Sharing & Subprocessors

We share your data with the following service providers who process data on our behalf:

Provider-specific processing and retention terms apply. Contact us for the applicable data-processing agreements and transfer safeguards.

AI Feature Data Handling

When you use AI-powered features (such as background removal, upscaling, or image editing), your images are temporarily processed by third-party AI service providers. Provider retention is not limited to the duration of a request:

• Google's paid Gemini service does not use prompts or responses to improve its products, but keeps limited safety logs. See its API terms.
• Replicate's API prediction inputs, outputs and logs are normally removed after one hour, not immediately. See its data retention policy.
• fal.ai processing is governed by its privacy policy. We do not promise zero retention or identical terms across AI providers.

You can request details about specific AI subprocessors by contacting us at hello@pixelharbor.io.

7. International Data Transfers

The application database and AWS storage are hosted in the EU. Payment, email and AI providers can process data outside the EU. Transfer arrangements depend on the provider and the applicable processing agreement; contact us for details.

8. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as necessary to provide our services:

• Account data: Until account deletion. Storage cleanup is retried separately; payment records needed for billing reconciliation can remain.
• Processed images: Plan retention periods are Pay As You Go: 7 days; Starter: 30 days; Growth: 90 days; Pro: 365 days. Expired images become eligible for cleanup. Active work, shared objects and permanent virtual models are protected; eligibility is not a guarantee of immediate deletion.
• Payment records: Account deletion does not delete Stripe payment records or the billing reconciliation ledger. Tax and accounting records are retained according to the applicable legal category, not a uniform seven-year period. See section 147 of the German Fiscal Code.
• Server logs: Service-specific limits apply. Docker logs are size-bounded; legacy Lambda logs currently have no automatic expiry. A 30-day worker-log policy is prepared but is not yet active.
• Umami website analytics: Pseudonymous records are retained only for as long as operationally necessary for analytics and security, then deleted or irreversibly aggregated. We periodically review this retention.

9. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Restriction: Request we limit how we process your data.
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time.

To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@pixelharbor.io. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In Germany, this is the Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht (BayLDA).

10. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) provide you with additional rights regarding your personal information.

Your California Privacy Rights

• Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: We do NOT sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

Categories of Information We Collect

• Identifiers (email address, name, account ID)
• Commercial information (subscription history, transaction records)
• Internet activity (pages visited, features used, images processed)
• Geolocation data (approximate location from IP address)

How to Exercise Your Rights

To submit a request, email us at hello@pixelharbor.io with "California Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will verify your identity and respond within 45 days.

You may also designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf. We may require verification that you authorized the agent to act for you.

11. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data:

• Encryption of data in transit (TLS/HTTPS)
• Encryption of data at rest
• Regular security updates and monitoring
• Access controls and authentication
• Regular backups with secure storage

While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to hello@pixelharbor.io.

12. Children's Privacy

Our service is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by posting a notice on our website. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates when the policy was last revised. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data rights, contact us: