1. Overview
This privacy policy describes which personal data we process when you visit photogala.net, create an account, create a gallery or join a gallery as a guest — and which rights you have in this regard.
The key points at a glance: Galleries are not public and do not appear in search engines. We do not sell data and use your photos neither for advertising nor for training AI models. We set analytics and advertising cookies only with your consent — and not at all on gallery pages for guests.
2. Controller
The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for photogala.net and the operation of the platform is:
Peter Wassermair
Rödham 20, 4922 Geiersberg, Austria
E-mail: [email protected]
No data protection officer has been appointed because there is no legal obligation to do so. Please send all data protection enquiries to the e-mail address above.
3. Who is responsible for what?
There are two roles in galleries:
- Organizers (e.g. a wedding couple, a company or an association) create a gallery, invite guests and determine its settings: who has access, whether guests may upload and download, whether content is reviewed before publication and whether face recognition is active. Organizers are the controllers for the content of their gallery.
- Photogala processes the content of a gallery on behalf of the organizer (Art. 28 GDPR, see the annex to our Terms of Service). We are ourselves the controller for accounts, platform security, billing and this website.
If a partner (e.g. a photographer or an agency) offers a gallery under its own brand, the partner’s legal texts linked in the gallery also apply.
It is best to direct questions about a specific gallery to the organizer first. However, you can also contact us at any time; we will help directly or forward your request.
4. Information for guests
When you join a gallery via a link, QR code or invitation code, we process:
- the display name you provide voluntarily, and a guest account on your device so that you can find and delete your uploads, likes and comments;
- the photos and videos you upload, including the file’s metadata (e.g. time of capture, camera model and — if your device stores it — location of capture);
- technical data such as IP address, browser and device, which are necessary for secure operation;
- which version of the Terms of Service was shown to you on entry and when — as proof.
The legal bases are the provision of the gallery you join (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and the legitimate interest of the organizer and our own legitimate interest in a shared memory of the event and in secure operation (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
Preview and web versions of your photos do not contain camera or location data. The original file remains unchanged; if the organizer allows downloads, other guests can download it with all its metadata. If you do not want this, remove the location in your device settings before uploading.
You appear in a photo and do not want to? Open the photo and tap “Report”. The organizer will be notified and can remove it. If you do not have access to the gallery or the organizer does not respond, write to us at [email protected] — we review every report. You can delete your own uploads yourself at any time.
You do not need an e-mail address for a guest account. If you provide one, for example to be notified about new photos or to receive a download, we use it only for that purpose. Guests receive advertising only if they have expressly consented.
5. Other data we process
- Account: e-mail address, name and password (stored only as a secure hash) or, when signing in with Google, name, e-mail address and profile picture.
- Galleries: name, date, location, settings and design, invitations, tasks, albums and all content uploaded by organizers and guests.
- Communication: your support requests and the e-mails we send you (e.g. confirmations or notices about your gallery).
- Purchases: name, e-mail address, country, purchased package and payment status. Only our reseller Paddle receives your card or account details, never we.
- Usage and technical data: IP address, browser, device, pages visited, times and error reports.
6. Purposes and legal bases
- Provision of the platform (account, galleries, uploads, downloads, notifications): contract, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.
- Security and protection against abuse (server logs, rate limiting, reCAPTCHA, review of reports, automatic detection of prohibited content): legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, and our obligations as a hosting service provider under the Digital Services Act, Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.
- Proof of acceptance of the Terms of Service: legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
- Billing and accounting: statutory retention obligations, Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with § 132 BAO.
- Cookieless website statistics on photogala.net (anonymous and aggregated, with Plausible): legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
- Product analytics and advertising tracking: only with consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 165(3) TKG 2021.
- Newsletters and promotional e-mails: with consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, or to customers for our own similar products with the option to unsubscribe at any time, § 174(4) TKG 2021.
- Face recognition: explicit consent, see section 7.
Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can object (section 13). You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future.
7. Face recognition (optional)
Organizers can switch on the “Find me” feature for their gallery. It is off by default.
When it is active, an AI model on our own servers detects faces in the uploaded photos and calculates feature vectors from them. If a guest uploads a selfie, we compare it with these vectors and show the guest the photos in which they appear. Such vectors are biometric data (Art. 9 GDPR).
We process them only with explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR). Your selfie is analysed only after you have expressly confirmed this. The organizer is responsible for the other people in the photos: they must inform the guests in advance and obtain their consent before switching on the feature.
The vectors are stored encrypted, are not disclosed to third parties and are not used to train AI models. We delete them as soon as the organizer switches off the feature, the gallery is deleted or you withdraw your consent. Your selfie is used only for the comparison and does not appear in the gallery.
In addition, an AI model on our servers checks uploads for clearly prohibited content such as nudity, so that the organizer can review it before publication. No persons are identified in the process.
8. Recipients and service providers
We disclose data only to the extent necessary for the purposes stated and do not sell personal data. Our service providers process data on our behalf and are contractually bound (Art. 28 GDPR):
- Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany: servers, database and storage of all platform data in a data centre in Helsinki, Finland.
