Pawtré Studio respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect when you use our service, how we use it, and the choices you have. We've written it in plain English — no dense legalese, just the facts.
1. Who We Are
Pawtré Studio ("we", "us", "our") is an AI-powered pet portrait service operated from Brisbane, Australia. We are the "data controller" for the personal information described in this policy.
Contact for privacy matters: hello@pawtrestudio.com
2. What We Collect
We only collect what we genuinely need to provide our service:
Information you give us
- Order details: name, email, shipping address, phone (optional), and order preferences.
- Pet photos: the image(s) you upload to be transformed into a portrait.
- Payment information: handled entirely by Stripe — we never see or store full card numbers.
- Communications: emails or messages you send us, including support requests.
- Account preferences: e.g. newsletter opt-in, marketing consent.
Information collected automatically
- Device & browser data: IP address, browser type, operating system, language preference.
- Usage data: pages viewed, features used, referring URL, approximate location (city-level).
- Cookies & similar technologies: see section 6.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use your personal information to:
- Generate your AI portrait and fulfil your order;
- Process payments and deliver products via our print partner Prodigi;
- Send order confirmations, shipping updates, and customer-service replies;
- Provide and improve our website, prevent fraud, and ensure technical security;
- Send marketing emails about new styles or promotions — only if you've opted in (you can unsubscribe at any time);
- Comply with our legal obligations (e.g. accounting, tax, consumer-protection law).
Our legal bases for processing under GDPR are: performance of a contract (to fulfil your order), legitimate interests (to run our business and improve our service), consent (for marketing emails and non-essential cookies), and legal obligation (where required by law).
4. Pet Photos & AI Generation
We know your pet photo is meaningful. Here's exactly how we handle it:
- We do not train AI models on your photos. Your uploaded image is used only to generate your specific portrait.
- We do not sell, share, or license your pet photos to any third party for marketing, training, or any other purpose without your explicit consent.
- Photos are processed in memory and held only as long as needed to generate your portrait. After generation and a short caching window for regeneration purposes, source photos are deleted from our servers.
- Generated portraits are stored for as long as your order remains active and for a reasonable period afterward, so you can re-download or re-order.
- AI processing partner: portraits are generated using Anthropic Claude. Anthropic does not train its models on data sent via their API.
5. Who We Share Data With
We share the minimum amount of data needed with carefully chosen partners:
- Stripe — for secure payment processing. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified.
- Prodigi — to print and ship your portrait. We share your name, address, order details, and the final portrait image only.
- Anthropic — for AI portrait generation. We send your uploaded image and prompt; Anthropic does not retain or train on this data.
- Netlify — our website host and serverless infrastructure provider.
- Email service providers — for transactional and marketing emails.
- Analytics providers — to understand site usage in an aggregated, anonymised form.
- Legal authorities — only where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights or those of others.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever.
6. Cookies & Tracking
We use a small number of cookies:
- Essential cookies: required for the site to function — for example, remembering items in your cart or your session during checkout. These can't be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: help us understand how the site is used so we can improve it. Aggregated and anonymised.
- Marketing cookies: used only with your consent to measure advertising performance and personalise communications.
You can disable non-essential cookies via your browser settings or our cookie banner. Doing so will not affect your ability to use core site features.
7. Data Retention
We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law (typically 7 years for financial records under Australian tax law).
- Uploaded pet photos: deleted within 30 days of order completion.
- Generated portraits: kept for up to 12 months for re-download / re-order.
- Order records: retained for 7 years for legal and tax compliance.
- Marketing data: retained until you unsubscribe.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to fix anything inaccurate.
- Deletion — ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten") where possible.
- Restriction — limit how we use your data.
- Portability — receive your data in a portable format.
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, for example by unsubscribing from marketing emails.
To exercise any of these rights, email hello@pawtrestudio.com. We'll respond within 30 days.
EU/UK residents may also lodge a complaint with their local data-protection authority. Australian residents can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
9. Security
We take security seriously and use industry-standard safeguards:
- TLS/SSL encryption on all traffic between your browser and our servers.
- Payment processing handled exclusively by Stripe (PCI-DSS Level 1).
- Access controls and least-privilege principles for internal systems.
- Regular security reviews of our infrastructure.
No system is ever 100% secure, but we'll notify affected users promptly in the unlikely event of a material breach.
10. Children
Pawtré Studio is not intended for use by children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us data, please contact us and we'll delete it.
11. International Data Transfers
Pawtré Studio is based in Australia. By using our service, your data may be transferred to and processed in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and any other country where our service providers (Stripe, Anthropic, Prodigi, Netlify, etc.) operate.
We rely on appropriate safeguards for international transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses and equivalent mechanisms, to ensure your data remains protected wherever it travels.
12. Changes & Contact
We may update this policy from time to time — for example, when we add new features or our partners change. Significant changes will be notified by email (where you've given us one) or via a prominent notice on our site. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests:
- Email: hello@pawtrestudio.com
- Subject line: "Privacy Enquiry"
Thanks for trusting us with your pet's portrait — we take that trust seriously.