Privacy Policy

Last Modified: December 12, 2024

At My Custom Stories, our purpose is to help our customers capture, preserve, and share life’s important moments through professional and personal photography, and personalized products. We are equally committed to respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) explains how My Custom Stories (“My Custom Stories,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) collects and uses personal information, and the choices you can make. This Notice applies to your use of My Custom Stories.com and our other My Custom Stories websites, applications, and services that link to this Notice. This Notice also addresses information we collect from you when you contact or interact with one of our customer service representatives, or when you respond to a survey or enter a contest or sweepstakes that we administer.

Our Sites and Apps may be linked to other websites or may contain links to other websites. Our Privacy Notice only applies to our Sites and Apps, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices, security standards, or content of other sites. You should check the privacy policies of those sites before providing your personal information to them.

We encourage you to read this Privacy Notice in its entirety before using our services. By creating an online account, using our services, or making a purchase with us, you acknowledge and consent that you have read and agree to this Privacy Notice.

What personal information do we collect?

We collect various types of personal information when you use our websites, mobile sites, or mobile applications (our “Sites and Apps”); purchase any products or services from us; engage with us, such as through one of our customer service representatives or on social media; sign up for notifications or register for customer rewards programs; access emails we send you; or complete a survey or enter a contest or sweepstakes that we sponsor. This information may be collected directly from you (for example, when you complete our forms or enter your information on our websites to make a purchase) or indirectly through your device or browser when you visit our Sites and Apps.

My Custom Stories shall utilize the personal information provided by you solely for the following purposes:

Creation and delivery of your customized book;
Communication with you regarding their order(s);
Recommendation of additional personalized products to you;
Marketing communications and promotional materials that may be of interest to you.

My Custom Stories warrants that we will not use your personal information for any purposes other than those explicitly stated herein without obtaining prior written consent from you. All use of personal information shall comply with applicable data protection and privacy laws.

Personal Identifiers: (customer name, postal address, e-mail address, age, gender, reading level)

Source: Provided directly by the customer
Purpose: Maintaining and servicing your account, providing customer service, processing and fulfilling your orders, processing payments on your orders, fulfilling customer rewards, advertising and marketing our products to you, detecting security incidents, and protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity.

User-Uploaded Content (photographs)

Source: Provided directly by the customer
Purpose: Processing and fulfilling your orders, providing customer service, providing you customized product recommendations, improving our products, services, and related analytics

Payment and Credit Card Information (Collected by our payment processing service, Stripe)

Source: Provided directly by the customer
Purpose: Processing payments on your orders, detecting security incidents, and protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity

Commercial Information (purchase date, purchase totals, product types)

Source: Provided directly by the customer
Purpose: Providing customer service, processing and fulfilling your orders, processing payments on your orders, analytics to improve our products and services, advertising and marketing our products to you

Non-specific Geolocation Information (IP address, cookies, website browsing and interaction activity, other device or browser identifiers)

Source: Collected indirectly from your browser or device
Purpose: Maintaining and servicing your account, providing customer service. processing and fulfilling your orders, detecting security incidents, and protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity

Website login credentials

Source: Collected indirectly from your browser or device
Purpose: Maintaining and servicing your account, providing customer service, processing and fulfilling your order detecting security incidents and protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity

Inferences about customer preferences and characteristics

Source: Inferred from information provided by you, information collected indirectly from your browser or device, and information obtained from third-party, marketing database partners
Purpose: Enhancing your user experience, Improving our products, services, and related analytics advertising and marketing our products to you

In addition to any personal information, we may collect additional information about you from time to time through your interactions with us or in other circumstances.

Social Media

If you log into your account with us through a social media site, we will also have access to certain information from that site, such as your name, account information, and profile photo, under the site’s account verification procedures. If you subsequently want to unlink your social media account, please contact customer service or use the site's available tools.

If you interact with content on our social media profiles (for example, if you “like” or share a post from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts), those social media sites may share information about you with us, including your public profile, e-mail address, and friend list. If you choose to “like” or share content, your information may be publicly displayed on the social network, depending on your privacy settings. If you post information on social media or another third-party service that references us or our products and services (e.g., via a Twitter hashtag), we may publish your post on our social media accounts or websites. For more information about the privacy practices of any social media sites that you may use to log in to your account or to interact with us, you should review the privacy notice of that social media site and check your privacy settings through that site.

Other Information Contained in Your Photos

When you upload your photos to our platforms or permit us to access the photos stored on your device, your photo content may also include related image information such as the time and the place your photo was taken, tags, and similar information stored by your image capture device.

Cookies

We and our service providers collect information about how you use our services – for example what web or mobile pages you have viewed – to administer our services, analyze trends, generate analytics, provide a better user experience, improve our products and services, detect and prevent fraud or security incidents and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Our Sites, Apps, and emails use pixel tags, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies (collectively referred to as “Cookies”) that are created when you use our online services and are stored on your computer or mobile device.

