Welcome to passportphoto.ae (the "Website"). This Website is owned and operated by Aina Creations LLC, an entity legally registered and licensed under the rules and regulations of Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

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We are committed to protecting the privacy, security, and confidentiality of our users' personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, process, and permanently delete your data in strict compliance with the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection (PDPL).

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By accessing our website, uploading photographic data, or using our services, you explicitly acknowledge and consent to the practices described in this policy.

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1. Definitions Under UAE PDPL

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• Personal Data: Any data relating to an identified natural person, or one who can be identified directly or indirectly by reference to identifiers such as a name, an identification number, location data, or an online identifier.

• Biometric Data (Sensitive Personal Data): Personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological, or behavioral characteristics of a natural person, which allows or confirms the unique identification of that person, such as facial images.

• Processing: Any operation or set of operations performed on Personal Data using electronic means, including collection, storage, adaptation, modification, retrieval, use, or destruction.

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2. Information We Collect and Purpose of Processing

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To provide our online automated passport photo formatting service, we collect and process the following categories of data:

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1. Visual and Biometric Data: The portrait photographs you upload directly to our system.

   • Purpose: This data is processed solely to inspect, resize, align, clear backgrounds, and format your image to match official passport or visa specification frameworks (such as UAE ICP standards). We do not run facial tracking, behavioral analysis, or identity-matching software.

2. Contact and Transactional Information: Your name, email address, phone number, and billing details provided during checkout.

   • Purpose: To send you your formatted digital proofs, communicate order statuses, issue payment links, and provide customer support.  

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3. Data Minimization & The "24-Hour" Deletion Mandate

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In strict accordance with the storage limitation principles of the UAE PDPL, we do not store your highly sensitive visual or photographic data permanently. Our system operates on a localized, strict data retention schedule:

• Completed Orders (24-Hour Purge): Once you approve your digital photo proof, complete payment via our secure payment gateway links, and your final formatted passport photo is delivered, an automated server routine permanently deletes both your original uploaded file and the final processed image from our active storage databases within twenty-four (24) hours.

• Abandoned or Rejected Uploads (48-Hour Purge): If you upload a photo but do not proceed to checkout, or if our editing team rejects the photo as unfixable due to poor lighting or quality, the visual data is automatically and permanently wiped from our systems within forty-eight (48) hours of initial inactivity.

• Administrative/Transactional Data: Basic transaction records (such as invoices, billing names, and emails) are retained separately for tax, accounting, and compliance purposes as required under UAE corporate law.

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4. Technical and Organizational Security Measures

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Your data security is our absolute priority. We implement robust, international-standard protective measures to prevent data breaches, unauthorized access, or loss:

• All data transmitted to and from our platform is encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) protocols.

• Uploaded visual assets are stored in isolated, secure, encrypted cloud environments.

• Access to customer images is strictly locked down and accessible only to automated image processing tools and authorized human photo editors under strict non-disclosure obligations.

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5. Third-Party Data Sharing & Local Payment Gateways

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We do not sell, rent, lease, or distribute your private personal data or images to any external marketing networks or third parties. Data is shared strictly with essential operations sub-processors:

• Payment Aggregators: Your payment information is securely processed directly through our licensed UAE payment partners (such as Ziina). We do not store or see your credit/debit card numbers on our servers.

• Data Sovereignty: All data processing occurs locally within secure cloud nodes, and no sensitive visual assets are transferred across international borders outside the provisions allowed under UAE law.

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6. Your Legal Rights as a Data Subject

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Under the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, you possess explicit legal rights regarding your personal information, including:

• Right to Access: You may request confirmation on whether your data is being processed.

• Right to Erasure (Right to Be Forgotten): You have the right to request the immediate, manual destruction of your uploaded photos or personal data from our servers ahead of our automated 24/48-hour purge schedule.

• Right to Correction/Rectification: You can request updates to inaccurate transactional information.

• Right to Withdraw Consent: You can revoke your processing consent at any time prior to your photo being processed.

To exercise any of these statutory rights, please submit an explicit request to our designated privacy support team at: support@passportphoto.ae.

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7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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We reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy at any time to maintain absolute compliance with shifting UAE executive regulations. Any changes will become immediately effective upon publishing the updated date at the top of this page.

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8. Contact and Dispute Resolution

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For any inquiries, feedback, or complaints regarding how your visual assets or personal information are managed, please contact our administrative office:

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Aina Creations LLC

Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, UAE

Email: support@passportphoto.ae

Website: passportphoto.ae

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