Legal

Imprint, privacy policy and refund policy.

Impressum

Angaben gemäß § 5 TMG.

Anbieter

Niclas Feier

Gotenweg 4

38106 Braunschweig

Deutschland

Kontakt

E-Mail: niclas@seiten-schmiede.de

Umsatzsteuer

Kleinunternehmer gemäß § 19 UStG. Es wird keine Umsatzsteuer ausgewiesen.

Verantwortlich für den Inhalt nach § 18 Abs. 2 MStV

Niclas Feier (Anschrift wie oben).

EU-Streitschlichtung

Die Europäische Kommission stellt eine Plattform zur Online-Streitbeilegung (OS) bereit: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

Wir sind nicht bereit oder verpflichtet, an Streitbeilegungsverfahren vor einer Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle teilzunehmen.

Haftung für Inhalte

Als Diensteanbieter sind wir gemäß § 7 Abs. 1 TMG für eigene Inhalte auf diesen Seiten nach den allgemeinen Gesetzen verantwortlich. Nach §§ 8 bis 10 TMG sind wir als Diensteanbieter jedoch nicht verpflichtet, übermittelte oder gespeicherte fremde Informationen zu überwachen oder nach Umständen zu forschen, die auf eine rechtswidrige Tätigkeit hinweisen.

Verpflichtungen zur Entfernung oder Sperrung der Nutzung von Informationen nach den allgemeinen Gesetzen bleiben hiervon unberührt. Eine diesbezügliche Haftung ist jedoch erst ab dem Zeitpunkt der Kenntnis einer konkreten Rechtsverletzung möglich. Bei Bekanntwerden entsprechender Rechtsverletzungen werden wir diese Inhalte umgehend entfernen.

Haftung für Links

Unser Angebot enthält Links zu externen Webseiten Dritter, auf deren Inhalte wir keinen Einfluss haben. Deshalb können wir für diese fremden Inhalte auch keine Gewähr übernehmen. Für die Inhalte der verlinkten Seiten ist stets der jeweilige Anbieter oder Betreiber verantwortlich. Bei Bekanntwerden von Rechtsverletzungen werden wir derartige Links umgehend entfernen.

Urheberrecht

Die durch den Seitenbetreiber erstellten Inhalte und Werke unterliegen dem deutschen Urheberrecht. Beiträge Dritter sind als solche gekennzeichnet. Die Vervielfältigung, Bearbeitung, Verbreitung und jede Art der Verwertung außerhalb der Grenzen des Urheberrechtes bedürfen der schriftlichen Zustimmung des jeweiligen Autors bzw. Erstellers.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-03

This privacy policy explains how PhotoChallenge ("we", "us", "the service") collects, uses, and protects personal data. The controller in the sense of Art. 4(7) GDPR is:

Niclas Feier, Gotenweg 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. Contact: niclas@seiten-schmiede.de.

We are an EU-based controller and apply the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR / DSGVO) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

What we collect and why

Account data

When you register, we store your email address, a hashed password, your name (optional), and your selected plan. Legal basis: performance of the contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Challenge data

For each challenge you create, we store the event name, prompts, design choices, and the upload link. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Uploaded photos

Photos uploaded by you and your guests are stored on our object storage. Each photo is associated with a challenge and a prompt. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR for the challenge owner; Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in providing the service the inviter uses) for guests.

Payment data

Payments are processed by our payment provider (see "Processors" below). They act as Merchant of Record, meaning they collect billing data, charge your card, handle invoices and tax. We receive only a limited set of metadata (order ID, plan, country, status) needed to unlock the right plan on your account. We do not see or store your card number.

Server logs

Our hosting provider records standard server logs (IP address, timestamp, request path, user agent, status code) for up to 14 days for security and debugging. Legal basis: legitimate interest in operating a secure service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Analytics (only after consent)

We use PostHog to understand how the service is used (page views, clicks, signup funnel). PostHog is loaded only after you give consent through our cookie banner. If you decline or close the banner, no analytics scripts are loaded and no events are sent. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, § 25(1) TTDSG). You can revoke consent at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site.

PostHog is configured in EU mode (eu.i.posthog.com) so events stay in the EU.

