VK

POLICIES

Privacy

We collect only what it takes to fill your order or answer your message. No ads, no tracking cookies, and nothing is ever sold.

Last updated September 24, 2026

Who we are

This site is run by Vitaliy Kotyakov (VK Photos), South Carolina, USA. Questions about your information go to the same place as everything else: our contact form.

What we collect, and why

  • When you order: your name, email address, optional phone number and note, and, for prints, your shipping address, along with what you ordered. We use these to confirm your order, arrange payment, deliver your downloads, ship your prints and answer questions about your order.
  • When you send a message: your name, email address, your message, and any order code or photo you mention, so we can reply and act on it.
  • To prevent abuse: the forms on this site limit how often they can be used, which means briefly recording your connection's IP address. Those records are deleted automatically after 24 hours.

We do not have customer accounts, and we never sell, rent or share your information for marketing.

What stays in your browser

Your bag and favorites are saved in your own browser's storage so they are still there when you come back. They are not sent to us until you place an order. There are no advertising or analytics cookies, and no tracking pixels or advertising trackers on this site. Cloudflare Web Analytics counts page visits and load times in aggregate, without cookies and without identifying you. The only cookie we set is a sign-in cookie for the photographer's own studio page.

Who helps run the site

  • Cloudflare hosts the site, stores its data (order records, messages and the original photo files) and sends the site's emails. Like any web host, it processes technical information such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the site.
  • Stripe processes card payments when you pay by card. You enter your card details on Stripe's own payment page; we never see or store your card number.
  • Payment apps. If you pay by Zelle, Venmo, Cash App or PayPal, that service handles the payment under its own privacy policy.
  • USPS receives your name and shipping address when your prints are mailed.

How long we keep it

Order records are kept as long as needed to support your purchase, including re-downloads and reprints, and for tax and accounting records. Messages are kept until they are no longer needed.

Your choices

You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Send us a message from the email address you used. We will delete everything we are not required to keep for tax or accounting purposes.

Children and school events

Many galleries show students at school events. Orders are meant to be placed by adults, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Parents and guardians can ask for any photo of their child to be removed, and those requests are honored promptly.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new date at the top.