Is it safe to upload your child's photo to a personalized book site?
It can be, if the site tells you plainly what happens to the photo. Check how long it's kept, who receives it and whether it trains AI. If you can't find the answers, describe your child instead or choose a service that doesn't need a photo.
Five questions to ask any site
What TeddyReads does
Here is what our privacy policy says, including the parts you may want to think about.
| Our answer | |
|---|---|
| How long we keep the photo | It's deleted when the book is finished, or after 7 days if the book is never finished |
| Who receives it | Google, to draw the illustrations, and Anthropic, to write appearance details. Supabase stores it until it's deleted |
| AI training | We don't use a child's photo to train AI, and we don't allow our providers to use it for their own purposes |
| What stays | The book and its illustrations stay on your account until you ask us to delete them. The illustrations can be opened by anyone with their exact link |
| Deleting it all | Email [email protected] and ask for your data to be deleted |
| No photo | You can describe your child's hair, eyes and skin color instead |
What no site can promise
You can't check a company's systems from the outside, ours included. A clear policy is a commitment, not proof. So it's reasonable to share as little as you can, even with a site you trust.
- Crop the photo to your child's face, so that it shows no other children or background.
- Avoid identifying details, like a school uniform, street sign or house number.
- Skip the photo if you aren't comfortable. A described character can still be a lovely book.
Questions parents ask
Do I have to upload a photo to TeddyReads?
No. A photo is optional, and you can describe your child's appearance in words instead.
Is my child's photo used to train AI?
Not by us. Our privacy policy says we don't use a child's photo to train AI, ours or anyone else's, and we don't permit our providers to use it for their own purposes.
Does Lulu, your printer, see the photo?
No. Our print partner receives only the finished book files and the shipping address for that order.
Can other people see my child's book?
Your books aren't listed anywhere public, and we ask search engines not to index shared pages. But the illustrations and shared pages open without signing in for anyone who has the exact link, so share links only with people you trust.
