Privacy policy

Last updated 18 October 2026

1. Who we are

Build A Book (buildabook.online) is run by Jon Dowson, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom, trading as Build A Book. We are the "controller" of your personal data, which means we decide how it's used and are responsible for looking after it under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

You can contact us about anything in this policy at hello@buildabook.online, or by post at Unit 1, Plot 28, George Thomas Avenue, Bridgend, CF32 9SQ, United Kingdom.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data protection fee payer. Our registration number is ZC262995.

2. What we collect

About your child (from you)

• Their first name, age, and whether the story should say "he" or "she".
• Their big dream, and optionally a pet and its name, who reads with them at home, and a dedication message and who it's from.
• How they look in the drawings: skin tone, hair colour, hairstyle, eye colour, top colour, and whether they wear glasses, hearing aids or headwear (such as a hijab or patka), and have freckles. You choose these, and we use them only to draw the pictures and to make sure the story doesn't contradict them.
• Optionally, a photo, used to suggest those look settings and, if you agree, to put your child into the illustrations (see section 4).

We don't ask for your child's surname, date of birth, school or address, and please don't include them in the dream or dedication.

If you make a comic

• For each person in the comic (up to four, children or adults): their first name, whether they're a child or a grown-up, boy or girl (or man or woman), a child's age, who they are to the main person (for example "brother" or "Grandad"), and a photo of them.
• The adventure you choose and any idea you type for the story, who the comic is from and your message.
• Your email address, so we can send you a link to your free preview, and whether you'd rather not get reminders.

Please only add people who are happy for you to share their photo and first name with us. For any child, you must be their parent or guardian, or have their parent or guardian's permission.

About you

• Your name and email address (you type your email on our order form before paying), and for paperback and hardback orders your delivery address.
• Your order: what you bought, when, how much you paid, any discount code, and the story we wrote for you (and the earlier version, if you used your free rewrite).
• If you send a gift or buy a gift voucher: who it's from, the recipient's name and email address (if you give it), the date to send it, and your message. We use these only to send the gift, and we don't send the recipient any other emails.
• Whether you'd rather not receive offer emails.
• Messages you send us.
• If you leave a review on our website: your star rating, your comments, the name you give, and whether you're happy for us to show it on our website.
• Our review emails link to Google, where you can review us if you have a Google account. A review you leave there is public, shows your Google name and profile picture, and is held by Google under Google's privacy policy. You can edit or delete it from your Google account at any time.

We never see or store your card details. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe.

Collected automatically

• Basic technical information that our website host logs when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested. We use it to keep the site working and secure.
• If you upload photos, a count of uploads per IP address for one hour, so the photo tool can't be misused.
• If you make comic previews, a count of previews per IP address (for one day) and per email address (for 7 days, kept in a scrambled form that can't be turned back into your address), so free previews can't be misused.

If you accept cookies, Google Analytics records how our website is used (pages visited, roughly where from, device type, and whether an order is started or completed), and the Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel record which pages you visit on our website and whether you start or complete an order (see section 8). Nothing is set until you say yes.

3. How we use it, and our lawful basis

4. Our use of AI and photos

Stories are written with the help of an AI model provided by Anthropic. To write the story, we send it your child's first name, age, pronouns, dream, pet and who reads with them. We don't send your name, email or address.

If you upload a photo, your device shrinks it and sends it to us, and we pass it to Anthropic's AI once to pick the nearest skin tone, hair colour, hairstyle, eye colour, glasses, freckles and hearing aids from our drawing options. It isn't used to guess anything else, such as headwear, which only you choose. We don't save the photo anywhere (unless you choose digital illustrations, below). Only the chosen look settings are kept, and you can change them before you order. Anthropic processes the photo and story details on our behalf. Under its commercial terms, it does not use them to train its models and keeps them only for a short time under its own retention rules.

The drawings in your book are illustrations made from our own artwork using the look settings. They are not made from, and don't contain, your photo, unless you choose digital illustrations (below).

Digital illustrations. Every book includes digital illustrations, where your child appears in every picture. Adding a photo is optional: without one, we make your child's character from the look settings you choose. If you add a photo and tick the box, you confirm you're the child's parent or guardian and agree to its use. We then keep the photo securely until we've made your child's character (usually within minutes of you paying), and then delete it; any photo not used is deleted within 2 days. To make the character and the pictures, we send the photo (if you added one) and your child's look settings, age and story scenes to Google's Gemini image service, on its paid service, under which Google doesn't use them to improve its products. Anthropic's AI checks each picture (that it looks like your child and has nothing unsuitable in it). We keep the character drawing and the finished pictures with your order, for the same time as the book, so we can reprint it if something goes wrong. For paperbacks and hardbacks, you'll see every picture before anything is printed. For the photo, the lawful basis is your consent, which you can withdraw before printing by emailing us; for the look settings and story it's to provide the book you ordered.

