Privacy policy
Last updated
This explains what we know about you, why we need it, and what you can do about it. We collect as little as we can.
The short version
- You don’t need an account. Without one, your designs and photos stay on your device and never reach us.
- If you sign in, we store your email address, your favourites and the designs you save. Saved designs include their photos, so they open on any device, and only your account can open them.
- No ads and no marketing emails, and we never sell your data. The only cookies are Stripe’s, when you pay, to stop fraud.
- We count visits without knowing who you are, and you can turn that off.
- You can delete your account, and everything in it, whenever you like.
Who we are
Papercrumb is run by Trine Studios Limited, a company registered in Northern Ireland (number NI716431). Our registered office is 2 Market Place, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, BT38 7AW. We decide how your data is used, which makes us responsible for it (the law calls this the “controller”). Any questions, email hello@papercrumb.com.
Your photos
- On your device first. When you add a photo, it’s shrunk and saved in your browser. If you’re not signed in, it never leaves your device.
- In your account if you save. When you’re signed in, your designs are saved to your account so you can open them on any device, and any photos in a design are saved with it. Only your account can open them.
- Only used for your design. We use your photos to show your design and make your files, and nothing else.
- Gone when you delete them. Remove a photo, delete the design or delete your account, and it’s deleted from your account. Photos in your browser go when you delete the design or clear your browser’s data.
The same goes for the wording you type.
What we collect
Designs on your device
If you’re not signed in, your designs, photos and favourites are saved in your browser. They never reach us.
Your account
Your email address, your password, your name if you add one, and when you joined and last signed in. Your password is scrambled, so nobody can read it, not even us.
If you continue with Google or Apple, there’s no password. We only ask them for your email address. They tell us that, and an ID for your account with them so we know it’s you next time. With Apple, you can choose Hide My Email, and Apple forwards our emails to you. Apple’s button needs a small script from Apple, which loads when you open the sign-in box. Google’s and Apple’s sign-in windows are their own websites, covered by their own privacy policies.
Saved designs
When you’re signed in, your designs and favourites are saved to your account so you can open them anywhere, including any photos (see Your photos). Designs often include personal details, like names, addresses and photos of children. We only use them to save your designs and make your files.
Shared links and invitations
When you share a design for comments or send it as a digital invitation, we save pictures of it, its title and, for an invitation, the details you add (when, where, the address, a note and who it’s from). Anyone with the link can see them, so send it only to people you’d show the design to. The pictures are kept on Cloudflare’s servers and are only shown at addresses that stop working after an hour.
Anyone who replies gives the name they choose and their comment, or whether they’re coming, how many of them and any message. We keep replies for whoever shared the link and email them each one. If you reply to an invitation, your browser keeps a random code so you can change your answer later; it isn’t linked to you in any other way. To limit spam we count replies from each network for an hour, using a scrambled form of your internet address, never the address itself.
Links end on their own: an invitation the day after its event, and a link for comments 60 days after it’s made. We email whoever shared it 3 days before, then delete the pictures. Replies stay on their account until they delete the link or their account. If you’d like your reply removed, ask the person who sent you the link, or contact us.
Payments
When you buy something, we keep a record of what you bought, the price, when, and whether it was refunded. Stripe takes the payment: your card details go straight to Stripe, so we never see them. Stripe also checks payments for fraud. If you choose to save your details with Link, Stripe’s own terms cover that.
Promo codes and adverts
When you use a code, we record which code, when, and how many free templates it gave you. If you follow a link from one of our adverts, your browser remembers which advert for 30 days (just its name, nothing about you). If you then buy something or use a code, we record that advert’s name with it, so we can tell which adverts work.
Messages you send us
If you report a problem, we get your message, any screenshot you attach, which part of Papercrumb you were using, your account ID and your name. Not your email address.
If you ask for help, we get your email address, your name and your messages, so we can reply. An AI service called TypeSafe sorts new requests by topic, so urgent ones reach us first. It only sees the message, with contact details removed, and it doesn’t reply to you or make decisions about you.