Processors

We use the following processors (Auftragsverarbeiter under Art. 28 GDPR):

  • Hetzner Online GmbH, Gunzenhausen, Germany — server hosting (EU).
  • Cloudflare, Inc. — object storage via Cloudflare R2 in the EU region for uploaded photos. Cloudflare offers EU Standard Contractual Clauses; transfers outside the EU may occur for support purposes and are covered by SCCs.
  • PostHog, Inc. — product analytics, EU instance. Loaded only with your consent.
  • Paddle.com Market Limited or Lemon Squeezy (Lemon Squeezy, LLC) — depending on which provider is active at checkout. They are the Merchant of Record and have their own privacy policy covering payment data.

If you want a copy of the data processing agreements with our processors, contact us.

Photo retention

Uploaded photos are retained for at least six (6) months after the event so guests can return and download them. After that period, the challenge owner may keep the gallery active or request deletion. You can request deletion of any individual photo or your entire challenge at any time by emailing us.

Account deletion

You can request deletion of your account and all associated data (challenges, photos, uploads) at any time by emailing niclas@seiten-schmiede.de. We will delete the data within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain certain records (e.g. invoices for tax purposes — typically 10 years under German law).

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

  • access the personal data we hold about you (Art. 15);
  • have inaccurate data corrected (Art. 16);
  • have your data erased (Art. 17), subject to legal retention duties;
  • restrict processing (Art. 18);
  • receive your data in a portable format (Art. 20);
  • object to processing based on legitimate interest (Art. 21);
  • withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing (Art. 7(3));
  • lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The competent authority for us is Die Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz Niedersachsen.

To exercise any of these rights, email niclas@seiten-schmiede.de. We will respond within one month.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use:

  • A session cookie (pb_auth) to keep you logged in. Strictly necessary, no consent required (§ 25(2) TTDSG).
  • Local storage entries to remember your cookie banner choice and your language preference. Strictly necessary.
  • PostHog cookies, only after you give consent.

International transfers

Personal data is processed primarily in the EU. Where a processor involves a transfer outside the EU (e.g. Cloudflare or PostHog support operations), the transfer is covered by EU Standard Contractual Clauses under Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR.

Children

The service is not directed at children under 16. Do not use it if you are under 16.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our processing changes. Material changes will be announced on this page with a new "last updated" date.

Refund Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-03

Merchant of Record

Purchases on PhotoChallenge are processed and sold by Paddle.com Market Limited (Judd House, 18-29 Mora Street, London EC1V 8BT, United Kingdom) as the Merchant of Record. Paddle handles payment, invoicing, sales tax, chargebacks, and refunds on our behalf.

Their terms apply to the transaction in addition to ours: https://www.paddle.com/legal/checkout-buyer-terms.

Right of withdrawal — and your waiver

EU consumers normally have a 14-day right of withdrawal under § 312g BGB / Art. 9 of EU Directive 2011/83/EU when buying digital services online.

Because PhotoChallenge gives you immediate access to a paid plan as soon as your payment is confirmed, the law allows the right of withdrawal to expire early if you give your express consent and acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal. By completing checkout you confirm that:

  1. You expressly request that performance of the service begins immediately upon payment.
  2. You acknowledge that, by requesting immediate performance, you lose your statutory right of withdrawal once the service has begun (§ 356 Abs. 4 BGB).

This waiver is collected at the checkout page operated by Paddle.

Our voluntary refund window

Even though the legal right of withdrawal is waived, we offer a 14-day goodwill refund from the date of purchase if you have not made substantial use of the paid features (e.g. you have not generated the printable cards, exported the gallery, or sent the upload link to guests). To request a refund:

  • Email niclas@seiten-schmiede.de from the email address on the order, including your Paddle order ID.
  • We will review the request and, if it qualifies, instruct Paddle to issue a refund within 5 business days.

We may decline a goodwill refund if the paid features have been substantially used or the request is made in bad faith.

Refunds in case of service failure

If the service materially fails to work as described and we are unable to fix it within a reasonable time, you are entitled to a full refund under German consumer law (§§ 327i ff. BGB), regardless of the goodwill window above.

Chargebacks

Please contact us before initiating a chargeback. Most issues can be resolved by email faster than a card dispute. Unjustified chargebacks may result in your account being suspended.

Contact

Niclas Feier, Gotenweg 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. niclas@seiten-schmiede.de