What happens to your child's photo
Parents deserve a plain answer. TinyStar uses the uploaded photo and order details to create and deliver the book you order. Child photos are not something we sell.
Start their book: upload the photo, see a free preview
What the photo is used for
One thing: the artwork for your book. The photo is sent to our AI image provider, OpenAI, to draw your child as the hero of the cover and the ten spreads. A person then reviews the artwork for quality and safety. The finished print files go to Printify, who print and ship the board book. That is the whole trip.
The photo is not used to train AI models for anything else. It is not sold. It is not used to make merchandise, other products, or anyone else's book.
Who sees it
Shopify handles checkout and payment; we never see your full card number. OpenAI generates the artwork and story from the photo and the child's details. Printify and its print partners receive the finished print files and your shipping address. Google Cloud hosts the uploaded and generated files. Our email provider sends order and delivery emails. Nobody else, unless the law requires it.
How it is stored
Uploaded and generated files are private by default. They are reachable only through short-lived signed links, never a public URL. The Shopify order itself carries only an internal reference and a short label, the child's first name and the art style, so you can tell two books apart in your cart. The child's details live in our own systems, not in the store's customer record.
How long we keep it
An upload that never becomes an order is deleted within about 14 days. The source photo for a completed order is deleted about 30 days after the order is finished. Generated images, print files, and PDFs are deleted after about 90 days. Digital download links expire after about 14 days. A minimal transaction record without the photo is kept for up to about a year, or longer where the law requires. If you want something deleted sooner, email support@tinystarbooks.com.
Who can order
Adults only, ordering for a child they are the parent or legal guardian of, or with that guardian's permission. The consent box at checkout says exactly that, and we record it. Children do not use this service themselves. If you believe a child's photo was submitted without the right to do so, tell us and we will delete it.
Reviewed by a person
Every story and page is checked by a person before print or delivery. That is part of the quality process, and it is also a safety check: nothing goes out that has not been looked at. What the review covers is here.
The full privacy policy has the formal version of all of the above, including your rights to access, correct, or delete information. If you are comparing services, here are the questions worth asking any of them.
Questions parents ask
Does TinyStar sell child photos?
No. Uploaded photos are used to create the ordered book or digital story. They are not sold.
Who receives the photo?
OpenAI generates the artwork from it, a person reviews the result, Printify receives the finished print files for a printed book, and Google Cloud stores the files. Shopify handles checkout and never receives the photo.
Is the photo used to train AI?
No. The photo is used to make the artwork for your order and nothing else. It is not used to train models, sold, or used for any other product.
When is the photo deleted?
An upload that never becomes an order is deleted within about 14 days. The source photo for a completed order is deleted about 30 days after the order is finished. Generated files are deleted after about 90 days.