About this policy

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) applies to the Sky Aviation Photo Gallery website and related services. It explains what personal information we process, why and how we process it, how it is retained and shared, and how you can exercise your rights. We process personal information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

1. Information we collect

The information we process depends on the features you use. Browsing requires less information than creating an account, uploading photos, interacting with the community or completing a security check:

1. Account and verification information: username, display name, email address, mobile number, password hash, verification status, account role and registration time. We do not store your password in plain text;
2. Profile: avatar, biography, region and other public profile information you choose to provide;
3. Photos and metadata: original images, watermarked images, thumbnails, titles, descriptions, airline, aircraft type, registration, airport, date and location, EXIF data, and review, re-review, featured-placement and usage-permission records;
4. Community and service records: likes, views, comments, group and event participation, rankings, applications, appeals, notifications and support communications;
5. Logs and device information: IP address, access time, requested pages, sign-in records, User-Agent, operating system, browser type, device identifiers or fingerprints, security events and unusual activity;
6. Contact details and notifications: the mobile number and email address used for verification codes, review results, sign-in alerts, security warnings or support replies, together with delivery records;
7. Identity-verification information (specific circumstances): when an account presents a higher security risk or identity checks are legally required, we may process your legal name, identification number, facial image, liveness or matching result and verification time;
8. Other information you submit: for example, copyright evidence, original files, complaint materials, permission documents and attachments sent with feedback.

Do not place identification documents, contact details, a precise home address or other unnecessary personal information in public descriptions, comments or profiles. If a photo includes identifiable people or private locations, make sure you have a lawful basis to process and display that information.

2. How we use information

We use personal information only for the following purposes:

• providing, maintaining and improving core services such as photo uploads, display and community interaction;
• verifying users, protecting account security and resolving disputes;
• reviewing photos, assessing quality, detecting duplicates, generating watermarks and thumbnails, and assisting with aircraft identification;
• personalising recommendations to improve your experience;
• analysing platform usage to improve features and services;
• sending service notices such as review results and system announcements;
• complying with legal requirements and assisting regulatory investigations;
• protecting the lawful rights and interests of the platform, its users or the public.

3. Legal basis and data minimisation

• processing necessary to enter into or perform our agreement with you, such as creating an account, uploading and displaying photos, or handling an appeal;
• processing based on your consent or separate consent, such as identity-verification data or optional personalisation;
• complying with legal obligations, responding to emergencies, or protecting a person’s life, health or property;
• processing information you have made public, or that has otherwise been lawfully disclosed, within a reasonable scope;
• We process only information that has a clear purpose, is directly relevant and has the least possible impact. We will not deny basic services because you decline to provide optional information.

4. Retention, storage location and security

1. Retention period: service information is retained while your account exists. Photos are retained until you delete them, close the account or the platform lawfully removes them. Sign-in and security logs, review and appeal records, permissions and complaints are retained for a reasonable period needed for security, dispute resolution and legal obligations;
2. Account deletion and backups: after account deletion, we will delete or anonymise relevant information. Backup rotation and disaster-recovery processes may delay removal of some copies for a limited period, during which they remain securely isolated;
3. Storage location: information is generally stored within the People’s Republic of China. If a cross-border transfer is necessary, we will provide notice, obtain separate consent and complete any required security assessment;
4. Security measures: we use HTTPS, password hashing, role-based access, access auditing, backups, rate limiting, verification codes, and device and sign-in risk detection. Sensitive information is available only to authorised personnel;
5. Security incidents: if information is or may be leaked, altered or lost, we will take immediate remedial action, give legally required notice of the possible impact and protective steps, and report to the competent authority where required.

