Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how Custom Heroes ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and discloses your personal information when you visit our website, create personalized books, or engage with our services.

Information We Collect

We collect several types of information for various purposes:

Personal Information

When you create an account or place an order, we collect:

• Name and contact information (email address)
• Payment information (processed securely through Stripe)
• Account credentials (managed by Clerk authentication)

Book Creation Information

To create your personalized books, we collect:

• Photos you upload for character creation
• Names, ages, and relationships of book characters
• Story preferences, themes, and customization options
• Book content you create or edit

Usage Information

We automatically collect certain information when you visit our website:

• Browser type and settings
• Pages visited and time spent
• Referral source
• Device information

How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

• To create and deliver your personalized AI-generated books
• To process payments and manage your account
• To save your characters in the Character Library for future use
• To communicate about your orders and account
• To improve our AI models and services
• To provide customer support
• To send marketing communications (with your consent)
• To comply with legal obligations

AI Services and Third-Party Processing

To create your personalized books, we use AI services from trusted third-party providers:

• OpenAI: For character styling and illustration generation
• Anthropic (Claude): For story text generation

When you create a book, your photos and story information are processed by these AI services according to their respective privacy policies. We only share the minimum information necessary to create your book.

Children's Privacy

We understand the importance of protecting children's privacy. Our services are directed at adults who want to create personalized books for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13.

The photos and information you provide about children are used solely for creating personalized books and are handled with the utmost care and security. Parents and guardians have full control over what information is shared and how it's used.

Data Storage and Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• Secure cloud storage with Vercel Blob for images and files
• Encrypted database storage with Neon PostgreSQL
• Secure authentication through Clerk
• SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission
• Regular security updates and monitoring

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide our services:

• Account information: As long as your account is active
• Book data: Stored for you to access and re-download your creations
• Character Library: Saved for future book creation
• Payment records: As required by financial regulations

You can request deletion of your account and associated data at any time by contacting us.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your personal information
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to certain uses of your information
• Download your created books
• Manage your Character Library

Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session and preferences. We also use analytics cookies (with your consent) to understand how visitors use our site and improve our services. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.