Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 2026
Studio Builder respects your privacy. This page explains what data we collect when you visit, why we collect it, who processes it on our behalf, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it.
What We Collect
Outbound link clicks. When you click an affiliate or outbound link, we record the click so we can understand which recommendations are useful and report performance to affiliate partners. Each record contains:
- A hashed form of your IP address (SHA-256 — the raw IP is never stored).
- Approximate location — country, city, and region — derived from Cloudflare network headers.
- The referring page, your browser's user-agent string, the link you clicked, and a timestamp.
Analytics & marketing. Google Analytics 4 and the Meta Pixel are loaded only after you opt in through the cookie banner. If you decline, no analytics or marketing scripts run and no related cookies are set.
Why We Collect It
- Measure which gear, books, and tools our readers find worth clicking.
- Detect and prevent abuse of our outbound-redirect endpoints.
- Understand our audience in aggregate and improve our coverage.
- Report affiliate referrals to partner programs.
We rely on your consent for analytics and marketing cookies, and on our legitimate interest in running and securing the site for the pseudonymized outbound-click measurement above.
Third-Party Processors
We share data only with the processors below, each acting on our behalf. We maintain an internal sub-processor register recording each processor's purpose and EU→US transfer mechanism; contact us for details.
| Processor | Role | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Edge hosting, CDN, and approximate geolocation (country/city/region) headers. | Global edge |
| Neon | PostgreSQL database hosting (stores outbound-click records). | US (AWS us-east-1) |
| Google Analytics 4 | Site analytics — loaded only after you opt in. | US / global |
| Meta Pixel | Referral/marketing measurement — loaded only after you opt in. | US / global |
| Geniuslink | Routes some outbound retailer links to the right regional storefront. | US / global |
| Amazon Associates | Affiliate attribution for purchases made through our Amazon links. | US / global |
Data Retention
Outbound-click records are retained for 18 months and then permanently deleted. Aggregated, non-identifying statistics may be kept longer. Analytics data held by Google and Meta is governed by their own retention settings.
Cookies & Local Storage
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _ga / _ga_* | Google Analytics 4 | Distinguish visitors and sessions (analytics). | Up to 2 years | Analytics |
| _fbp | Meta Pixel | Measure ad and referral effectiveness (marketing). | Up to 3 months | Marketing |
| sb-consent | Studio Builder | Remembers your cookie choices (stored in local storage, not an HTTP cookie). | Until cleared | Essential |
Your Rights
Depending on where you live (e.g. GDPR in the EU/UK, PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25 in Canada, CCPA in California), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or port your data, and to withdraw consent. You can change or withdraw cookie consent at any time via the “Manage cookies” link in the site footer.
To exercise a data-subject request — including erasure of click records associated with your hashed IP — contact us at privacy@studiobuilder.co.
Children's Privacy
Studio Builder is intended for working and aspiring professional photographers and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.
Changes
We may update this policy as our practices evolve. Material changes will be reflected in the “Last updated” date above.