5. Service providers, sharing, transfers and disclosure

We do not sell personal information. To provide the service, we may appoint service providers to process the minimum information necessary, or share, transfer or disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Cloud storage and content delivery: storing original, watermarked and thumbnail images and delivering them to visitors;
• CAPTCHA and security services: detecting bots, bulk registrations, credential-stuffing and unusual requests, which may involve IP, device and interaction data;
• Email and SMS services: sending verification codes, review results and security notices, including processing email addresses, mobile numbers and delivery status;
• AI and external data services: assisting with photo-quality pre-screening and aircraft identification or data completion. We send only the minimum content needed and do not use an automated result as the sole basis for a significant decision;
• Identity-verification services: with separate consent, providing necessary identity and facial information to an identity-verification provider in specific risk scenarios;
• where you have given express consent or authorisation;
• complying with law and assisting lawful investigations by judicial or regulatory authorities;
• protecting the platform’s intellectual property, trade marks and other lawful interests;
• protecting the personal or property safety of users or the public;
• If the business is merged, divided, acquired, transferred or liquidated, personal information may transfer with it. We will identify the recipient and require continued compliance with this Policy; otherwise, the recipient must obtain your consent again.

Your public username, avatar, biography, photos, shooting details, interactions and ranking information are visible to internet users. Consider this carefully before publishing and obtain permission before sharing another person’s information. Properly anonymised information that cannot identify a person is not personal information.

6. Cookies, sessions and device identifiers

We use cookies, server sessions, browser storage and device identifiers to keep you signed in, save language or security settings, prevent cross-site requests and identify unusual devices. Essential cookies are required for account and security features.

• you can clear or restrict cookies in your browser, but this may prevent sign-in, repeatedly trigger verification or disable some features;
• We do not use essential cookies for unrelated cross-site advertising tracking;
• device identifiers are used primarily for sign-in security, detecting attempts to evade bans and risk control, and are retained no longer than necessary for those purposes.

7. Your personal-information rights

You have the following rights over your personal information:

• Right of access: view your personal information by signing in;
• Right to correction: correct or complete profile information such as your username and avatar;
• Right to deletion: delete profile information, photos, comments and other content;
• Right to withdraw consent: withdraw consent to the collection or use of information;
• Right to restrict or object to processing: restrict or object to processing based on consent or for a non-essential purpose;
• Right to an explanation: ask us to explain our personal-information processing rules;
• Right to a copy or transfer: request a copy or transfer of personal information where legal requirements are met;
• Right to close your account: request account deletion, which we will process under the applicable rules;
• Right to complain: raise an objection or complaint about our processing.

Contact us through User centre — Account settings or by email. We may verify your identity for security and normally respond within 15 working days. We may be unable to fulfil a request completely where the law provides otherwise, the request is clearly unreasonable, another person’s rights are involved or we have a legal retention duty; if so, we will explain why.

8. Third-party links and independent services

Pages may include external websites, fonts, content resources or third-party services. When you choose to visit a third-party page, its own privacy rules apply:

• where a third party independently determines the purpose and method of processing, it is responsible for its own privacy policy;
• information collected and used through a third-party service is governed by that third party’s policy;
• We share information with third parties only where necessary and require them to follow applicable privacy requirements.

9. Protection of minors

The platform serves aviation photography enthusiasts. Users under 18 should use it with guidance from a guardian. We obtain guardian consent as required by law before processing personal information of a child under 14:

• we do not encourage minors to provide information unrelated to the service or publicly disclose precise locations, contact details or other sensitive content;
• if we discover that information about a child under 14 was processed without valid guardian consent, we will verify the circumstances and promptly delete or anonymise it;
• a guardian may contact us to access, correct or delete relevant information, withdraw consent or close the account.

10. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect legal, regulatory or business changes:

• the updated Policy will state its version, update date and effective date;
• material changes to processing purposes, information types, recipients or user rights will be highlighted through a pop-up, site notice, email or another prominent method, and renewed consent will be obtained where required;
• we will not use a Policy update to expand processing without legally required notice or consent.

11. Contact and complaints

If you have a question, suggestion or complaint about this Privacy Policy, contact us through:

• Email：skyphotos2025@outlook.com
• Privacy and security contact：skyphotos2025@outlook.com
• Feedback channels: the Contact us page or the relevant option in Account settings

Include your account, the type of request and any necessary evidence. We normally reply within 15 working days. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you may complain to the competent personal-information protection authority.