Sustain ("we", "us", "our") is an AI-powered photo album creation platform. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and your rights under applicable privacy laws including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

By using Sustain, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. For questions, contact us at support@sustain-app.com.

Sustain is the data controller responsible for your personal data. You can reach us at support@sustain-app.com for any data-related inquiries.

Account Information

• Email address, display name, and profile photo (via Google OAuth or email registration).
• Authentication tokens and session data.

User Content

• Photos you upload and album data (layouts, captions, settings).
• Chat messages and comments within album collaboration.

Location Data

• When you log in, we derive approximate location information (country, city, timezone, and approximate coordinates) from your IP address. This is used to set your language preference, enhance photo titles and album descriptions, and improve your experience.
• Location data is stored on your profile and included in data exports. It is deleted when you delete your account. We do not track precise GPS location or use location data for advertising.

Biometric Data (Face Detection)

• Face detection is only performed after you explicitly enable it via the consent toggle in Settings. Face data (embeddings) is used solely for grouping photos within your albums.
• Face data is not used for identification of individuals outside your account. You may disable face detection at any time, and existing face data will be deleted.

Photo Metadata

• When you upload photos, we may read embedded metadata (EXIF data) such as camera model, date taken, GPS coordinates, and orientation. This metadata is used to improve photo organization, generate captions, and enhance your album experience.
• Photo metadata is stored alongside your photos and deleted when you delete the photo or your account. We do not share raw photo metadata with third parties.

Usage & Device Data

• With your consent, we collect anonymized usage data: page views, feature usage, session duration, and general device/browser information.
• No photo content is sent to analytics services.

Payment Data

• Payments are processed by Polar. We do not store credit card numbers or full payment details. We receive transaction IDs, plan information, and billing status from Polar.

• Most photo processing — quality scoring, captioning, and description — runs on AI models hosted on our own infrastructure. Certain optional features send your photos to third-party AI providers, as described below and in Section 7.
• When you use AI curation, photo metadata (captions, tags, quality scores) and your album description are sent to large language models (LLMs) to generate layout suggestions. Photo pixel data is not sent to these LLMs. You can review AI decisions before finalizing.
• Photo enhancement (optional): If you choose to enhance a photo, the upscaling model normally runs on our own infrastructure. When our enhancement hardware is unavailable, that specific photo is instead sent to Replicate, Inc. (United States), which runs the same open-source upscaling model, and the enhanced image is returned to your album. Only photos you explicitly choose to enhance are sent, and they are not used to train the provider's models.
• AI-generated content (captions, layouts, suggestions) is not used by us to train models. Your content remains private to your account.

• Essential cookies: Authentication and session cookies required for the Service to function. These are set without separate consent as they are strictly necessary.
• Analytics cookies: Only set after you accept via the cookie consent banner. You may opt out at any time by clearing cookies or rejecting the banner. Without consent, no analytics data is collected.
• We use PostHog for analytics. PostHog processes anonymized usage data on our behalf. No photo content or personal identifiers are sent to analytics services.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes. We share data only with:

• Polar — payment processing (billing, subscriptions, refunds).
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — cloud infrastructure and storage (photos, exports). Data is stored in encrypted S3 buckets.
• PostHog — analytics (only with your consent, anonymized data only).
• Print partners — when you place a print order, necessary album data and rendered PDFs are shared with our print fulfillment partner to produce your order.
• Replicate — used as a fallback for the optional photo-enhancement feature when our own enhancement hardware is unavailable. Only photos you explicitly choose to enhance are shared, and they are not used to train the provider's models.

Google User Data

When you sign in with Google or connect Google services, we access only the data you explicitly authorize (profile information, email address). We do not use Google user data to train AI or machine learning models. We do not transfer Google user data to third-party AI tools. Google data is used solely to authenticate your account and provide the Service.

• We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active.
• Expired invitations, upload tokens, and usage logs are periodically purged according to our retention schedule.
• Upon account deletion, all your data (photos, albums, profile, face data) is permanently deleted within 30 days.
• Inactive free-tier accounts may be terminated after 12 months of inactivity, with 30 days' advance notice.

• All data in transit is encrypted via TLS/HTTPS.
• Photos and exports are stored in encrypted cloud storage (AWS S3 with server-side encryption).
• Database access is restricted and credentials are rotated regularly.
• We follow the principle of least privilege for internal access to user data.

Under the GDPR and similar privacy regulations, you have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
• Data portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Restriction: Request that we limit processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
• Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent for face detection or analytics at any time via the Settings page.

To exercise any of these rights, visit the Settings page in your account or contact us at support@sustain-app.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting that sends a signal to websites you visit. Because there is no industry-wide standard for how to respond to DNT signals, Sustain does not currently respond to DNT browser signals. However, we do not set analytics cookies without your explicit consent via our cookie banner, regardless of your DNT setting.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with additional rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to know: You may request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the business purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to delete: You may request deletion of the personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal obligations, completing a transaction).
• Right to opt out of sale: We do not sell your personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. You will not receive different pricing or quality of service.

To exercise your rights, visit the Settings page or contact us at support@sustain-app.com. We will verify your identity before processing your request and respond within 45 days.

Your data is processed and stored on AWS servers in the United States (US-East region). If you are located outside the US, your personal data is transferred internationally to provide the Service. AWS provides Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and complies with applicable data protection frameworks to ensure your data is protected during transfer.

Sustain is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will promptly delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email or an in-app notice. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data rights, contact us at support@sustain-app.com.