Privacy Policy

ProPhoto STL · St. Louis, Missouri Last updated: [publication date]

This page explains what information we collect when you call us, message us on WhatsApp, email us or buy a print, and what we do with it. It applies to prophotostl.com, peterwochniak.com, our business phone line and our WhatsApp account.

Who we are

ProPhoto STL is a photography, video and fine-art print business in St. Louis, Missouri. Our fine-art prints are sold through our Etsy shop, FineArtPrintsPW. Questions about this policy: prophoto@prophotostl.com.

What we collect

Only what you give us, or what your call or message carries:

• your name, phone number and email address;
• order details, such as the artwork, size, Etsy order number and the city or ZIP code you ship to;
• project details for photo and video work, such as the date, location and what you need;
• what you say on a call or write in a message, and any photos or files you send us.

We never ask for card, bank, password or ID numbers by phone, WhatsApp or email. Please don't send them.

Phone calls

• Our phone line is answered by an AI receptionist that takes notes for our team. If you ask whether you're talking to a person, it will always tell you honestly that it's an AI assistant.
• Calls are recorded by our phone provider (Twilio) and recorded and transcribed by our voice-AI provider (xAI) so we get every detail right. Recordings are kept only if you're OK with it. Where the law requires it, we tell you early in the call.
• If you don't want to be recorded, just say so. We'll keep written notes only, and the recording won't be kept: we delete that call's recording right after the call.
• After each call, a summary and the transcript are emailed to our own internal inbox so we can follow up. They are not shared outside our business.
• We copy call recordings, transcripts and summaries to our own private cloud storage, and then delete them from our phone and AI providers (see “How long we keep it”). If you declined recording, we keep only written notes: no recording and no transcript.
• If you agree to it on the call, we may call you back with a quote or an update on your order, between 9 AM and 8 PM your local time. You can say no to callbacks at any time.

WhatsApp messages

• You can message us on WhatsApp. Messages are delivered through Twilio and WhatsApp (Meta), and they handle them under their own privacy policies.
• Our AI assistant replies to your messages and takes notes for our team. We keep the chat so we can follow up on your request, and a summary of it is emailed to our internal inbox.
• We only reply to messages you send us. We don't send marketing messages on WhatsApp.
• For safety, links from unknown websites and web code sent to us on WhatsApp are not opened or processed.

Emails we send

If you ask for it on a call, we email you a link to a print in our Etsy shop. We spell your address back to you first and send it only with your OK: one short email with just the link and a thank-you. We don't add you to any mailing list.

Buying prints on Etsy

All print orders and payments happen on Etsy. Etsy handles your payment, shipping address and order under Etsy's own privacy policy. We see the order details Etsy gives sellers, and we use them only to make, ship and support your order. Our print lab receives your shipping details only to produce and ship your print.

How we use your information

• to answer your questions, give quotes and follow up on your request;
• to make, ship and support your orders;
• to keep our phone line and WhatsApp free of spam and fraud. Our phone provider may check the caller's number against spam lists, and we keep a short log of blocked or suspicious numbers for 30 days.

We do not sell your information, and we don't share it for advertising.

Who processes it for us

• Twilio (phone and WhatsApp delivery) and WhatsApp / Meta (WhatsApp messages);
• xAI (the AI that answers calls and messages). xAI keeps its own copy of AI requests for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring and doesn't use them to train its models. Call recordings and transcripts in our xAI account are deleted within 30 days, after we've copied them to our own storage;
• Etsy (orders and payments) and our print lab (production and shipping);
• our email provider (call and chat summaries, and the link emails);
• Google (Google Drive: our private cloud storage for call and chat records; access is limited to our business);
• Cloudflare (website hosting services and Cloudflare Web Analytics, see “Our websites”).

How long we keep it

• Recordings of callers who declined recording: deleted after the call. We keep only written notes, with no recording and no transcript.
• Call recordings, transcripts, call summaries and WhatsApp chats: our phone, messaging and AI providers keep copies for up to 30 days. We then keep them in our own private cloud storage for 2 years, after which they're deleted, unless we need them longer for an open order, a dispute or the law. After we delete something, a provider may keep a backup copy for a short time under its own policy.
• Spam and block logs: 30 days.
• Etsy order records: kept by Etsy under its own policy.

Our websites

prophotostl.com and peterwochniak.com use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits. It doesn't use cookies, doesn't collect personal data, and only gives us overall statistics, such as how many people visited a page. We don't use advertising trackers.

Your choices

You can ask us what we have about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing prophoto@prophotostl.com. You can also ask us not to call you back, and you can decline recording on any call.

Children

Our services are not aimed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update this page and the date at the top.

Contact

ProPhoto STL · St. Louis, Missouri · prophoto@prophotostl.com