Privacy Policy

Last updated: 16 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Smiles & Tears Studio collects, uses, shares and protects personal data in connection with its website, Google Forms, email, social media, payments, project briefs and creative services. It applies to clients, prospective clients, business contacts and people whose information is included in project materials.

1. Data Controller

2. Personal data we collect

Depending on the interaction or project, we may collect:

• Contact and identity information, such as name, email address, telephone number, country, company and role.
• Order and billing information, such as the selected service, price, currency, invoice details, payment status and transaction references. Card details are processed by the payment provider and are not stored by the Studio.
• Project brief information, such as names, relationships, dates, memories, stories, pronunciations, preferred language, genre, mood and creative instructions.
• Client materials, such as photographs, videos, voice notes, logos, messages and other files submitted for a personalized song or video.
• Communications, approvals, revision requests, support messages and records of consent, including portfolio permission.
• Technical and website data, such as IP address, browser, device information, cookie choices and usage information where applicable.

3. How we receive data

We receive data directly from clients through the website, Google Forms, email, invoices, messages and file-sharing services. A client may also provide information about another person who is the subject or recipient of a project. In that case, the client is responsible for ensuring that the information is provided lawfully and that required permissions have been obtained.

4. Why we use personal data

We use personal data to:

• respond to enquiries and prepare quotations;
• create, revise, approve and deliver personalized songs and videos;
• manage orders, payments, invoices and accounting records;
• communicate about deadlines, materials, approvals and support;
• protect the Studio’s rights, prevent misuse and resolve complaints;
• comply with legal, tax and regulatory obligations;
• display a project in the portfolio only where separate permission has been granted; and
• operate and improve the website where permitted.

5. Legal bases under GDPR

Where the GDPR applies, processing is based on one or more of the following:

• performance of a contract or steps requested before entering into a contract;
• compliance with legal obligations, including tax and accounting duties;
• legitimate interests in operating the Studio, securing services, keeping appropriate records and handling disputes, balanced against individual rights; and
• consent, including optional portfolio publication and non-essential cookies where required.

Where processing relies on consent, consent may be withdrawn at any time for future processing.

6. Sensitive data and information about other people

Clients should not submit sensitive personal data unless it is genuinely necessary for the project. Before providing stories, images or other information about another person, the client should consider that person’s privacy and obtain any permission required by law. We may ask for material to be removed or replaced where it appears excessive, unlawful or inappropriate.

7. Service providers and recipients

We use the following providers where relevant to your interaction or project. Not every provider receives every project or every type of data.

• Website enquiries: FormSubmit forwards your name, phone number, preferred contact method and contact details to the Studio by email, together with your IP address, approximate country, page address, selected website language and a language-based enquiry source label. We use this information to respond to and understand the context of enquiries. When you submit the form, IPWHOIS (ipwho.is) receives your network IP address to determine the approximate country; we do not send it your form contents. This lookup does not use GPS and may reflect a VPN or proxy location. If the lookup is unavailable, the enquiry is sent without IP and country information.
• Website and media delivery: Netlify hosts the website; bunny.net delivers audio, images and video. These providers can receive IP addresses, browser information and requested URLs when content is requested, including before optional analytics or marketing consent.
• Communication and administration: Google services may be used for briefs and file sharing; WhatsApp, Instagram (Meta) or Telegram are used if you choose those contact channels. Stripe may process payment and billing details when used for your order.
• Creative production: OpenAI (ChatGPT), Anthropic (Claude), Suno, and Higgsfield may be used for text, music, image or video work. Depending on the task, submitted stories, prompts, lyrics, photographs, video or voice material may be processed by the selected service.
• Optional measurement: Google Analytics and Meta Pixel process technical and interaction data only after the relevant cookie choice permits them, as described below.

FormSubmit · Netlify · bunny.net · Google · OpenAI · Anthropic · Suno · Higgsfield · Stripe · Meta · Telegram

We do not sell personal data. Necessary information may also be shared with professional advisers or authorities for legal and accounting obligations or the handling of claims. Provider terms and settings can differ between consumer, business and API products; their retention and model-training practices are not assumed to be identical.

8. International data transfers

Providers may process data outside the European Economic Area, including in the United States. Where GDPR transfer rules apply, the specific transfer must be covered by a valid mechanism, such as an applicable adequacy decision or Standard Contractual Clauses with any necessary supplementary measures. The mechanism depends on the provider and product actually used; this policy does not certify every AI tool as compliant. Contact studio@smilesntears.com for the recipients, destinations and applicable safeguards for your project and how to obtain a copy of those safeguards.

9. Portfolio permission

Private stories, submitted materials and completed projects are not published in the Studio’s portfolio without separate permission. Portfolio permission is optional and is not required to purchase a service. It may be withdrawn for future use by contacting studio@smilesntears.com, without affecting processing or publication already lawfully carried out before withdrawal.

10. Data retention

Enquiries that do not result in an order are deleted within six months of the last contact. Source materials and working project files are deleted within twelve months after completion of the order. Please keep your own copy of the delivered files; we do not provide indefinite archival storage.

These periods apply to copies under our control, including our computer and cloud workspaces. Invoices and necessary accounting records are kept for the legally required period. Records needed for an actual dispute or legal obligation may be retained for that purpose until it ends or the applicable retention period expires. Materials separately authorised for portfolio or advertising use are retained while that permission and use continue, or until consent is withdrawn. You may contact us to request earlier deletion; we will explain any legal reason that prevents it. External providers may retain data under their own applicable terms and legal obligations; deleting our copy does not automatically delete theirs.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse or disclosure. No online transmission or storage method can be guaranteed completely secure.

12. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, individuals may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or objection to processing, and may withdraw consent. Some rights may be limited where data must be retained for legal obligations, the establishment or defense of claims, or other lawful reasons.

Requests may be sent to studio@smilesntears.com. We may need to verify identity before completing a request.

13. Complaints

Individuals may lodge a complaint with the Portuguese supervisory authority, Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD), or another competent data protection authority in the European Union.

14. Children

The services are ordered by adults. If a project includes information, images or recordings of a minor, the client must have the authority and permissions required to provide those materials. The Studio may request confirmation or refuse materials where permission is unclear.

15. Cookies

With your consent, we use Meta Pixel to measure visits, successful enquiries and WhatsApp clicks and to help measure and improve Facebook and Instagram advertising. Meta receives technical information, page URLs and event details and may associate this activity with a Meta account. Our configured events do not include the names, contact details or message content entered in the enquiry form. You can accept or withdraw marketing consent at any time in Cookie Settings. See Meta’s Privacy Policy for details of Meta’s processing.

With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 to measure page visits, traffic sources (including UTM campaign tags), successful enquiries and WhatsApp clicks. Google receives browser, device and interaction data. Analytics may store _ga cookies. We do not send the names, contact details or message content entered in the enquiry form to Google Analytics. You can enable or reject analytics separately from marketing cookies in Cookie Settings. Rejecting analytics stops future collection by our Google tag and removes its accessible cookies; it does not delete data already sent.

Information about cookies and available choices is provided in the Cookie Settings.

16. Policy updates

We may update this Policy when services, providers or legal requirements change. The current version and update date will be published on this page.

17. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact studio@smilesntears.com.

On your first visit, we use IPWHOIS (ipwho.is) to estimate your country from your IP address and suggest a website language. The provider receives your IP address, but not your form contents. Country detection is approximate and may reflect a VPN. We temporarily cache the country in this browser session; your manual language choice takes priority. If detection is unavailable, we use your browser language. The site follows your device’s light or dark appearance until you choose a theme manually.