Privacy Policy

Photon by Aftershoot · Effective date: 8 September 2026

Data controller: Aftershoot Inc. · Privacy contact: hello@aftershoot.com

1. About this Policy

Aftershoot Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Aftershoot,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal data when you visit Photon websites, download or use the Photon by Aftershoot desktop application, use AI Style, AI Coach, or other online Photon features, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with Photon (collectively, the “Service”). Aftershoot Inc. is a subsidiary of Aftershoot Private Limited.

Aftershoot Inc. is the controller or data fiduciary responsible for the personal data covered by this Policy, unless we tell you otherwise. Aftershoot Private Limited and other Aftershoot affiliates may process limited personal data on our behalf where necessary to operate, support, secure, and administer Photon. This Policy does not apply to Aftershoot Core or another Aftershoot product where a separate privacy policy is presented, or to third-party websites and services governed by their own policies.

This Policy should be read with the Photon Terms of Use available at https://getphoton.com/terms-of-use and, for our websites, the Cookie Policy available at https://getphoton.com/cookie-policy. Please do not use the Service if you do not agree with the practices described here.


2. Photon’s photo-processing approach

Photon is designed to perform many editing functions locally on your computer. Photos used only with local, offline editing functions are processed on your device and are not uploaded to Aftershoot by those functions.

When you choose to use AI Style or AI Coach, the relevant photos are uploaded solely to provide the feature you request. They are processed transiently and are not retained or stored after processing is completed. We do not retain associated photo metadata, derived representations, or recoverable copies following processing. We do not use photos uploaded for AI Style or AI Coach to train general-purpose or shared AI models.

If we introduce another feature that uploads, stores, syncs, shares, or uses photos differently, we will provide appropriate information in the feature or update this Policy before that materially different processing begins. You control whether to use optional online photo-processing features.


3. Personal data we collect

3.1 Data you provide

  • Account and contact data. You must create an account to use Photon. We may collect your name, email address, username, country or region, authentication credentials, and other basic account or verification information.

  • Communications and support data, including messages, attachments, survey responses, interview feedback, bug reports, and information you choose to provide when contacting us.

  • Transaction and billing data if we introduce paid features, such as purchase details, billing address, tax information, payment status, and transaction identifiers. Payment-card details may be collected directly by our payment provider rather than stored by us.

  • Marketing preferences, event registrations, promotion entries, and any information you submit through a campaign or community activity.

3.2 Data collected automatically

  • Device and technical data, such as device identifiers, operating system, application version, language, time zone, IP address, hardware characteristics, and general network information.

  • Product and usage data, such as features used, buttons or screens interacted with, session dates and duration, performance measurements, settings, and aggregated editing-workflow events. We do not treat the contents of locally edited photos as usage analytics.

  • Diagnostics and crash data, such as error logs, crash reports, performance traces, and limited technical context needed to identify and resolve a problem.

  • Website and cookie data, such as browser type, referring pages, viewed pages, interactions, approximate location derived from IP address, and cookie or similar-technology identifiers.

3.3 Photos and related information

Photos and associated metadata may contain personal data about you or other people. For local editing, this data remains on your device. For AI Style and AI Coach, the selected photos and technical information necessary to complete the request are transmitted for transient processing. After processing, we do not retain or store the photos, associated photo metadata, derived representations, or recoverable copies. We may retain operational records that a request occurred, such as timestamp, status, processing duration, error code, and usage count, without retaining the photo or its contents, where needed for security, reliability, support, and service administration.

3.4 Data from other sources

We may receive personal data from sign-in providers, operating-system or distribution platforms, analytics and advertising partners, payment providers, social platforms, event partners, and publicly available sources, subject to their settings and policies.


4. How we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

  • Provide, operate, authenticate, maintain, and support Photon and the features you request.

  • Process AI Style and AI Coach requests transiently and return the requested result or guidance to you.

  • Create and manage accounts, communicate service messages, and respond to support requests.

  • Monitor performance, diagnose errors, secure the Service, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Terms.

  • Understand feature adoption and improve Photon using usage, feedback, and diagnostic data. We do not use photos uploaded for AI Style or AI Coach for model training.

  • Develop and test new features using information that is aggregated, de-identified, synthetic, separately authorised, or otherwise lawfully available.

  • Process purchases, administer future paid offerings, maintain business and tax records, and prevent payment fraud.

  • Send product news, educational content, surveys, and marketing where permitted, and honour your communication choices.

  • Comply with law, respond to lawful requests, protect rights and safety, establish or defend legal claims, and complete corporate transactions.


5. Legal bases for processing

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on one or more of the following, depending on the context:

  • Contract: to provide Photon and requested features, manage your account, process a purchase, and provide support.

  • Legitimate interests: to secure and improve Photon, understand use, prevent abuse, communicate about the Service, and operate our business, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.

  • Consent: for optional processing where consent is required, including certain cookies, marketing, or any future optional use of private content for model improvement. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting earlier lawful processing.

  • Legal obligation: to comply with tax, accounting, regulatory, law-enforcement, and other legal duties.

  • Vital interests or legal claims: where necessary to protect a person or establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.


6. When we disclose personal data

We do not sell your photos. We may disclose personal data only as described below:

  • Service providers that host infrastructure, deliver transient AI processing, provide authentication, analytics, diagnostics, customer support, communications, payment processing, security, and professional services. Our infrastructure providers include Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. They may process data only for authorised purposes and under contractual safeguards.

  • Affiliates within the Aftershoot group where necessary to operate, support, secure, and administer Photon, subject to this Policy.

  • Business and integration partners when you request or enable an integration or joint feature, or separately consent to a disclosure.

  • Authorities, courts, regulators, or other parties where reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights or safety, investigate misuse, enforce agreements, or respond to valid legal process.

