ShootSmart Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 25, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how ShootSmart ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you use the ShootSmart Photographers Toolkit app (available on iOS and Android), the ShootSmart web application, or any other service we operate (collectively, the "Services"). By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in three ways: information you provide directly, information collected automatically, and information received from third parties.

1a. Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Information: When you create a ShootSmart account, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash). You are assigned a unique Photographer ID at registration.
  • Photography Profile: You may optionally provide information about your experience level, camera equipment, preferred shooting styles, and other photography-related preferences to personalize your experience.
  • AI Assistant Conversations: When you interact with the AI Photography Assistant, we collect the text of your messages and the responses generated to power the feature and improve its accuracy.
  • Support Tickets: When you submit a support request, we collect your name, email address, the platform you're using (iOS, Android, or Web), your device information, app version, a description of your issue, and any other details you voluntarily provide.
  • Communications: If you contact us by email or through our support portal, we retain those communications and any contact information you include.

1b. Information Collected Automatically

  • Device Information: We collect information about the device you use to access the Services, including device type, model, operating system, OS version, unique device identifiers, and whether you are using the iOS app, Android app, or web browser.
  • App Usage Data: We collect data about how you interact with the app, including which tools and features you use, how frequently you use them, session duration, and error or crash reports.
  • Log Data: Our servers automatically record certain information when you access the Services, including your IP address, browser type and version (for web users), pages or screens visited, timestamps, and referring URLs.
  • Location Data: If you grant location permission, we may collect GPS coordinates to power location-aware features such as golden hour timers, sunrise/sunset calculations, and local weather conditions. Location data is processed on-device where possible and is not stored on our servers unless you explicitly save a location to your profile.
  • Camera and Photo Access: If you grant camera or photo library permission, we access your camera or photos only when you initiate an action that requires it (such as importing a reference image). We do not capture, upload, or retain your photos without your explicit action.
  • Sync and Preferences Data: Settings, calculator inputs you choose to save, preferences, and other in-app data tied to your Photographer ID are stored to enable cross-device synchronization.

1c. Information from Third Parties

  • App Stores: When you download or make purchases through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, those platforms may provide us with limited purchase confirmation data. We do not receive your full payment card details from Apple or Google.
  • Analytics Providers: We may receive aggregated usage data from third-party analytics tools to help us understand how users engage with the Services.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Providing the Services: To create and manage your account, deliver the photography tools, calculators, guides, AI Assistant, and all other features of ShootSmart.
  • Cross-Device Sync: To synchronize your settings, saved preferences, and photography data across your iOS, Android, and web sessions using your Photographer ID.
  • AI Assistant: To process your messages and generate personalized, contextually relevant photography guidance. Conversation history may be used to maintain context within a session.
  • Customer Support: To respond to your support tickets, diagnose technical issues, and improve our responses using the platform, device, and app version information you provide.
  • Personalization: To tailor content, tool defaults, and guide recommendations based on your photography profile and usage patterns.
  • Communications: To send you transactional emails (account confirmations, support ticket updates, subscription receipts) and, with your consent, product updates and photography tips. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time.
  • Analytics and Improvement: To analyze usage patterns, identify bugs and performance issues, and improve the accuracy and quality of our tools and content.
  • Safety and Security: To detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions, abuse, and other illegal activities; to enforce our Terms of Service.
  • Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, and protect our legal rights.

3. AI Photography Assistant and Data Processing

The AI Photography Assistant is powered by third-party artificial intelligence services. When you use the AI Assistant, your messages are transmitted to our AI provider(s) to generate a response. We take the following steps to protect your privacy in this context:

  • We do not include your name, email address, or Photographer ID in the raw data sent to AI providers unless you include it in your message.
  • AI providers we use are contractually bound to process your data solely to provide the AI service and are not permitted to use your data to train their models without appropriate agreements.
  • Conversation history stored on our servers is associated with your account and retained for the period described in Section 8 (Data Retention).
  • You may request deletion of your AI conversation history by contacting us at support@shootsmart.info.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

  • Service Providers: We share data with trusted third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as cloud hosting providers, email delivery services, analytics providers, AI model providers, and payment processors. These providers are bound by contractual obligations to keep your information confidential and to use it only for the purposes for which it is disclosed.
  • App Store Platforms: Apple and Google receive information related to your app download and any purchases made through their platforms in accordance with their own privacy policies.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid subpoena, court order, or other legal process.
  • Protection of Rights: We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of ShootSmart, our users, or the public.
  • Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on our website before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
  • With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The ShootSmart web application uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience and analyze usage. These include:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function correctly, including maintaining your login session. These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics Cookies: Used to collect aggregate, anonymized information about how visitors use our website, such as which pages are visited most frequently. This helps us improve the website experience.
  • Preference Cookies: Used to remember your settings and preferences between visits.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may limit the functionality of the web application. The ShootSmart iOS and Android apps do not use browser cookies but may use equivalent technologies such as device identifiers and local storage.