Comics. To make a free comic preview, your device shrinks each photo and sends it to us. We send each photo once to Google's Gemini image service (on its paid service, under which Google doesn't use it to improve its products) to draw that person as a cartoon character, and then delete the photo straight away. Any photo not used is deleted within 2 days. We then use the character drawings to draw the cover and, if you order, every picture in the comic. To write the story, we send Anthropic's AI each person's first name, child or grown-up, boy or girl, a child's age, who they are to the main person, and the adventure and idea you chose. We don't send your email address. Anthropic's AI also checks each picture, comparing it with the character drawings. If you don't order, we delete the preview, the character drawings and your email address after 7 days. If you order, they're kept with your comic for the same time as a book (see section 7).

"Something not right?" messages. If you send us a message from your book or comic page, we keep it with your order (for the same time as the order) and use it to put things right. To help us work out what went wrong, we send the message, the page it's about and that page's words and pictures to Anthropic's AI, which suggests a fix. A person at Build A Book checks every suggestion before anything is changed. We don't send your name, email or address. We may email you about your message.

5. Children's data

Our books are bought by adults for children. You must be 18 or over to order, and if the child isn't yours, you should have their parent or guardian's permission to share their first name and details with us. We use the child's details only to make their book, and keep as little as we need.

Comics can include grown-ups too. If you add another adult, please make sure they're happy for you to share their photo and first name with us.

6. Who we share it with

We don't sell or rent your data. We share it only with the companies that help us run Build A Book, and only what they need:

We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect our rights or someone's safety.

Transfers outside the UK

Some of these companies, including Anthropic, Google, Meta, Netlify, Resend, Stripe and TikTok, process data in the United States or the European Economic Area. Where data leaves the UK, it's protected by UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US Data Bridge) or by the UK's approved contract terms (the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum).

7. How long we keep it

• Photos: a photo used only to suggest the look isn't saved at all. A photo you agree to use for the illustrations is deleted as soon as your child's character has been made, and always within 2 days. The character drawing and pictures are kept with your book (see section 4).
• Comic previews: each photo is deleted as soon as that person's character has been drawn, and always within 2 days. If you don't order, the preview (with the story, cover, character drawings and your email address) is deleted after 7 days. The scrambled count of previews per email address is deleted 7 days after your last preview.
• Your child's details, your story and the book files: kept for 2 years after your order, so you can go back to your book page and download it again, then deleted. You can ask us to delete them sooner.
• Gift vouchers: kept for 2 years after they were bought, then deleted (except the sales record below). Unpaid ones are deleted within 30 days.
• Unpaid orders (checkout started but not paid): deleted within 30 days.
• Sales records (your name, what you bought, the price and date): kept for 6 years after the end of the tax year, as HMRC requires.
• If you unsubscribe: we keep a scrambled (hashed) copy of your email address, so we know not to email you offers again.
• Emails you send us: kept for up to 2 years after we've finished helping you.
• Reviews left on our website: kept until you ask us to delete them. After 2 years we remove the book's title (which includes your child's name) from them. Reviews left on Google are held by Google, not by us.

8. Cookies and storage on your device

We don't use analytics cookies. We use two optional advertising tools, and only if you say yes:

• Meta Pixel (optional): if you press Accept on our cookie banner, Meta's Pixel is loaded. It sets cookies (such as _fbp) so Meta can tell us which Facebook and Instagram adverts led to visits and orders, and help show our adverts to people likely to be interested. If you press No thanks, or ignore the banner, it isn't loaded. You can change your choice at any time with the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page. See Meta's privacy policy.
• Google Analytics (optional): loaded only if you press Accept. It sets cookies (such as _ga) so we can see how many people visit, which pages they use and how many go on to order. We don't use it to show adverts. See Google's privacy policy.
• TikTok Pixel (optional): loaded only if you press Accept, at the same time as Meta's. It sets cookies (such as _ttp) so TikTok can tell us which TikTok adverts led to visits and orders. See TikTok's privacy policy.
• We remember your cookie choice on your device (in your browser's local storage), so we don't ask you on every page.
• Our order form doesn't remember your answers between visits: they're cleared every time the page loads. The only exception is if you go to Stripe's payment page and come straight back in the same browser tab. Then your answers are kept just for that tab, so you don't have to type them again, and deleted as soon as the page has used them.
• When you pay, Stripe's checkout page sets its own cookies, which it needs to take payments safely and prevent fraud. See Stripe's privacy policy.

9. Keeping it safe

Our website uses encrypted connections (HTTPS). Your book page and download links contain a secret code, so only people with your link can open them. Please don't share those links with anyone you wouldn't want to see the book. Only the owner of Build A Book can access order records, protected by a password. No system is perfectly secure, but if something did go wrong we'd act quickly and tell you and the ICO where the law requires it.

10. Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access: ask for a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Correction: ask us to fix anything that's wrong.
• Deletion: ask us to delete your data, unless we must keep it (for example sales records for tax).
• Restriction: ask us to pause using it while a concern is sorted out.
• Objection: object to our use of it based on legitimate interests, including offer emails, which we'll always stop.
• Portability: ask for your data in a common electronic format.
• Withdraw consent: for anything based on consent, at any time.

Email hello@buildabook.online from the address you ordered with. We'll reply within one month, and it's free. We may ask for your order reference to check it's you.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

11. Changes to this policy

We'll update this page if the way we use data changes, and change the date at the top. If a change affects you significantly, we'll tell you by email.