  • A buyer, investor, lender, adviser, or successor in connection with a merger, financing, reorganisation, insolvency, or sale of all or part of our business, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal safeguards.

  • Other recipients at your direction or with your consent.

We may use and disclose aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably identify you, subject to applicable law and commitments against re-identification.


7. Cookies, analytics, and advertising

Photon websites may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember preferences, measure performance, and understand traffic. Details and available controls are described in our Cookie Policy at https://getphoton.com/cookie-policy and in any consent interface we provide.

The desktop application may use analytics and diagnostic technologies to understand reliability and feature use. Where required, we will request permission or provide in-product controls. You may also control certain data through your operating-system, browser, or application settings.

Third parties may set their own cookies or collect data when you interact with their content or services. Their processing is governed by their privacy policies. We do not sell personal data or share personal data for cross-context behavioural advertising, and we do not use desktop analytics for targeted advertising. We do not control third-party tracking outside our Service.


8. Marketing choices

You can opt out of promotional email by using the unsubscribe link in the message or contacting us. We may still send non-promotional communications about your account, security, support requests, transactions, or material changes to the Service. Cookie and advertising choices can be managed through our consent tool, browser settings, and any legally required opt-out mechanism we provide.


9. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to provide the Service, maintain security and records, comply with law, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention depends on the type of data, why it was collected, legal requirements, sensitivity, and risk.

Photos uploaded for AI Style or AI Coach, together with associated photo metadata, derived representations, and recoverable copies, are not retained or stored after processing is completed. Account data is generally retained while your account is active and for a limited period afterwards where needed for account closure, security, legal compliance, or dispute resolution. Transaction records may be kept for legally required tax and accounting periods. Diagnostics, support records, and analytics are retained for limited periods appropriate to their purpose and may thereafter be deleted or de-identified.

Backups may preserve limited data for a short additional period before automatic deletion. We may retain information longer where required by law, subject to legal preservation, or necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.


10. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These may include encryption in transit, access controls, logging, vendor review, secure-development practices, and incident-response procedures.

No system is completely secure. You are responsible for securing your device, maintaining backups of photographs and catalogues, installing security updates, and protecting your account credentials. If you believe your account or data may have been compromised, contact us promptly.


11. International transfers

Aftershoot Inc. is based in the United States and works with Aftershoot Private Limited, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and other service providers that may process personal data in other countries. Your personal data may therefore be processed in countries whose laws differ from those where you live. Where required, transfers from the EEA are protected using the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and supplementary safeguards. Transfers from the UK are protected using an applicable UK transfer mechanism, such as the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. We may also rely on adequacy decisions or another lawful transfer mechanism where available.


12. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live and subject to legal conditions and exceptions, you may have rights to:

  • request access to and information about personal data we hold about you;

  • request correction, completion, or updating of inaccurate data;

  • request deletion or erasure;

  • restrict or object to certain processing;

  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;

  • receive certain data in a portable format;

  • opt out of certain marketing, targeted advertising, sale, sharing, or profiling where applicable;

  • appeal a refusal of a request where applicable;

  • nominate another person to exercise rights where applicable; and

  • complain to a data-protection authority or other competent regulator.

To exercise a right, contact hello@aftershoot.com. We may need to verify your identity and authority before acting. You may use an authorised agent where law permits. We will respond within the period required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right. Some data may be exempt, and we may retain data where legally permitted or required.


13. Additional information for California residents

California law may provide rights to know, access, correct, and delete personal information; obtain information about categories of collection, sources, purposes, and recipients; and opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioural advertising. It may also provide rights concerning sensitive personal information and protection from discrimination.

We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising as those terms are defined under California law. We do not use desktop analytics for targeted advertising. Because we do not presently engage in sale or sharing, Photon does not currently provide a sale-or-sharing opt-out mechanism. California residents may submit privacy requests through the contact method in Section 12.


14. Additional information for the EEA, UK, and Switzerland

If applicable law in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland applies, you may have the rights described in Section 12 and the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. You may also contact us first so we can try to address your concern.

Our legal bases are described in Section 5 and international-transfer safeguards in Section 11. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you may request information about the balancing assessment relevant to the processing. We have not appointed a separate Data Protection Officer. Privacy questions and rights requests may be sent to hello@aftershoot.com. If we appoint an EU or UK representative where legally required, we will publish the representative's contact details on our website.


15. Additional information for India

Where India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act and applicable rules apply, you may have rights to obtain information about processing, correct, complete, update, or erase personal data, access grievance redressal, and nominate another person to exercise rights in the event of death or incapacity. You may withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing. You also have duties under applicable law, including not impersonating another person or submitting false or frivolous grievances.

You may raise a grievance through hello@aftershoot.com. If your grievance is not resolved through our process, you may have the right to approach the Data Protection Board of India in accordance with applicable law.


16. Children’s privacy

Photon is not directed to children under 18 and our Terms require users to be at least 18 or the age of legal majority where they live. We do not knowingly collect personal data from a child in violation of applicable law. If you believe a child has provided personal data without required permission, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to investigate and delete it.


17. Third-party services

Photon may link to or interoperate with third-party websites, sign-in services, distribution platforms, operating systems, presets, or other services. This Policy does not govern their privacy practices. Review their policies and settings before providing data or enabling an integration.


18. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect changes in Photon, law, or our practices. We will post the revised Policy and update the effective date. If a change materially affects your rights or how we use personal data, we will provide reasonable notice through Photon, email, or our website where required. If consent is required for new processing, we will request it before that processing begins.


19. Contact us

Aftershoot Inc.

A Delaware corporation, United States

Privacy contact: hello@aftershoot.com
Website: https://getphoton.com/