6. Push Notifications

With your permission, ShootSmart may send push notifications to your mobile device to inform you of support ticket replies, app updates, new photography guide content, or other relevant updates. You can manage push notification permissions at any time through your device's notification settings (iOS: Settings → Notifications → ShootSmart; Android: Settings → Apps → ShootSmart → Notifications). Disabling push notifications does not affect our ability to send you transactional emails.

7. Location Data

Location access is optional and only used to power location-aware photography features (such as calculating golden hour, blue hour, or weather at a shooting location). We request "While Using the App" location access only — we do not access your location in the background. Location data used for real-time calculations is not stored on our servers. If you choose to save a location to your profile, that saved location is stored and associated with your account until you delete it. You can revoke location permission at any time in your device settings.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Specifically:

  • Account Data: Retained for the life of your account. Upon account deletion, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law.
  • AI Conversation History: Retained for up to 12 months from the date of the conversation, or until you request deletion, whichever is earlier.
  • Support Tickets: Retained for up to 3 years to enable follow-up, reference, and quality assurance.
  • Log and Analytics Data: Retained in aggregate form for up to 24 months.
  • Deleted Accounts: Some residual data may remain in encrypted backups for up to 90 days after deletion before being permanently purged.

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

  • HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your device and our servers.
  • Encrypted storage of passwords (hashed with a strong one-way algorithm — we never store your password in plain text).
  • Access controls that limit who within our team can access personal data.
  • Regular security reviews and updates to our infrastructure and codebase.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you use the Services at your own risk. If you become aware of any security vulnerability or breach, please contact us immediately at support@shootsmart.info.

10. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction / Rectification: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Deletion / Erasure: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal obligations).
  • Portability: Request that we provide your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Restriction: Request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
  • Objection: Object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests as the legal basis.
  • Opt-Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link in any marketing email or by contacting us.
  • Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@shootsmart.info. We will respond to verified requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including:

  • Right to Know: The right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the purposes for which it is used, and whether it is shared with third parties.
  • Right to Delete: The right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
  • Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA/CPRA rights.
  • Right to Correct: The right to correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
  • Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not use sensitive personal information beyond what is necessary to provide the Services.

To submit a CCPA/CPRA request, contact us at support@shootsmart.info with the subject line "California Privacy Request."

12. European Users (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following applies:

  • Legal Basis for Processing: We process your personal data on the following legal bases: (a) performance of a contract — to provide the Services you have requested; (b) legitimate interests — to improve our Services, detect fraud, and ensure security; (c) consent — for marketing communications, AI conversation processing, and optional analytics; (d) legal obligation — where required by applicable law.
  • International Transfers: Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the EEA, including the United States. Where such transfers occur, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
  • Data Protection Officer: If you have questions about our data processing practices or wish to exercise your rights under GDPR, please contact us at support@shootsmart.info. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

13. Children's Privacy

ShootSmart is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in certain jurisdictions). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under these ages. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child below the applicable minimum age, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at support@shootsmart.info.

14. Third-Party Services and Links

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, services, or products — including links to the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, photography equipment retailers, and other external resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party service you visit. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by ShootSmart through our Services.

Third-party services that may process your data as part of the ShootSmart experience include:

  • AI Model Providers: Process AI Assistant conversation messages to generate responses.
  • Cloud Infrastructure Providers: Host our servers and store your account data securely.
  • Email Delivery Services: Send transactional emails (confirmation, support replies, etc.).
  • Analytics Services: Provide anonymized usage statistics to help us improve the app.
  • Apple / Google: Manage app distribution, in-app purchases, and push notification delivery.

15. International Data Transfers

ShootSmart operates in the United States. If you are accessing the Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. Data protection laws in these countries may differ from those in your home country. By using the Services, you consent to the transfer of your data to the United States and other applicable jurisdictions. Where required by law, we implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

16. Do Not Track

Some browsers support a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal that lets you express your preferences about being tracked. Our website does not currently respond to DNT signals, as there is no industry-standard mechanism for doing so. We will revisit this policy as standards evolve.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, the Services we offer, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you via email or in-app notification. Your continued use of the Services after any changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

18. Contact Us

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

Email: support@shootsmart.info
Support Portal: shootsmart.info/support

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.