Introduction and Scope
This Privacy Policy describes how Hikari Albums ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use our cloud-based photo album editing and printing services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in an open and transparent manner.
This policy applies to all users of our services, whether you access them through our website, mobile applications, or any other platform. By using Hikari Albums, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Information We Collect
We collect several types of information to provide and improve our services:
Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, password, phone number, and billing information. For professional photographers, we may also collect business information such as studio name and tax identification numbers.
Content and Files: We store the photos, videos, and albums you upload to our platform. This includes metadata associated with your files, such as EXIF data, timestamps, and location information if present in the files.
Usage Data: We automatically collect information about how you interact with our services, including features used, pages viewed, time spent on the platform, and technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, and operating system.
Communication Records: When you contact our support team or communicate with us, we maintain records of those interactions to provide better service.
How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for several purposes essential to our service delivery:
Service Provision: Your data enables us to provide, maintain, and improve our cloud album editor, AI-assisted retouching, collaborative workspaces, and printing services. We use your photos to generate layouts, apply enhancements, and fulfill print orders.
Personalization: We analyze your usage patterns to personalize your experience, recommend features, suggest layouts, and optimize the platform for your specific needs.
Communication: We use your contact information to send service-related notifications, respond to inquiries, provide customer support, and send marketing communications if you've opted in.
Platform Improvement: Aggregated and anonymized usage data helps us understand how users interact with our platform, identify issues, and develop new features.
AI and Machine Learning Processing
Our AI-assisted retouching and organization features process your photos to provide intelligent enhancements and automatic categorization. This processing occurs on our secure servers and is used solely to improve your albums. We do not train our AI models on your personal photos without explicit consent, and your images are never used for purposes beyond your direct benefit.
You can opt out of AI-assisted features at any time through your account settings, though this may limit certain functionalities of the platform.
Sharing and Collaboration Features
When you use our shared family vaults or client proofing galleries, you explicitly share content with other users. You control who has access to your shared albums and can revoke access at any time. Recipients of shared content are bound by their own privacy obligations and should not redistribute your content without permission.
We do not access or view the content of your private albums or shared workspaces except when necessary for technical support, security investigations, or legal compliance.
Third-Party Service Providers
We work with trusted third-party service providers to deliver our services effectively:
Printing Partners: When you place a print order, we share necessary information with our local Japanese printing partners to fulfill your order. This includes the album files, shipping address, and order specifications.
Payment Processors: We use secure payment processors to handle transactions. These processors receive only the information necessary to process payments and are required to maintain strict security standards.
Cloud Infrastructure: Our services are hosted on secure cloud infrastructure providers that meet international security standards.
Analytics Services: We use analytics tools to understand platform usage and improve our services. These tools receive anonymized or aggregated data.
Data Storage and Security
We implement comprehensive security measures to protect your data:
Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.3 or higher. Files at rest are encrypted using AES-256 encryption. Your password is hashed using industry-standard algorithms and is never stored in plain text.
Access Controls: We maintain strict access controls and audit logs. Only authorized personnel with legitimate business needs can access user data, and all access is monitored.
Backup and Redundancy: Your content is backed up regularly across multiple geographic locations to prevent data loss. Backups are encrypted and stored securely.
Security Monitoring: We continuously monitor our systems for security threats and vulnerabilities, applying patches and updates promptly.
Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Specific retention periods include:
Active Accounts: Content and account data are retained indefinitely while your account remains active.
Deleted Accounts: When you delete your account, we permanently remove your content within 30 days. Some information may be retained in backup systems for up to 90 days before permanent deletion.
Legal Obligations: Certain data may be retained longer if required by law, such as billing records for tax purposes (typically 7 years in Japan).
You can request deletion of specific content or your entire account at any time through your account settings or by contacting our support team.
Your Rights and Choices
You have several rights regarding your personal information:
Access and Portability: You can access your personal information through your account dashboard. You can export your albums and photos at any time in standard formats.
Correction: You can update or correct your account information through your account settings.
Deletion: You can delete specific content or your entire account. Once deleted, content cannot be recovered.
Opt-Out: You can opt out of marketing communications by clicking the unsubscribe link in emails or adjusting your account preferences.
Data Processing Limitations: You can disable certain features like AI-assisted retouching if you prefer not to use them.
International Data Transfers
While our primary operations are based in Japan, we may transfer data to and from other countries where our service providers operate. When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved by relevant data protection authorities.
If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or other regions with data transfer restrictions, your data will be protected according to applicable legal requirements.
Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed to children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately, and we will take steps to delete such information.
Photos of children may be uploaded by parents or guardians as part of family albums. The responsibility for obtaining any necessary consents for including children in photos rests with the account holder.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to provide functionality and improve our services. For detailed information about our use of cookies, please see our Cookie Policy.
You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings, though disabling certain cookies may limit platform functionality.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or through a prominent notice on our platform at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
Your continued use of Hikari Albums after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this policy regularly.
Legal Compliance and Disclosure
We may disclose your information when required by law or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:
Comply with legal obligations, court orders, or government requests; protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users or the public; detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues; enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements.
We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of legal requests for your information unless prohibited by law or court order.
Business Transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We will provide notice before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
In such cases, we will require the acquiring entity to maintain protections for your personal information consistent with this Privacy Policy.
Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Email: info@jorenthill.com
Phone: +81 6-4393-7888
Address: 2 Chome-24-15 Kujo, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0027, Japan
We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days. For urgent privacy concerns, please mark your communication as "URGENT: Privacy Request."