Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 2025-05-10

Privacy Policy for gounblur.com

1. Introduction

Welcome to gounblur.com (the "Service"), an AI-powered image enhancement tool provided by Azo Startup Studio ("we," "us," or "our"). Your privacy is critically important to us. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, protect, and disclose your personal information when you use our Service.

By accessing or using our Service, you signify that you have read, understood, and agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.

2. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information in connection with the Services we provide, including:

2.1. Information You Provide Directly

Account Information: When you create an account, we collect information such as your name, email address, and password (securely managed via our authentication provider, Clerk). You may also provide other optional profile information.
Uploaded Content (Original Images): We collect the images and any embedded metadata you upload to our Service for enhancement ("Original Images").
Payment and Billing Information: If you subscribe to a paid Service, our third-party payment processor (Stripe) will collect and process your payment information, such as credit card details and billing address. We do not directly store your full credit card number but may store transaction history.
Communications: If you contact us directly (e.g., for customer support), we may receive additional information about you, such as your name, email address, phone number, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you may choose to provide.

2.2. Information We Collect Automatically

Processed Content (Enhanced Images): We collect and store the images generated by our Service as a result of processing your Original Images ("Enhanced Images") to make them available to you.
Usage Details (Log Data & Analytics): When you use our Service, we automatically collect information about your interactions, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, links clicked, features accessed, the dates and times of your interactions, and other usage statistics.
Device Information: We collect data about the device you use to access our Service, including device type, operating system version, browser type, and unique device identifiers (where available).
Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about your interaction with our Service, remember your preferences, and enhance your user experience. Please see Section 6 ("Cookies and Tracking Technologies") for more details.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

To Provide and Maintain the Service: To operate, maintain, and provide you with the features and functionality of gounblur.com, including processing your Original Images to generate Enhanced Images.
To Manage Your Account: To create and manage your account, process payments and subscriptions, and provide customer support.
To Improve and Personalize the Service: To understand how users interact with our Service, to improve its functionality, user experience, and develop new features, products, or services.
AI Model Improvement: We may use your Original Images and Enhanced Images to improve our AI models and underlying technology. When we do so, we strive to use de-identified or aggregated data. If identifiable data is used for such purposes, we will seek your explicit consent where required by applicable law. You may have options to control the use of your data for model improvement, as described in Section 8 ("Your Data Protection Rights") or in your account settings.
Communication: To communicate with you regarding your account, service updates, security alerts, support messages, and (with your consent where required) promotional offers.
Security and Fraud Prevention: To monitor for and prevent fraudulent or illegal activity, and to enforce our Terms of Service.
Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests.
Analytics: To analyze trends, administer the site, track users' movements around the site, and gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

Third-Party Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf to operate and improve the Service. These include:
- AI Image Processing: We use third-party AI model providers (e.g., Replicate) to process and enhance your images. These providers receive the images you upload solely for the purpose of performing the enhancement.
- Cloud Storage: We use cloud storage providers (e.g., Amazon Web Services R2 or similar) to store your Original Images and Enhanced Images.
- Payment Processing: Our payment processor, Stripe, handles your payment information. Their use of your personal information is governed by their privacy policy.
- Authentication: We use Clerk for user authentication and account management. Their use of your data is governed by their privacy policy.
- Analytics Providers: We may use services like Google Analytics to help us understand Service usage.
- Communication Tools: Services for customer support and email delivery. We ensure these providers have appropriate security and confidentiality measures to protect your information.
Legal Obligations and Rights Protection: We may disclose your information if required by law or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii.g., a subpoena or court order); (ii) protect and defend our rights or property; (iii) prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service; (iv) protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public; or (v) protect against legal liability.
Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, your personal information may be part of the transferred assets. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.
With Your Consent: We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.
Aggregated or De-identified Data: We may share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.

5. Data Storage, Security, and Retention

5.1. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement a variety of security measures, including encryption and access controls, to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your personal information. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

5.2. Data Storage and International 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 (e.g., United States). We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If we transfer data from regions like the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

5.3. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with our Services, fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, comply with our legal obligations (e.g., for tax and accounting purposes), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Account Information: Retained as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter as necessary for our legitimate business purposes or to comply with legal requirements.
Original and Enhanced Images: We store your Original and Enhanced Images to allow you to access them through your account. You can delete your images from your account. We may set a default retention period for images (e.g., [Specify period, e.g., 90 days] after upload or account inactivity), after which they may be automatically deleted. We will inform you of such policies.
Payment Information: We do not store your full payment card details. Our payment processor, Stripe, retains payment information as per their policies. We retain transaction history for accounting and legal reasons.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to track activity on our Service and hold certain information.

What are cookies: Cookies are small data files stored on your device that help us operate and secure the Service, remember your preferences, understand how you use our Service, and potentially personalize content or advertisements.
Types of cookies we may use:
- Essential Cookies: Necessary for the Service to function (e.g., session cookies, authentication, security).
- Performance and Analytics Cookies: Collect information about how you use our Service (e.g., via Google Analytics). This helps us improve the Service.
- Functionality Cookies: Remember choices you make (e.g., language preference) to provide a more personalized experience.
- Advertising/Targeting Cookies (if applicable): If we engage in advertising, these cookies may be used by us or third parties to deliver advertisements relevant to your interests. We will provide clear information and choices if we use such cookies.
Your Choices: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can usually instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service. We may also provide a cookie consent management tool for more granular control. For information on how to opt-out of interest-based advertising, you can visit resources like the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) or the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA).

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

The right to access: You can request copies of your personal data.
The right to rectification: You can request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
The right to erasure (right to be forgotten): You can request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to object to processing: You can object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions, especially for direct marketing or where we rely on legitimate interests.
The right to data portability: You can request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
The right to withdraw consent: If we are processing your data based on your consent (e.g., for marketing or certain types of AI model training), you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.
The right not to be subject to Automated Decision-Making: You may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 12 ("Contact Us"). We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory data protection authority.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 13 (or a higher age threshold as required by applicable local laws, e.g., 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under this age. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data without your consent, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

9. Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy. We may also provide notice to you through the Service or via email. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

11. Contact Us

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

Contact: gounblur.com/contact

By using gounblur.com, you consent to our Privacy Policy and agree to its terms. Thank you for trusting us with your information!