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Is it safe to upload a photo of your child? What to check

3/11/2026

A child's photo is personal data. What to check with any service, how to prepare the photo so it reveals little, and how to have it deleted.

Is it safe to upload a photo of your child? What to check
Quick answer

Uploading a photo of your child is safe when you know what the service will use it for, where it stores it, who it shares it with and how you can get it deleted. The privacy policy has to answer all of these questions, and if you can't find the answers there, don't upload the photo. You can lower the risk yourself by sending only a close crop of the face, with no location data and nothing that could help someone track your child down.

What to check in any service's privacy policy

  • What the photo is used for
    There should be one specific purpose, such as making the book you are ordering. Phrases like "to improve our services" or "for marketing purposes" mean the photo could end up somewhere else too.
  • Who it is shared with
    A service may hand the photo only to those it genuinely needs to fulfill your order, and the policy should say who they are. Check that the photo is never sold or passed on.
  • Where it is stored
    Storage in the European Union means European rules and European oversight apply to the data. If it is stored elsewhere, look for an explanation of how it is protected.
  • How long it is kept
    The retention period should have a reason. It makes sense for the photo to stay while you have an account and can still edit the book, and then disappear. A vague "for as long as necessary" with no explanation is a weak answer.
  • How you get it deleted
    There must be a simple way to have the photo deleted, ideally by email or in your account, with no questions asked. Under the GDPR this is your right, and a service cannot make it conditional on a purchase.
  • Whether it is used for anything else
    Ask directly whether your child's photo will be used for anything beyond your order, for example to develop the company's products or as a sample on its website. The answer should be a clear no, or a consent request you are free to decline.

How we handle it

We use the photo only to create the characters for the book you are ordering. We don't share it with anyone who doesn't need it to make the book, and we never use it for anything else, including advertising. Our files are stored in the European Union.

The photo stays stored while you have an account, because without it you couldn't edit the book or finish one you have started. An unfinished book without an account is deleted automatically after a while, photos included. If you'd like, we will delete the photo or your whole account sooner; just write to contact@heroofthebook.nz. We are required by law to keep purchase records, but they don't contain the photo.

We accept photos only from parents or other legal guardians, or with their consent. Exact time limits and details are in our privacy policy.

How to prepare the photo so it reveals as little as possible

  1. 1
    Choose a photo of just one child
    Leave out siblings, friends and adults. Every extra face is more personal data the service doesn't need.
  2. 2
    Crop it to the face
    Head and shoulders are enough. Remove the name tag on a T-shirt, the school or club logo, the house number in the background and anything else that shows where your child usually spends time.
  3. 3
    Remove the location
    Phone photos often carry the place where they were taken. Turn location off when sharing, or send a screenshot instead of the original, since a screenshot carries no location.
  4. 4
    Go for a sharp, front-facing photo
    Safety and quality go hand in hand. One good photo of the face in daylight is enough; there is no need to send a whole album.
  5. 5
    Consider deleting it when you're done
    Once you no longer plan to edit the book or order it again, you can ask for the photo to be deleted. You keep the finished book.

Photos of your child not to send anywhere

  • Bath-time and swimsuit photos
    Not even to a service you trust. A book, mug or calendar needs a face and nothing more, and a photo that never leaves your phone can never turn up anywhere.
  • Photos that show your address or school
    A street sign, a car with its license plate, a school sweatshirt with the name on it. Cropping to the face takes care of all of that.
  • Photos of other children without their parents' permission
    A friend from a birthday party in a group photo is someone else's personal data. If you want them in the book, ask their parents for a separate photo and their consent.
  • Photos your child might be embarrassed by one day
    Tears, accidents, hospital stays. What is cute today can be cringeworthy in ten years, and by then your child will decide for themselves.

What the photo becomes in the book

The book doesn't print the photo. It is used to create an illustrated hero in the style you choose, who carries your child through the whole story across 12 illustrated spreads. The original photo appears nowhere in the book, so even the printed copy your child takes to preschool shows nothing more than an illustration.

The digital book is usually in your account within 15 minutes, and who you show it to is up to you.

Your rights under the GDPR

Because we are based in the European Union, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) covers every photo uploaded to us, wherever you live, and it applies to any service based in the EU. You can ask what data the service holds about you and your child (Article 15), you can ask for it to be deleted (Article 17), and you can withdraw your consent to processing at any time, as easily as you gave it (Article 7). The service must reply to your request without undue delay, and within one month at the latest.

If a service doesn't reply or refuses deletion without good reason, you can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. Before you upload a photo to a service outside the EU, check its policy for what rights it gives you.

Ask an older child

A school-age child already has opinions about their own photos. Before you upload one, tell them what it will be used for and let them pick the picture they like themselves in. With a book in which they are the hero, that's usually easy, and your child will feel the book is truly theirs.

The same rules are useful elsewhere too, for instance when you put together a first-year photo book and send photos to a printer. How a book is made from a photo and what your child will see in it is covered in our article on the personalized book for children.

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FAQ

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Popular questions

We use it only to create the characters for your book and don't share it with anyone who doesn't need it to make the book. You can have it deleted at any time.

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