Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Studio Ghibli ("we," "our," or "us"), operating the website https://www.studioghibli.io ("Website"), collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information when you use our AI-powered image generation service ("Service"). Your privacy is important to us.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Studio Ghibli (https://www.studioghibli.io) is an independent service utilizing artificial intelligence technology inspired by the Ghibli art style. It is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or related in any way to the official Studio Ghibli animation studio or its affiliates. All trademarks and copyrights associated with the official Studio Ghibli belong to their respective owners.

By accessing the Website or using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information to provide and improve our Service to you. The types of information we collect include:

a. Information You Provide Directly:

  • Account Information (via Google Sign-In): When you register or log in using your Google Account, we receive information from Google, such as:
    • Your Name (as provided by Google)
    • Your Email Address
    • Your Google Profile Picture (optional, if provided by Google)
    • Your unique Google Account ID
  • User Content (Uploaded Photos): The photographs you voluntarily upload to the Service for the purpose of generating AI images.
  • Communications: If you contact us directly (e.g., via support email), we may receive additional information such as your name, email address, the contents of your message, and any attachments.

b. Information Collected Automatically:

  • Usage Data: Information about how you interact with our Service, including:
    • Your IP address
    • Browser type and version
    • Operating system and device information
    • Pages you visit on our Website
    • Features you use (e.g., image generation attempts, credit usage)
    • Date and time stamps of your visits and actions
    • Referring website addresses
    • Error logs and diagnostic data
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar tracking technologies to operate and personalize the Service, maintain your session, analyze usage, and ensure security. See Section 7 ("Cookies") for more details.

c. Information from Third Parties:

  • Payment Processors (Stripe): When you purchase credits, you provide payment information (like credit card details) directly to our payment processor, Stripe. Stripe processes your payment according to its own Privacy Policy. We do not collect or store your full credit card number. We receive transaction confirmation data from Stripe, such as purchase amount, date, transaction status, and partial payment method information (e.g., last four digits of a card) for record-keeping and support purposes.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for various purposes:

  • To Provide and Operate the Service: Authenticate users, process uploaded photos to generate AI images, manage user accounts and credit balances, process payments.
  • To Improve and Develop the Service: Analyze usage patterns to understand user needs, troubleshoot issues, improve the AI model's performance (using anonymized or aggregated data where possible, never using your specific uploaded photos for general model training without explicit consent), and develop new features.
  • To Communicate With You: Respond to your inquiries and support requests, send important service-related notices (e.g., policy updates, security alerts, transaction confirmations), and optionally, with your consent, send promotional materials.
  • To Ensure Security and Prevent Fraud: Monitor for suspicious activity, enforce our Terms and Conditions, protect the rights and safety of our users and the public.
  • To Comply with Legal Obligations: Fulfill legal requirements, respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

3. How We Share Your Information

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

  • With Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as:
    • Payment Processing: Stripe (to process your credit purchases).
    • Cloud Hosting & Infrastructure: Providers like AWS or Google Cloud (to host the website, store data temporarily during processing, and run the AI models).
    • Analytics Providers: Google Analytics (to understand website traffic and usage patterns – data is often aggregated or anonymized).
    • Customer Support Tools: (If used) Platforms to manage support communications. These providers only have access to the information necessary to perform their functions and are obligated to protect your data.
  • For AI Image Processing: Your uploaded photos (User Content) are processed by our AI model infrastructure (which may involve third-party cloud providers) solely for the purpose of generating the requested AI image for you. We implement measures to ensure this processing is secure and temporary (see Data Retention).
  • For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with a legal obligation; (b) protect and defend our rights or property; (c) prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service; (d) protect the personal safety of users or the public; or (e) protect against legal liability.
  • 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 as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information.
  • With Your Consent: We may share your information for other purposes if you have explicitly consented to it.

We will NOT share your original uploaded photos (User Content) with any third party for any purpose other than the secure, temporary processing required to generate your AI image, unless required by law or with your explicit consent.

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

  • Account Information: Retained as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide you services. You can request account deletion (see Section 5).
  • User Content (Uploaded Photos): We are committed to minimizing the storage of your original photos. Uploaded photos are typically stored temporarily on our servers only for the duration required to process your AI image generation request and are automatically deleted shortly thereafter (e.g., within 24-72 hours). They are not used for training our AI models unless you provide explicit, separate consent for such specific use (which is not currently requested).
  • Generated Images: Generated images may be stored temporarily to allow you to download them or linked to your account history for your convenience, depending on the specific implementation. We aim to minimize long-term storage. Check your account interface or contact support for specifics.
  • Transaction Data: Retained for as long as legally required for financial auditing and tax purposes.
  • Usage Data & Logs: Retained for a limited period necessary for analysis, security, and troubleshooting (e.g., 30-90 days), often in aggregated or anonymized form for longer-term trend analysis.

5. Your Data Rights and Choices

Depending on your location (e.g., GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California), you may have certain rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right to Access: You can request access to the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data. (You can often update Google Account info via Google directly).
  • Right to Erasure (Deletion): You can request the deletion of your personal data, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal obligations, ongoing service provision). Contact [email protected] to request account and data deletion.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You may request that we limit the way we use your personal data under certain conditions.
  • Right to Data Portability: You may request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format under certain conditions.
  • Right to Object: You may object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions (e.g., for direct marketing).
  • Managing Google Connection: You can manage or disconnect the Studio Ghibli app's access to your Google Account via your Google Account security settings.
  • Marketing Communications: You can opt-out of receiving promotional emails by following the unsubscribe link in those emails. You will still receive essential service communications.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable laws. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure. These include measures like encryption (e.g., HTTPS for data in transit), access controls, and secure infrastructure. We rely on Google's secure OAuth 2.0 protocol for authentication, meaning we never handle or store your Google password. However, please be aware that no internet transmission or electronic storage method is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (like web beacons or pixels) for purposes such as:

  • Essential Operations: Keeping you logged in, maintaining service functionality, security.
  • Preferences: Remembering your settings (if any).
  • Analytics: Helping us understand how you use the Service (e.g., Google Analytics).

You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of the Website and Service. For more detailed information, please refer to a separate Cookie Policy if available, or contact us.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 13 (or a higher age threshold if required by applicable law in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under this age. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under the relevant age, please contact us at [email protected].

9. International Data Transfers

Your information, including personal data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. If you are located outside the country where our servers are located, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, there and process it there. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer. We will take appropriate steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy (e.g., using Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable for transfers from the EEA/UK).

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. We may also notify you via email or through a notice on the Service prior to the change becoming effective. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes are effective when they are posted on this page.

11. Contact Us

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

Last updated: 2025-03-31