Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 8th, 2026

Introduction

This Privacy Policy outlines the types of information SimPictures collects from you, how the information is used and shared, and the measures taken to ensure your data is handled responsibly.

This Policy applies to your access and use of the website, services, and content at simpictures.com  and its subdomains (collectively, the "Service"). It describes how and why your personal data is processed when you use the Service; the legal basis for each processing purpose is listed below.

This Policy is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in practices or legal requirements. The "Last Updated" date at the top indicates when the latest changes were made. It is recommended you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how your privacy is protected.

If you have any questions or concerns about this Policy or data practices, please contact us at legal@simpictures.com .

Who We Are

SimPictures is operated by Nikolai Zakharov, a private individual based in Finland, who acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Policy. For anything related to your personal data, you can contact the controller directly at legal@simpictures.com .

What Information Is Collected?

SimPictures collects the following types of data from users:

Account Information: This includes your username, email address, and password. This information is essential for creating and managing your account. Passwords are stored in hashed form, not as plain text.

Connected Accounts: If you choose to connect your Discord account, we store your Discord user ID and username. We do not receive your Discord email address or access to your messages. You can disconnect Discord at any time in your settings, which deletes this data.

Profile Information: We gather details that you choose to share on your profile, such as:

• Profile image
• Banner image
• Short bio
• Detailed bio
• Home airport

Pictures: When you upload images, we collect the images along with the details you enter about them (e.g., simulator, aircraft, in-sim location, description) and the upload date. Embedded file metadata (such as EXIF data) is removed during processing, and the original uploaded file is deleted afterwards.

Usage Data: We track information related to your interaction with our platform, including:

• Your public IP address
• Approximate geographic location (country and city), estimated from your IP address; this estimate is not always accurate
• Browser type and version
• Likes you leave on pictures and comments
• Comments you leave on pictures
• Audit log records of significant account actions, such as sign-ups, profile and profile image changes, picture uploads and edits, comments, and moderation actions affecting your content

Support Requests: If you contact us for support, we collect the details of your request and any information you provide in your email.

How Is Your Information Collected?

SimPictures collects and processes your data in the following situations:

• Account Creation: When you create a new account, SimPictures collects your account information and profile details.
• Account Sign-In: Upon signing into your account, SimPictures verifies your credentials and saves your IP address.
• Profile Updates: If you edit your account or profile settings via the settings page or other areas of the site, your information gets added or updated accordingly.
• Connecting Accounts: When you connect your Discord account, SimPictures receives your Discord user ID and username from Discord.
• Engaging with Content: Your likes and comments on pictures are collected whenever you interact with the content on our platform.
• Picture Uploads: When you publish a picture, SimPictures collects the image and its associated metadata you entered.
• Support Communication: If you reach out for support, SimPictures collects the information you provide in your request for assistance.

How will your data be used?

SimPictures collects your data to:

• Enable you to create, manage, and update your account information (legal basis: performance of a contract, meaning providing the Service you signed up for, GDPR Art. 6(1)(b))
• Allow you to publish your pictures and associate metadata with them (legal basis: performance of a contract, Art. 6(1)(b))
• Save and display your likes, comments, and other interactions (legal basis: performance of a contract, Art. 6(1)(b))
• Send you email notifications related to your account or activities, unless you have opted out (legal basis: performance of a contract and legitimate interest in keeping you informed about your account, Art. 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(f))
• Send you promotional notifications, but only with your explicit consent (legal basis: consent, Art. 6(1)(a); you can withdraw it at any time)
• Allow moderators to monitor user actions and enforce the Terms of Service (legal basis: legitimate interest in keeping the Service safe and lawful, Art. 6(1)(f))
• Prevent spamming and bot activity through security measures (legal basis: legitimate interest in protecting the Service from abuse, Art. 6(1)(f))
• Automatically screen uploaded images for inappropriate content; flagged images are reviewed by human moderators, who make the final decision (legal basis: legitimate interest in keeping the Service safe and lawful, Art. 6(1)(f))

SimPictures uses the following third-party services for operation. Here is what each service is used for, along with a link to its privacy policy:

• Vercel: Hosts the SimPictures website. As the hosting provider, Vercel processes the requests your browser makes to the site, including your IP address. https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy 
• Supabase: Hosts the main database where account, profile, picture, and interaction data is stored. https://supabase.com/privacy 
• Amazon Web Services: Stores uploaded images and runs image processing. https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/ 
• ZeptoMail: Sends transactional emails, such as account and activity notifications. https://www.zoho.com/privacy.html 
• Brevo: Sends promotional emails. If you have subscribed to them, your email address is stored with Brevo. https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/ 
• PurelyMail: Hosts the SimPictures email inboxes. Emails you send to SimPictures addresses are stored there. https://purelymail.com/privacy 
• Jira Service Management: Handles support requests. Emails sent to Support are forwarded to Jira as tickets. https://www.atlassian.com/legal/privacy-policy 
• Appsmith: Powers internal tools used to manage the addon catalog. No user personal data is handled through Appsmith. https://app.appsmith.com/privacy-policy.html 
• Discord: Used to post queued pictures to the SimPictures Discord server and create discussion threads for them (this duplicates information already public on the site), and for the optional Discord account connection. https://discord.com/privacy 

How is your data stored?