- Backblaze, Inc., USA: backup copies of media in a data centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Cloudflare, Inc., USA: network, fast content delivery and protection against attacks; IP addresses and request data are processed in the process.
- Paddle.com Market Ltd, United Kingdom: sales and payment processing as reseller (Merchant of Record). Paddle is itself the controller for the purchase; its privacy policy applies.
- Google Ireland Ltd and Google LLC: sign-in with Google (only if you choose it) and reCAPTCHA to protect forms against bots; IP address and browser data are transmitted to Google in the process.
- Klaviyo, Inc., USA: sending e-mails to customers and prospects; newsletters only with consent.
- OpenStreetMap Foundation and CARTO: map tiles when a gallery shows a map. Your browser loads them directly and transmits your IP address in the process.
- Advertising platforms — only after your consent, see section 11.
We operate the following on our own servers and without disclosure to third parties: the e-mail server (Mailcow), error reporting (GlitchTip), website statistics (Plausible), product analytics (OpenPanel, only with consent) and the AI models for image review, face recognition and translations.
Within a gallery, the organizer and the other guests see your uploads, your display name, likes and comments — depending on the gallery’s settings. Authorities receive data only if we are legally obliged to provide it.
9. Transfers to third countries
We store your data in the EU. Some service providers (Cloudflare, Backblaze, Google, Klaviyo and — after consent — the advertising platforms) are based in the USA or may access data from there. The basis is the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified, and otherwise the Standard Contractual Clauses of the European Commission (Art. 46 GDPR). For the United Kingdom (Paddle), there is an adequacy decision of the European Commission.
11. Advertising and conversion measurement (only with consent)
If you consent on photogala.net, we measure which ads lead to sign-ups and purchases. For this we use pixels and server-side interfaces of:
- Google Ads (Google Ireland Ltd)
- Meta Pixel and Conversions API (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd)
- TikTok Pixel and Events API (TikTok Technology Ltd, Ireland)
- Microsoft Advertising (Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd, Ireland)
- Pinterest (Pinterest Europe Ltd)
- Amazon Ads (Amazon Europe Core S.à r.l., Luxembourg)
- Taboola (Taboola Europe Ltd)
- OpenAI Ads (OpenAI Ireland Ltd)
The data transmitted are click identifiers (e.g. gclid or fbclid), the event (e.g. “sign-up” or “purchase”), the time, IP address and browser data, and your e-mail address in hashed form. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Without consent, nothing is transmitted; you can withdraw your consent at any time.
12. Retention period
- Account: until you delete it. After that, we remove your data within 30 days unless a retention obligation applies.
- Galleries and media: for as long as the gallery exists, at most until the end of the booked term. Deleted content can be restored for 90 days, including in the backup copy, and is permanently deleted thereafter.
- Guest accounts: for as long as the gallery exists. We delete them earlier on request.
- Proof of the Terms of Service: for as long as the gallery exists and for three years thereafter (limitation period, § 1489 ABGB).
- Invoicing and accounting data: seven years (§ 132 BAO).
- Server logs and error reports: as a rule no more than 90 days; in the case of security incidents, until they have been resolved.
- Consents: until withdrawn; the proof thereof for three years longer.
13. Your rights
You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and objection (Art. 21). You can withdraw consent at any time (Art. 7(3)); processing carried out until then remains lawful.
To do so, write to [email protected]. We will respond within one month.
You can also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority; in Austria, this is the Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde (Austrian Data Protection Authority), Barichgasse 40–42, 1030 Wien, www.dsb.gv.at.
We do not make automated decisions that have legal effects on you (Art. 22 GDPR). The automatic review of uploads only flags content so that a human can check it.
14. Children
Only adults may create galleries and purchase packages. Children under 14 may join a gallery only with the consent of a parent (§ 4(4) DSG).
Photos of children deserve special protection. Organizers should obtain the parents’ consent in advance, and parents can have photos of their children removed at any time via “Report” or by e-mail to us.
15. Data security
All connections are TLS-encrypted. Galleries can only be accessed with a link, code or password, and media files only via time-limited, signed URLs. Access is restricted by role, passwords are stored only as a hash, and backup copies are kept with a second provider.
Nobody can guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach, we will notify the authority and the data subjects in accordance with Art. 33 and 34 GDPR.
16. Changes
We will amend this privacy policy if our processing or the legal situation changes. The version published here at any given time applies. We will inform registered users of material changes by e-mail or in the app.
17. Notice for residents of the USA
If you live in California or another U.S. state with its own privacy law, you can find out which personal data we process about you, have it corrected or deleted, and opt out of its “sale” or “sharing” for advertising purposes. We do not sell personal data. Advertising tracking takes place only after consent, which you can withdraw at any time. You will not suffer any disadvantage if you exercise your rights. Please send requests to [email protected].
18. Contact
We are happy to answer questions about data protection:
Peter Wassermair, Rödham 20, 4922 Geiersberg, Austria
E-mail: [email protected]