Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Framemates ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and what rights you have over it.

This policy applies to all users of the Framemates website and platform. By using the Platform, you consent to the practices described in this policy. Please also review our Terms & Conditions and Cookie Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Account registration: Name, email address, password, and optionally a profile photo.
• Professional profile: Specialty (photography, videography, content creation), primary gear, state/location, desired rate, bio, and portfolio images.
• Job postings: Event type, date, location, requirements, and budget.
• Messages: The content of messages you send to other users through the Platform's messaging feature.
• Reviews and ratings: The star rating and written review you leave about another member, published publicly under your name.
• Availability and experience: The days you are available for work and the years of experience you state on your profile.
• Security questions: Answers you provide at sign-up for account recovery.
• Support communications: Information you provide when contacting our support team.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, search queries, clicks, and session duration.
• Device information: Browser type, operating system, device type, screen resolution, and IP address.
• Log data: Server logs including timestamps, referring URLs, and error reports.
• Cookies and similar technologies: As described in our Cookie Policy.

2.3 Information from third parties

If you upgrade to a paid plan, our payment processor Stripe may share transaction confirmation data with us (such as customer ID and subscription status) so we can activate your plan. We do not receive or store your full card details — all payment data is handled directly by Stripe.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account and profile.
• Display your profile in our directory so other users can find you.
• Enable messaging between users.
• Process and display job postings.
• Send transactional emails (account confirmation, password reset, job alerts).
• Improve and personalize the Platform experience.
• Analyze usage trends and monitor Platform performance.
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms.
• Respond to your support requests.
• Comply with legal obligations.
• Send marketing communications (you can opt out at any time).

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 With other users

Profile information you add to the Platform — including your name, photo, specialty, gear, state, rate, and portfolio — is visible to other registered users. Job postings are visible to Professionals on the Platform. Messages are visible only to the sender and recipient.

4.2 With service providers

We may share your information with trusted third-party vendors who help us operate the Platform. These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only as necessary to provide services to us. The main ones are:

• Supabase — database, authentication, and file storage. Your account details, profile, messages, reviews, and uploaded photos and videos are stored on Supabase infrastructure.
• Netlify — website hosting and content delivery.
• Stripe — handles subscription billing and card processing. Stripe receives the information needed to take your payment; we never receive or store your full card details.
• Our email delivery provider — sends transactional email such as account, message, and job notifications.

This list may change as we add or replace providers. We will keep this section current as it does.

4.3 For legal reasons

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Framemates, our users, or the public.

4.4 Business transfers

If Framemates is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

4.5 What we do not share

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes. We do not share your private messages with other users or third parties except as required by law.

5. Public Profile Information

When you create a Professional profile on Framemates, you are voluntarily making certain information public within the Platform. This includes your display name, profile photo, specialty, gear, location (state level), rate, availability, and portfolio images.

You should only include information in your public profile that you are comfortable sharing with other Platform users. You can update or remove your profile information at any time through your account settings.

Framemates is not responsible for how other users may use, copy, or share information from your public profile.

5.1 Reviews you write are public and attributed

When you review another member, your review is published under your name and is visible to anyone who views that member's profile — including visitors who are not signed in. Reviews you write about others therefore become part of their public profile, not yours, and are not removed automatically if you later delete your own account. You can edit or delete a review you wrote at any time while your account is active.

5.2 Your rating is public

The average rating and review count calculated from reviews other members leave about you are displayed publicly on your directory card and profile.

5.3 Direct messages

Messages you send through the Platform are stored on our systems so we can deliver and display them. They are visible to you and the recipient. They are not end-to-end encrypted. We may access message content where reasonably necessary to investigate a suspected violation of our Terms, respond to a lawful request, or protect the safety of our users. Please do not send passwords, payment card numbers, or government identification numbers through Platform messaging.

5.4 Push notifications

If you allow browser notifications, we store a push subscription token issued by your browser so we can notify you about new messages and job opportunities. This token identifies your browser, not you personally, and you can revoke it at any time in your browser or device settings.

6. Third-Party Services and Links

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or integrate third-party services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites or services, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Platform's services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 90 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal, regulatory, or legitimate business purposes (such as resolving disputes or enforcing our agreements).

Anonymized or aggregated data that cannot identify you may be retained indefinitely for analytical purposes.

8. Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), hashed password storage, and access controls.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
• Portability: Request that we provide your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: Object to certain uses of your information, including direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@framemates.pro. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (generally 30 days).

10. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that a person under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe a minor has registered, please contact us at support@framemates.pro.

11. California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

• The right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell.
• The right to delete personal information we have collected from you.
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (we do not sell personal information).
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.
• The right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• The right to limit use of sensitive personal information.

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at support@framemates.pro or use the "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" link in our website footer (if applicable).

12. Cookies

Framemates does not set advertising or analytics cookies, and we do not run third-party trackers. We store a small amount of data in your browser's local storage to keep you signed in and remember preferences such as your theme and saved creators. For the full list, see our Cookie Policy.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you by email or in-platform notice where appropriate. Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us at: