Privacy Policy

Photo Pool, a product of Treebeard Labs ("we," "us," or "our"), is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use the Photo Pool mobile application (the "App") and our website at photopools.com (collectively, the "Service").

Photo Pool uses AI to automatically analyze and curate your photos and videos. When you open an event, media within that date range is processed to help you create beautiful shared albums with minimal effort.

By using Photo Pool, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you sign in with Apple or Google, we collect your name, email address, and profile photo.
• Event Information: Event names and date ranges you create.
• Day Stories: Any text you add or edit in day stories.

1.2 Information Automatically Collected

When you open an event for the first time, you will be prompted to start analysis. Before any photos are uploaded, you'll see exactly how many photos will be analyzed, receive a cellular data warning if applicable, and must tap "Proceed" to continue. You can cancel at any time or choose to skip this confirmation screen in the future.

During analysis, we automatically collect and process:

• Photos and Videos: All media within the event date range is temporarily uploaded (photos are downsampled to reduce network usage and enable faster processing).
• Media Metadata: Creation date, GPS location (if present in EXIF data), camera settings, and file names.
• Face Detection Results: Number of faces detected in each photo (processed on-device using Apple Vision framework).
• AI Analysis Results: Our AI generates descriptions, categories, tags, quality scores, and selection rationale for each photo. Photos selected by the AI algorithm are kept in permanent storage. Unselected photos are deleted after analysis completes.
• Device Information: Device identifiers (IDFV) and device model to attribute contributions.
• Usage Data: Features used, actions taken, and app performance metrics.

1.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

• We do not collect photos outside of event date ranges you create.
• We use Firebase Analytics for app improvement and performance monitoring. We do not use other third-party tracking SDKs (no Facebook Pixel, advertising trackers, etc.).
• We do not collect real-time location tracking—only GPS data already embedded in your media.
• We do not store facial recognition data or face images—only face counts.
• Favorites status (starred photos) is used locally for analysis but not permanently stored on our servers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Automatic AI Curation: When you open an event, all photos and videos within the date range are analyzed by AI to automatically select the best shots. This includes generating descriptions, categories, quality scores, and duplicate detection.
• Smart Organization: Organize photos by day using timezone data from GPS coordinates, group by location, and create chronological timelines.
• AI-Generated Stories: Generate day summaries and trip narratives based on photo descriptions and metadata.
• Shared Albums: Create collaborative albums where family members can contribute photos and day stories.
• Public Sharing: Enable optional sharing via secure public links that you can revoke at any time.
• Account Management: Authenticate users via Apple Sign-In or Google Sign-In and manage user profiles.
• Service Improvement: Analyze aggregated usage patterns to improve features and performance.
• Communication: Send important updates about your account or the Service.
• Legal Compliance: Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

3. How We Share Your Information

3.1 With Your Consent

• Public Sharing: When you enable sharing for an album, anyone with the share link can view the photos and day stories in that album. Sharing is disabled by default and requires your explicit action to enable.
• Event Members: Photos and stories you add to a shared event are visible to other event members (feature currently under development).

3.2 With Service Providers

We share information with third-party service providers who help us operate the Service:

• Google Firebase: Cloud storage (Firebase Storage) and database (Firestore) for media, metadata, and user data. Firebase Privacy Policy
• AI Analysis Services: We use third-party AI services (currently Google Gemini, but may include other providers) to analyze photo and video content. When you open an event, all media within the date range is temporarily uploaded (downsampled to reduce bandwidth), analyzed to generate descriptions, categories, tags, and quality scores, and then deleted from temporary storage. GPS metadata is included for location-aware analysis.
• Vercel: Web hosting for our website (photopools.com). Vercel Privacy Policy

3.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Photo Pool, our users, or others.

3.4 What We Do NOT Share

• We never sell your personal information or photos to third parties.
• We never use your photos for advertising purposes.
• We do not share your data with data brokers or marketing companies.

4. Data Storage and Security

4.1 Where We Store Your Data

• Cloud Storage: Photos and data are stored using Google Firebase (Firestore and Firebase Storage) with servers located in the United States.
• Local Device: Photo metadata, face detection results, and certain preferences are cached locally on your device for offline access.

4.2 Security Measures

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Data encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest (Firebase encryption).
• Secure share tokens using 256-bit cryptographically secure random generation.
• Firestore security rules to prevent unauthorized access to user data.
• Firebase Authentication for secure user identity management.

4.3 Data Retention

• We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service.
• When you delete an album, all associated photos, metadata, and AI analysis results are permanently deleted from our servers.
• Temporary analysis files are automatically deleted after processing (typically within hours).
• You can request account deletion at any time by contacting us at hello@treebeardlabs.com.

5. Privacy-Preserving Features

Photo Pool is designed with privacy in mind:

• On-Device Face Detection: Face detection runs entirely on your device using Apple's Vision framework. No face images or facial recognition data is sent to our servers—only face counts are stored.
• User-Initiated Analysis: When you open an event, you explicitly consent to automatic photo analysis. The app shows you exactly how many photos will be analyzed before proceeding.
• Local Favorites: Your favorites (starred photos) are stored only on your device and never synced to our servers.
• Offline-First Architecture: The app works offline using local caching, reducing unnecessary data transmission.
• Privacy-Focused Analytics: We use Firebase Analytics to improve app performance and features. We do not use advertising trackers or sell your data.
• Revocable Sharing: You can disable sharing or generate a new share link at any time, immediately revoking access to previous links.

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information (name, email, etc.).
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and all associated data.
• Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Sharing Control: Enable or disable public sharing for each album independently.
• Photo Management: Add or remove photos from albums at any time.

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

7. Children's Privacy

Photo Pool is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at hello@treebeardlabs.com, and we will delete the information promptly.

8. International Users

Photo Pool is operated from the United States. If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that information we collect will be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and our use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.
• Notify you via email or in-app notification if changes are material.
• Post the updated policy at photopools.com/privacy.

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us: