Biometric data & contributions

Policy version 1.0 · Effective 11 November 2026 · Operated by [Operator legal name].

1. What counts as biometric data

To swap or reshape a face, AltFace detects facial landmarks (such as the eyes, nose and mouth corners) and creates a numeric face template (an "embedding") from a face. Laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), Texas and Washington biometric laws, the EU/UK GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act treat face geometry and face templates as biometric or sensitive data.

2. Normal use of AltFace: stays on your device

When you use AltFace, landmarks and face templates are calculated in your browser and kept in memory only while the app is open. Your reference photos are stored in your browser's own storage. None of this is sent to us or anyone else. You can delete it at any time on the Privacy page.

3. The optional contribution programme

To make AltFace better for everyone, we may invite you to contribute your own photos or short video clips. It is strictly optional: AltFace works fully without it, and saying no changes nothing.

• Separate, opt-in consent. You'll be shown the full consent text below and must tick an unticked box and confirm. It's never bundled with the Terms of Use or pre-ticked.
• You choose each item. Nothing is uploaded in the background. You pick each photo or clip, see a preview, and confirm before it's sent.
• Only your own face, 18+. You may not contribute anyone else's face, or any child's.

4. What we would collect

• The photos or clips you choose to contribute.
• Face landmarks, face geometry and face templates derived from them.
• Limited technical details to make the data useful: device type, browser, camera resolution, and which AltFace settings were used. We don't ask for your name, and we don't link contributions to an account or advertising ID.
• A consent record: policy version, date and time, and a random contributor ID so you can withdraw later.

5. What it's used for

• Training and testing AltFace's own face detection, face parsing and face swap models.
• Measuring and improving accuracy across ages, skin tones, lighting and devices (fairness testing).
• Safety work, such as detecting misuse and improving the visible "AI preview" mark.

We'll never use your data for any other purpose without asking for new, separate consent.

6. What we will never do

• Sell, lease, trade or otherwise profit from your biometric data.
• Use it to identify you, or for face recognition, surveillance, advertising or profiling.
• Share it, except with service providers who store or process it for us under written contracts that require the same protections, or when the law requires us to.

7. How long we keep it (retention and destruction schedule)

We keep contributed data only as long as needed for the purposes above, and permanently destroy it at the earliest of these times:

• within 30 days after you withdraw consent or ask us to delete it;
• when the purpose for collecting it has been fulfilled;
• no later than 36 months after your last contribution or interaction with us.

After deletion, your data is removed from our datasets and won't be used for any future training. Models that were already trained may keep general statistical patterns learned from many contributors, but they don't contain your photos and can't be used to recover your face.

8. How we protect it

Contributions are encrypted in transit and at rest, stored separately from any contact details, and accessible only to the few people who need them, with access logged. We protect biometric data with at least the same care we use for our most sensitive information.

9. Your rights

• Withdraw consent at any time. It's as easy as giving it.
• Ask for a copy of your contributed data, or for it to be corrected or deleted.
• If you're in the EU or UK, our legal basis is your explicit consent (GDPR Article 9(2)(a)), and you can complain to your data protection authority. If you're in California, you can limit the use of sensitive personal information. We never sell or share it for advertising.

To use these rights, email [privacy@your-domain.com] with your contributor ID (shown when you contribute). We'll respond within 30 days.

10. Changes to this policy

If we change how contributed data is used, we'll update the version number and date and ask for your consent again before using your data under the new terms.

11. The consent you would give

This is the exact text shown before anything is collected:

I am 18 or older, and the face in what I'm contributing is my own. I have read AltFace's Biometric Data & Contributions Policy (version 1.0). I give [Operator legal name] my express written consent to collect, store and use the photos or video clips I choose to contribute, and the face geometry, landmarks and face templates derived from them, to train, test and improve AltFace's models, including checks for accuracy, fairness and safety. I understand that this is optional and not required to use AltFace; that my data will never be sold, leased or traded or used to identify me; that it will be deleted within 30 days if I withdraw, and in any case no later than 36 months after my last contribution; and that I can withdraw this consent at any time.

Already contributed? Manage, download or delete your contributions.

12. Contact

[Operator legal name] · [Postal address] · [privacy@your-domain.com]