What you search for and open
To learn which designs to make next, we count how Papercrumb is used: the words you search for and whether they found anything, which designs you open, edit, download or add to your favourites, when you start checkout, which of our buttons and links you click, and when you open the sign-in box, sign in or create an account (with email, Google or Apple). We note which of our pages you arrived on (by its name, such as “Christmas letters from Santa”, never a shared link’s code), whether you scroll down to a page’s designs, and what kind of change you make to a design, such as its words, a colour or a photo, never what you wrote or added. We also count each step of getting a design’s files, to see where people get stuck: opening the download window, starting and sending the sign-in or sign-up form, the confirmation email going out and its link being opened, getting back to your design, unlocking or paying, each file being made and saved, and closing the window. When a step goes wrong we note only the kind of problem, such as a password that’s too short or a lost connection, never what you typed. If you came from one of our adverts or another tagged link, such as a pin or our Instagram bio, we also note which one from the tags in its address (like “meta” and “christmas-carousel”), and count these steps with it, so we can tell which adverts work. If another site sent you without tags, we note only what kind of site it was (Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo search, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram or another site), never its address or what you searched for there. Your browser keeps that until you close the tab. We count all of this with your visitor stats ID, never your account, name or email address, and we keep a search’s words out if they look like an email address, phone number or link. This follows your visitor stats choice below.
Technical details
Our hosting providers log things like IP addresses and browser types, to run the site and keep it safe. We also keep short-lived, scrambled records to stop spam.
Why we use it
The law says we need a good reason to use your data. Ours are:
- To give you what you asked for (“contract”). Running your account, saving your designs, taking payments and sending account emails, like password resets.
- Because the law says so (“legal obligation”). Keeping purchase records for tax.
- Because it’s fair and expected (“legitimate interests”). Answering your messages, passing replies to whoever shared a link, fixing problems, counting visits, searches and downloads to decide what to make next and which adverts work, and keeping Papercrumb secure. We never let this outweigh your privacy.
We don’t send marketing emails. If we ever want to, we’ll ask first.
Cookies and visitor stats
We don’t use cookies ourselves. When you open checkout, Stripe sets a few cookies to spot fraud. Its cookie policy explains them.
Your browser also stores a few things for us: your designs, the fact you’re signed in, a visitor stats ID and when you last visited, a code for each invitation you’ve replied to and the name you last commented with, the advert, tagged link or kind of site this visit came from and whether you closed the note about opening Papercrumb in your browser, and that the first page of your visit was counted (all until you close the tab), the advert you came from and any code in its link (for 30 days), and which design you were downloading when you made an account, until you’re back at it (two days at most).
Visitor stats tell us how many people use Papercrumb, which searches and designs are popular, and which adverts bring people who go on to use it (see “What you search for and open”). They save a random ID in your browser for up to 90 days, so we can tell new visitors from returning ones and see how many go on from opening a design to downloading it. They note only whether you’re on a phone, a tablet or a computer, not which one. They also note when a visit starts, roughly how long it lasts and whether it’s your browser’s first. They don’t record web addresses or who you are, and they’re never linked to your account. The only part of an address they keep is the tags on a link from one of our adverts or posts, which name the advert, not you. Without tags, they keep only what kind of site sent you, such as Google search or Pinterest, not the page. If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, we don’t count you at all.
Checking this browser…
Clearing your browser’s data removes all of this, including any designs that aren’t saved to an account.
How long we keep it
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Your account, saved designs and favourites | Until you delete them |
| Designs in your browser | Until you delete them or clear your browser |
| Purchase records | Six years, for tax |
| Help requests | A year after they’re sorted (spam: 30 days) |
| Problem reports | Up to 90 days |
| Visitor stats, including searches, designs opened, clicks and the adverts visits came from | 90 days |
| Pictures of shared designs | Until the link ends: the day after an invitation’s event, or 60 days for comments |
| Replies to shared links | Until whoever shared the link deletes it or their account |
| Anti-spam records | A few hours |
| Our providers’ logs and backups | A short time, set by each provider |
To delete your account, choose Delete my account on your account page. Your sign-in, saved designs, photos and favourites are deleted straight away. Messages and purchase records are kept for the times above, and Stripe keeps its own payment records, as the law requires. Files you’ve downloaded, and designs saved in your browser, aren’t affected.
Your rights
You can ask us to show you the data we hold about you, fix it, delete it, send you a copy to take elsewhere, or stop using it.
Just email hello@papercrumb.com. We’ll reply within a month, and we might check the account is yours first.
Not happy with how we’ve handled your data? Tell us, and we’ll try to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Children
Papercrumb is for grown-ups planning events. You need to be 13 or over to create an account. Designs often mention children, like a name on a birthday invitation, and we protect those details like everything else.
Changes
If we change how we use your data, we’ll update this page. If it affects you, we’ll email you first.