Privacy
How your data is handled when you visit this website and use Instante Photos.
1. Who is responsible
Christian Menzer, Niederhässlicher Straße 15, 01705 Freital, Germany, is responsible for this website, providing the software and support enquiries addressed to me. Contact: service@instante-photos.com.
If you run your own Instante Photo Server, you decide about users, sharing, storage and logs. The operator is responsible for their photo library; this website is not a central photo hosting service.
2. Visiting this website
Requests for pages, images and downloads involve technical connection data. This may include your IP address, request time and address, HTTP status, transferred data volume, browser/operating-system details and any referring page supplied by your browser. This data is used to deliver, troubleshoot and protect the site. The basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR; the legitimate interest is reliable and secure operation.
The website uses no web analytics, advertising, tracking pixels, embedded social-media services or externally loaded fonts. Images, styles and scripts are served by our web host. There is no user account or contact form on this information website. Language is selected through the page address, without a separate cookie or browser-storage entry.
We do not set analytics or marketing cookies. Technically necessary processing by the hosting provider’s security systems remains possible. Where access to your device is strictly necessary for an expressly requested feature, Section 25(2) of the German TDDDG applies.
3. Hosting and technical logs
The website is hosted by Namecheap, Inc., USA, in a US data centre. Namecheap processes connection and operational data as a hosting service provider. The contractual provisions include its Data Processing Addendum with EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Processing in the USA may be subject to government access rules that differ from those in the EU.
We do not create our own long-term visitor profiles. Technical logs are processed in the course of hosting operations and deleted according to the applicable operational retention rules. Where a specific security incident occurs, relevant entries may be needed for as long as investigating or addressing the incident or establishing legal claims requires. Further information is available in Namecheap’s privacy policy and hosting information.
4. Email and support
If you contact us, your email address, message and any information you voluntarily attach are processed to answer your enquiry. The contact address uses Namecheap email forwarding to the provider’s mailbox; the mail services involved process messages for transmission and storage.
Article 6(1)(b) GDPR applies to enquiries related to your requested use of the software; Article 6(1)(f) applies to general enquiries. Messages are kept only as long as needed for handling and necessary documentation, subject to statutory retention duties. Article 6(1)(c) applies to legal obligations. Please do not send credentials and attach only files required for your enquiry.
5. Downloads and updates
Downloading a file from this host involves the technical connection data described in section 2. The update feature of released app versions may request a version feed here and then download an update at your direction. Technical details such as app or system version may accompany these requests. The updater’s additional hardware/system-profile submission is disabled. An update check does not transmit your photo library.
6. Your own photo library
Originals, previews, metadata, user accounts, shares, ratings and comments are processed on your self-hosted server and configured storage. Normal library features do not upload this data to a developer-operated photo server. Authorised users and guests receive the content that the server operator chooses to share. The operator controls retention, backups, deletion and logging.
Optional people and pet recognition and visual duplicate comparison run locally. This creates assignments and comparison features. Automatic recognition can be wrong. The server operator decides whether and for which users to enable these features, respecting the rights of the people involved.
7. Optional software connections
Map: Opening the map view loads map tiles from OpenStreetMap. The map provider receives the IP address and requested map areas, which may indicate the locations of displayed photos. Photos themselves are not sent to OpenStreetMap for this purpose. Its privacy policy also applies.
ChatGPT server assistant: This optional feature requires sign-in with OpenAI. When used, your messages, conversation context and requested settings and diagnostic data are sent to OpenAI. Depending on the permissions given, this may include real IP addresses and internal user identifiers from logs. Passwords, session keys and original photos are excluded from these diagnostic tools. Conversations are also stored in the management app’s private area on your Mac. OpenAI’s privacy policy and the terms of your account govern its processing.
Public IP lookups: The assistant can look up a public IP address selected for diagnosis with its responsible RDAP registry. The address is sent to that regional registry. Private LAN addresses are not looked up externally.
Other services you configure: If you connect network storage, a mail server or a domain with automatic certificate renewal, the data required for those connections is processed with the respective providers. The operator of the self-hosted server configures these features; they are not required to visit this website.
8. Your rights
Subject to the legal conditions, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing and data portability. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests for reasons relating to your particular situation, and withdraw consent for the future. Please use the contact address above.
You may complain to a data protection supervisory authority, for example the Saxon Data Protection and Transparency Commissioner. For data on an Instante server operated by someone else, please also contact its operator.
9. External links
External links connect you to the respective website only when you open them. The provider’s own information then applies. This website does not automatically embed the linked services.
10. Optional Instante address service
If you reserve a server address under instante-photos.com, we process the chosen name, verified email address, public IP addresses, a cryptographic digest of the installation key, technical timestamps and operational status. This provides reservation, ownership confirmation, DNS updates and recovery. Article 6(1)(b) GDPR covers the requested service; abuse prevention and troubleshooting rely on Article 6(1)(f).
Management and confirmation emails use our Namecheap hosting. Names and IP addresses are published in Google Cloud DNS. Google receives DNS records and necessary technical management requests, not your photo library or the email address from your reservation. Google's data processing and international transfer terms also apply. DNS operates globally; EU-only processing is not guaranteed. Let's Encrypt certificate names appear in public certificate logs; private certificate keys stay on your Mac.
Unconfirmed reservations expire after 24 hours. Published address records are removed after seven days without updates. A confirmed name stays reserved until you request deletion and is not automatically reassigned. Disconnecting in the app removes DNS records. Contact service@instante-photos.com to delete remaining registration data. Up to 14 daily backup generations are retained. Short-term technical counters prevent abuse without creating advertising profiles. See the service terms.