GatherEcho (gatherecho.com) operates this service. In these pages, “GatherEcho,” “we,” and “us” mean GatherEcho. You can reach us at support@gatherecho.com. A “host” is the person who creates and pays for an album; a “guest” is anyone who uses an album’s link or QR code.
This policy explains what we collect, why, who helps us run the service, how long we keep things, and the choices you have. We wrote it in plain English; if anything is unclear, email support@gatherecho.com.
1. What we collect
From hosts:
- Your email address.
- The album details you enter: names, event date, wording, cover photo, and settings.
- Your package and payment status, plus Stripe reference numbers. Stripe handles your card; we never see or store full card numbers.
From guests:
- The photos, videos, and voice messages you choose to upload, with basic file details (name, type, size, upload time).
- Your name, only if you choose to type it. Guests don’t need an account, email, or password.
- Your browser may keep your name and upload progress on your own device so an interrupted upload can resume.
From everyone: like any website, our hosting provider processes technical information such as IP address, browser type, and request logs to deliver pages and protect the service. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, a cookieless tool, to count page visits. We do not use advertising cookies or ad trackers. Host dashboards remember the private host key in your browser’s storage on your device.
2. How we use it
- To run the album: store uploads, show the gallery and slideshow according to the host’s settings, and let the host download everything.
- To send service emails: purchase confirmations, private dashboard links, access-recovery links, and reminders before guest uploads close.
- To answer support requests, prevent abuse, keep the service secure, and keep purchase records.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use album photos, videos, or voice messages for advertising.
3. Who can see album content
- The host can always see and download everything uploaded to their album.
- Guests with the album link can see the shared gallery only if the host allows it. Hosts choose “Visible to guests,” “Reveal later” (the gallery opens at a date and time they pick), or “Only the couple can view.”
- Voice messages (audio guestbook) are private to the host and never appear in the guest gallery.
- Hosts can hide any item from guests or delete it.
Anyone who has an album’s link or QR code can upload to it and, if the host allows, view its gallery, so hosts should share the link only with people they trust. We look at album content only when needed to run the service, to help when a host asks for support, or for safety and legal reasons.
4. Service providers
We use a small number of companies to run GatherEcho. They process information only as needed to provide their service to us:
- Cloudflare: website hosting, main file storage (Cloudflare R2), security, and cookieless analytics.
- Backblaze B2: a separate backup copy of uploaded files.
- Stripe: payment processing.
- Resend: sending service emails.
- Gooten: printing and shipping, only if printed cards are ordered. They would receive the name and shipping address for the order.
These providers may process data in the United States and other countries where they operate.
5. How long we keep things
- Guests can upload for 12 months after the event date. Hosts can choose an earlier or later close date in their dashboard.
- After uploads close, the host can still view and download the album. We do not currently delete albums automatically. If that changes, we will email the host at least 30 days before any album is removed.
- When a host deletes an item, it is removed from main storage right away. A backup copy may remain in our backup storage until it is purged. If you ask us to delete an entire album, we will delete it from main storage and backups within 30 days.
- We keep purchase records as long as needed for accounting, tax, and legal purposes, and keep technical logs only for a limited time.
6. Your choices
- Hosts can download, hide, or delete content from the dashboard, and can email us to delete their whole album or their personal information.
- Guests can ask the host to remove an upload, or email us with the album link and a description of the item, and we will help.
- You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing support@gatherecho.com. We may need to verify the request first.
7. Security
Host dashboards are protected by private links whose keys we store only in hashed form, all traffic uses HTTPS, and uploads are backed up to a separate provider. No online service can guarantee perfect security, so keep your dashboard link private and tell us right away if you think it was shared by mistake. You can get a new host link through access recovery.
8. Children
GatherEcho is for hosts who are adults. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Event photos can include children; hosts and guests should share them thoughtfully.
9. Changes
If we update this policy, we will post the new version here with a new effective date. If a change is significant, we will also email hosts with active albums.
10. Contact
Questions, requests, or concerns: support@gatherecho.com.