Your photos stay on your device
Photos you take or choose are processed in your browser. They are not uploaded to our server or to anyone else, and we do not store them. There's no account, so we don't know who you are.
What your browser keeps
- Your last photo, for the open tab. The tool keeps a copy of your last photo, cropped around your face, with the document and adjustments you chose, in the browser's session storage. That lets you save it again if the page reloads. Start over deletes it, and so does closing the tab.
- Two settings. Whether the measurement guides and the hands-free voice are on is saved in your browser's local storage, so the tool remembers your choice next time. Clearing this site's data in your browser removes them.
- A closed notice. If you close the notice about in-app browsers, session storage remembers that until you close the tab.
None of this is sent to us.
Face detection
To find your face, the page downloads open-source face detection models from Google's MediaPipe project, served by jsDelivr and Google Cloud Storage. Only the models travel to your device; your photo never goes the other way. The detection data exists only in your browser's memory while the page is open. We do not collect, keep or share biometric data.
Camera
Your browser asks for your permission before the page can use the camera. The camera turns on only after you tap Use camera, and only to show the preview and take the photo you keep. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere. The camera stops when you take the photo or close the camera, and you can remove the permission at any time in your browser's site settings.
If you'd rather not allow the camera, tap Choose a photo and pick a picture taken with your phone's own camera app. That doesn't need camera permission.
Hands-free voice is off until you turn it on. It reads the camera hints aloud with your browser's built-in speech feature. Some browsers use an online voice service for this; the text is only the hint, such as "Move closer".
Anonymous usage counts
To learn which parts of the tool work and where people get stuck, the page counts a few anonymous events. Each one is a short message to our own server with an event name, such as "camera started", "photo saved", "background check failed" or the name of an error, and the kind of browser, such as Safari on iPhone or Chrome on Android. Some events add a time range, such as "face detection loaded in 2 to 5 seconds".
These messages never contain your photo, the points the face detection finds on your face or any measurement of your face. They use no cookies and no identifiers. We only add up how often each event happens, and we don't use them to identify you.
What our server receives
Like any website, our server receives your IP address and browser details when it sends you a page or receives a usage count. We use them only to deliver the site and keep it secure.
Cookies
This site doesn't use cookies or third-party analytics. Besides the storage described above, nothing is kept in your browser.
Changes to this policy
If we change what the site collects, we'll update this page and the date at the top.
Questions
Questions about privacy? Email hello@passportphotoathome.com.