Cookies help us offer convenient features like storing the contents of your shopping cart until you are ready to check out, remembering your login and account settings, recognizing your browser when you visit, customizing your current and future visits, and providing you with information about products that interest you. Cookies help us personalize your experience and save time during checkout. We also use the information we collect to compile statistics about our visitors and their use of our site to monitor site traffic, develop marketing programs, and improve our website design and content.

You have several options to manage cookies and trackers. If you don’t want our Sites and Apps to collect information using these technologies, you can change your web browser settings to reject Cookies from the site or to alert you before a cookie is placed on your computer. Each browser is different, so you should check your browser’s “Help” menu to learn how to change these preferences. Please note that cookie and tracker-based opt-outs only apply to the specific computer and browser on which the opt-out cookie is applied. If you clear cookies from your device or switch to a different browser, your opt-out will no longer be valid and you will need to opt-out again where you want your choices to apply. If you accept a cookie or tracker, you can delete it at any time through your web browser. If you choose not to accept cookies or trackers used for analytics and site functionality, you will not be able to enjoy all the features available to our registered users.

You may also manage the cookies and trackers we use on our Sites and Apps by following the Cookie Preferences link you will see in the footer of My Custom Stories web pages. If you make choices and return to our site from a different browser or machine, you will need to repeat these choices.

The Network Advertising Alliance (“NAI”) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) offer opt-out tools to help you manage your choices for participating companies that use Cookies for Interest-Based Advertising and cross-app advertising. For more information about these tools please visit NAI Opt-Out Page and DAA Opt-Out Page. You can also opt out of Google cookies by installing Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout, and/or the Google Advertising Cookie opt-out browser add-on.

“Do Not Track” is a preference you can set in your web browser to let the sites you visit know that you do not want them collecting information about you. Our sites do not currently respond to all “Do Not Track” settings; however, we treat Global Privacy Control signals as requests to opt out of the “sale or sharing” of personal information under the California Privacy Rights Act.

How long do we retain the personal information we collect about you?

My Custom Stories will retain your information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Notice, for as long as you maintain an account, or as needed to provide the Sites, Apps, and associated services (Services) to you. If you no longer want My Custom Stories to use your information to provide the Services to you, you may close your account. My Custom Stories will retain and use your information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your information to comply with applicable tax laws), resolve disputes, perform and enforce our agreements, and as otherwise described in this Notice.

How do we share your information with third parties?

We do not “sell” personal information in the ordinary sense of that term. That is, we don’t provide your personally identifiable information to third parties in exchange for money. We may share personal information in the following situations.

Service Providers

We sometimes use third-party service providers to act on our behalf, for example, to help us deliver our services, fulfill your product orders, process payments, enhance and personalize your shopping experience with us, deliver our advertisements, and provide professional, marketing, security, and information technology services. These service providers are only allowed to use your information in connection with the specific service they provide on our behalf.

What options do you have to limit our collection and use of your personal information?

You have choices about how your information is collected and used. You can notify us of your preferences when you create an account with us, and if you would like to review or correct your personal information on our Sites and Apps, you can do so via your account settings. There may be times when we are unable to fulfill your request – for example, if providing access to your personal information would reveal confidential commercial or proprietary information or personal information about someone else (and we cannot separate your data) if we are prohibited by law from disclosing the information, or if we have a legal obligation to retain certain data. We may require additional personal information from you to verify your identity and rights.

Some jurisdictions provide additional legal rights including requesting or deleting your data, as described in our Supplemental Notices below.

Opting out of Marketing Communications

If you no longer want to receive marketing communications from us, you can unsubscribe by following the instructions contained in the messages you receive, by changing your marketing preferences through your Account Settings, or by contacting us through the Contact Us page of any of our brands. We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the services we provide, such as service announcements and administrative messages (for example, communications related to a pending order, an unresolved customer service issue, or a Notice update). We do not offer you the ability to opt out of receiving those communications.

How do we keep your information secure?

Although no website, application, database, or system is completely secure or “hacker-proof,” we have safeguards in place to protect against unauthorized access and disclosures of the personal information we control, including technical, physical, and administrative safeguards and security measures. Despite these measures, however, we cannot guarantee that our information security safeguards will never be compromised.

How do we make updates to this notice?

As we implement new technology and introduce new services or otherwise change our privacy practices, or in response to changes in applicable laws or regulations, we may modify this Notice and provide notice to you by posting updates on this page. Please check back periodically to view any updates. Changes to our Notice will become effective when posted. If we materially change this Privacy Notice, we will endeavor to notify our customers promptly. Your continued use of our websites, mobile applications, and/or other services following such notice acknowledges your acceptance of such updated terms.

How can you contact us with questions about your privacy or this notice?

For further information regarding this website privacy statement or related My Custom Stories policies and procedures, please contact privacy@myCustomstories.com.

