At a glance
Carl.tonMedia Galleries helps photographers and filmmakers deliver finished work to their clients. To do that we hold some personal data. Here is the gist before the detail:
- We keep only what is needed to run accounts and deliver galleries.
- The work you upload belongs to you. We store it and show it to the people you choose, nobody else.
- We never sell personal data. No ads appear in galleries, and we do not feed your work into AI training.
- People you share a gallery with can browse, choose favorites and download without making an account.
- You can ask for your data to be shown, fixed, copied or erased whenever you like.
Words we use
- We, us means Carl.tonMedia Galleries.
- Studio means a person or business with an account, who uploads work and shares it.
- Client means anyone a studio invites to view a gallery. Clients do not need an account.
- Gallery means a private collection of photos or films that a studio shares by link.
Who is responsible for your data
The service is operated by Carl.tonMedia, a business registered in Ghana (registration number BN543280623), in Accra, Ghana.
Our role depends on the data. For details about studios who hold an account, we decide why and how the data is used, which makes us the data controller. For the files and client information inside a gallery, the studio decides what is collected and who may see it, and we process it for the studio under our Data Processing Addendum.
We follow Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), and other privacy laws that apply to you.
Information studios give us
When you open an account and use it, you may give us:
- Sign-in details. Name, email and a password. Passwords are stored in scrambled form by our login provider, so we cannot read them.
- Google account details. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email only, never your Google password.
- Studio profile. Studio name, web handle, logo, picture and brand color.
- Your work. Uploaded photos and films, gallery names, descriptions and settings, and any gallery passwords you choose (also stored scrambled).
- Payment information. Your plan, payment status, amounts and receipts. Card and mobile money details go to our payment provider and do not pass through our servers.
- Support messages. Anything you write to us for help.
Please make sure you have the right to share the people and work in your galleries, including permission from a parent or guardian when children appear.
Information from clients
Someone opening a studio’s gallery link is a client. Depending on how the studio set the gallery up, we may record:
- Photos they mark as favorites, and when.
- A name or email, if the studio asks for one before favorites or comments are allowed.
- Comments on a film, tied to the point in the film they mention.
- Which files are downloaded and when, so the studio can see what has been collected.
- A gallery password, which is only checked to unlock the gallery and is never displayed.
The studio that shared the gallery can see this activity. If you have a question about it, the studio is usually the best place to start, and you are welcome to write to us as well.
Information collected automatically
Whenever the site is visited, our servers and hosting providers log technical details: device and browser type, pages requested, date and time, and IP address. This helps us keep the service secure, block abuse and track down faults.
We do not buy data about you from other companies, and we do not build advertising profiles.
Why we use your data
- To set up your account, let you in and keep it safe.
- To store, display and deliver the files in your galleries.
- To send the emails the service depends on, such as confirmations, password resets and gallery activity.
- To process payments, renew plans and keep receipts.
- To reply to questions and provide support.
- To stop fraud, abuse and unlawful material, and to apply our terms.
- To look at overall usage, without singling anyone out, so we can improve the service.
- To meet legal duties.
We will not use your photos or films to promote our own service unless you have agreed to it.
Data leaving Ghana
Some of the companies above keep or process data in other countries, such as in Europe or the United States. We pick providers with strong security and privacy commitments, and we limit what we send to what is necessary.
How long data stays
- Open accounts. Your account and galleries stay for as long as the account is open.
- Deleted galleries and files. Removed from our database straight away and from file storage within 24 hours.
- Download files (ZIPs). Deleted 7 days after they are prepared.
- Closed accounts. Your profile, galleries and client records are deleted straight away and your files within 24 hours; any backup copies held by our database provider age out within 90 days.
- Invoices and payment records. Kept for as long as tax and accounting rules demand.
- Server logs. Kept for up to 30 days.
Keeping it safe
- Data moves over encrypted connections, and our providers encrypt it while stored.
- Galleries start out private. Links use long random codes, and a gallery can also be given its own password.
- Our database rules mean each person can reach only their own records.
- Passwords are never held in readable form.
- Only people who need access to systems for their work have it.
No online service can promise perfect security. If you believe your account has been affected, write to us right away using the details below.
Your rights, and how to use them
You may ask us to:
- Tell you what personal data we hold about you.
- Correct anything inaccurate.
- Erase your data or close your account.
- Send you a copy in a common file format.
- Pause or limit how we use it, or take back a consent you gave.
Studios: email support@carltonmedia.net. We will answer within 21 days, and may first ask you to prove who you are. You can also change your details and close your account yourself in your account settings.
Clients: because the studio decides what its gallery collects, ask the studio first. You can also write to us and we will pass your request on.
If you are unhappy with our answer, you may complain to Ghana’s Data Protection Commission, or to the regulator where you live.
Children and minors in photos
You must be 18 or older to hold an account, and we do not knowingly gather data from children to create accounts. If you think a child has signed up, tell us and we will delete the account. Studios may photograph children for their clients; when they do, the studio is responsible for the parent’s or guardian’s permission.
Updates to this policy
We will revise this policy as the service grows, and the date at the top shows the latest version. When a change meaningfully affects how your data is used, we will tell you by email or inside the app before it starts. The rest of the ground rules are in our Terms of Service.
Get in touch
For privacy questions or to make a request about your data:
- Email: support@carltonmedia.net
- Post: Carl.tonMedia, P.O. Box GP 4872, Accra, Ghana