SimPictures securely stores your data using Supabase and Amazon Web Services, both of which are cloud-based platforms.

• Supabase: Data stored in Supabase is hosted on secure servers managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Frankfurt, Germany. AWS maintains rigorous security standards, including encryption at rest and in transit, compliance with industry standards like ISO 27001, and regular security audits.
• AWS S3: S3 is a file storage used for storing all kinds of images, s3 bucket is located in Stockholm, Sweden. Please note that all images you upload are publicly available.
• Brevo: If you have subscribed to promotional emails, your email address is stored with Brevo on servers located within the European Union.

How Is Your Data Protected?

SimPictures uses technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (HTTPS) and at rest, password hashing, removal of embedded file metadata from uploaded images, and restricting access to production data to the operator and to moderation tools with limited scopes. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but these measures materially reduce risk.

International Data Transfers

Your main data (account, profile, pictures, interactions) is stored within the European Union, as described above. However, some of the third-party services listed in this Policy are based outside the EU, and limited data (such as your email address in support tickets or transactional emails) may be transferred to them. Where that happens, the following safeguards apply:

• Vercel: Vercel's Data Processing Addendum incorporates the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, and Vercel is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• ZeptoMail (Zoho): SimPictures uses Zoho's EU data center, so email data is stored within the EU. For any remaining transfers, Zoho offers a Data Processing Addendum incorporating the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
• Jira Service Management (Atlassian): Atlassian's Data Processing Addendum incorporates the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, and Atlassian is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• Discord: Discord's data transfers rely on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, and Discord is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• PurelyMail: PurelyMail is based in the United States. Emails you send to SimPictures addresses are transferred there as necessary to receive and respond to your inquiry (GDPR Art. 49(1)(b) — performance of steps taken at your request).

Brevo and Supabase store data within the European Union, so no international transfer takes place for them.

Your Data Protection Rights

SimPictures is committed to ensuring that you are fully aware of your data protection rights. You are entitled to:

Right to Access: You can request copies of your personal data.

Right to Rectification: If you believe any information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you can request that we correct it.

Right to Erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data when:

• It is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
• You withdraw consent on which the processing is based.
• You object to processing under certain conditions.

Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we limit the processing of your personal data under specific conditions.

Right to Object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests.

Right to Data Portability: You can request the transfer of your data to another organization or directly to you, where technically feasible.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at legal@simpictures.com . We respond to all requests within one month of receiving them. To protect your data, we may ask you to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

If you wish to withdraw consent for data processing, please inform us via the same contact method.

SimPictures does not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. Uploaded images are automatically screened for inappropriate content, but any resulting decisions are made by human moderators.

If you believe your request has not been adequately addressed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate data protection authority.

Data Retention

SimPictures retains your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with legal obligations:

• Account, profile, and content data: kept while your account is active, and deleted when your account is deleted.
• Session records (including IP addresses): sessions expire after 60 days.
• Audit log and security event data: kept while your account is active to support moderation and abuse prevention.
• Support emails and tickets: kept as long as needed to resolve the request and handle any follow-ups.
• Backups: deleted data may persist in routine backups for a limited period before being overwritten.

Account Deletion

You can request deletion of your account at any time by contacting legal@simpictures.com  or support@simpictures.com . Deletion requests are fulfilled within one month. When your account is deleted, your account information, profile, pictures, likes, and comments are deleted, and pictures posted to the SimPictures Discord server by the SimPictures bot are removed as well. Deleted data may persist in routine backups for a limited period before being overwritten.

Children’s Privacy

SimPictures does not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If you believe that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact support at legal@simpictures.com .

Cookies

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information. When you visit our websites, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology. Please see more about cookies usage on Cookies Policy  page.

Privacy policies of other websites

SimPictures contains links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to SimPictures, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

Support

If you have any questions about SimPictures Privacy Policy, the data that is held on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact support at legal@simpictures.com .

How to Contact the Appropriate Authority

If you have any concerns about how your personal data is being handled or if you wish to report a complaint, you can contact your local data protection authority. For residents in the EU, this would be the relevant Data Protection Authority in your country. A list of these authorities can be found at European Data Protection Board .