Do you share the photos that I upload to My Custom Stories?

The photos and other content that you upload to your account (“Your Content”) may include personal information about you or others, and this section of our Privacy Center addresses frequently asked questions about Your Content. Your Content is private information that belongs to you. We share your photos only in the following circumstances:

Order fulfillment and providing our services. To provide our service, the My Custom Stories employees and agents who work to fulfill your order and service your account may see your Content in the course of performing their jobs. Similarly, if you order a product that includes Your Content, we may share Your Content with service providers who help us fulfill your order. These parties are only allowed to use your photos to perform services for My Custom Stories, though – they can’t use them for any other purpose.

How long does My Custom Stories keep my photos?

If you have a My Custom Stories account, you control how long it remains active. My Custom Stories will retain your photos for as long as you maintain Active Participation with us. If you delete your My Custom Stories account, all photos will be permanently deleted from our system in the regular course of business.

Supplemental Notice to Residents of CA, CO, CT, MT, OR, TX, UT or VA

Depending on where you reside, you may also have additional legal rights concerning your information. While some of these rights apply generally, certain rights apply in limited cases. Consistent with applicable laws, this Supplemental Notice provides a way to exercise such rights for residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, or Virginia. The laws of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, or Virginia grant some or all of the following rights to consumers who reside in those states:

The right to request information about the personal information that we have collected about that customer in the 12 months preceding the customer’s request (including the categories of information collected, the source of that information, the business purpose of that collection, the categories of third parties with whom that information is shared, and the specific pieces of personal information collected about that particular customer);
The right to receive requested information in a readily usable format if provided electronically;
The right to request that we delete any personal information about the consumer that we have collected (although we may be entitled to retain some information for certain purposes);
The right to opt-out of “sales” of personal information to third parties, the sharing of personal information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes, and/or the processing of personal information for targeted advertising purposes;
The right to update or correct any personal information that is out of date or incorrect.
The right to be free from discrimination based on your exercise of your privacy rights.

To exercise your rights under this Supplemental Notice concerning My Custom Stories, please contact My Custom Stories at privacy@mycustomstories.com.

We cannot respond to your request to access or delete information unless we can verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you and/or your household. If you have an account on any of our Sites and Apps, we will verify your identity by having you login to your account. If you do not have an account on our Sites and Apps, we will attempt to verify your request by asking you to provide identifying information that we will match to the information in our files. We will only use the information you provide in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. You can also designate an authorized agent to request on your behalf. Your agent will need to provide a Power of Attorney authorizing the agent to act on your behalf or will need to complete the same verification procedures that would be required for a request submitted by you directly and provide information that allows us to verify your authorization. If you would like to appeal a decision related to a request to exercise your rights under this Supplemental Notice, please contact us at the phone numbers, online forms, or email address listed above.

We may deny deletion requests in whole or in part as permitted or required by applicable law. We do not charge a different price or rate or provide a different level or quality of goods or services based on your exercising your data privacy rights. We do not sell personal information in the ordinary sense of that term. That is, we don’t provide your personally identifiable information to third parties in exchange for money. However, under California law, sharing information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes may be considered a “sale” of personal information. Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia can opt out of such sharing using the above methods.

Supplemental Notice to Residents of California

If you are a California resident under the age of 18 and a registered user of any site where this Notice is posted, you may request and obtain the removal of content or information you have publicly posted on such site. To make such a request, please send an email with the subject line “California Minor Content Removal Request” to privacy@mycustomstories.com. Please specify in your request which website or application your request relates to and the specific information or content that you would like removed. Please note that your request does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or information, because, for example, some of your content may have been reposted by another visitor to our websites.

We may offer various financial incentives and benefits (such as free shipping, discounts, and other special offers) to customers who interact with us on our Sites and Apps and provide personal information. We offer such financial incentives and benefits for business purposes such as increasing engagement and sales or raising brand awareness, and participation is voluntary. These discounts are reasonably related to the value of the personal information shared, which varies by offer and price of items to which the discount is applied. My Custom Stories reserves the right to withdraw or modify the financial incentives we offer at any time.

Supplemental Notice to Residents of Nevada

Nevada law gives Nevada consumers the right to request that a company not sell their personal information for monetary consideration to certain other parties. This right applies even if their personal information is not currently being sold. If you are a Nevada consumer and wish to exercise this right, please click on the Do Not Sell or Share link in the footer of Shutterfly webpages or send an email with the subject line “Nevada Resident Do Not Sell Request” to privacy@mycustomstories.com.

Supplemental Notice to Visitors from outside of the United States

Our Sites and Apps are hosted in the United States. By using our Sites and Apps, you acknowledge and consent that your information may be transferred to, stored, or processed in the United States by this Privacy Notice and applicable United States laws. Please be aware that U.S. privacy laws, including the rights of authorities to access your personal information, may differ from those that apply in the country in which you reside.