Privacy Promise: How We Handle and Delete Your Photos

Client imagery is secured via AES-256 Encryption immediately upon upload and transferred to an Air-Gapped (Offline) server in our Sydney lab for Nano-Lithography processing. Source files are strictly isolated from public cloud storage and undergo a Hard Deletion Protocol exactly 30 days after dispatch, balancing absolute privacy with a short window for warranty-related optical adjustments. 

The "Digital Trust" of Custom Jewellery

In my role as a designer, I am often the first person to see the photos you send us. I have seen newborn babies, late grandmothers, secret handwritten notes, and intimate moments between lovers.

I view this not just as a file transfer, but as a sacred transaction of trust. You are sending a piece of your heart through the internet to a stranger in Sydney, hoping it will be treated with reverence.

In an age of data leaks and AI scraping, I want to speak to you not as a brand, but as a technician who values privacy as much as precision. When you commission a PhilU piece, you are not feeding a dataset; you are working with a closed-loop studio. Here is the exact technical journey your photo takes, and the promise of its destruction.

1. Visual How-To Guide: The Lifecycle of Your Image

We do not use automated cloud farms. Your photo travels a specific, guarded path.

Step 1: The Encrypted Handshake (Upload)

When you upload your image to our site, it is immediately wrapped in SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption.

• Action: Look for the padlock icon in your browser. This means the tunnel between your phone and our server is opaque to hackers.

Step 2: The "Air-Gap" Transfer (Processing)

Once the order reaches our Sydney HQ, the file is downloaded to a local drive.

• The Protocol: We transfer the file to our Nano-Lithography Workstation. This computer is "Air-Gapped," meaning it is physically disconnected from the internet. It cannot be hacked remotely because it is not online.

Step 3: The Human Audit (Cropping)

I or my lead technician will open the file in Adobe Photoshop to adjust the contrast and crop for the 3mm circular lens.

• The Constraint: This is done by a human, not an AI. We see the image to ensure the faces are centred, but we do not "save" it to a cloud gallery. It lives only in the volatile memory (RAM) of the design machine.

Step 4: The Digital Incinerator (Deletion)

Once the laser has etched the image into the 5A Cubic Zirconia, the file moves to a "Holding Folder."

• The Timer: It stays here for 30 days (in case your package is lost and we need to remake it).
• The End: On Day 31, a script runs a "Secure Erase," which overwrites the data sectors with zeros. The image is gone forever.

2. Comparison Matrix: PhilU vs. "The Cloud"

Most cheap custom jewellery sites use third-party print-on-demand services (often overseas). Here is the difference in data handling.

Protocol Feature	PhilU Sydney Lab	Overseas Drop-Shipper
Server Location	Local (Sydney, Australia)	Unknown / Multiple Cloud Nodes
Processing State	Offline (Air-Gapped)	Online (Cloud Rendered)
Human Access	1 Vetted Technician	Automated / Factory Floor
Retention Policy	30-Day Hard Delete	Indefinite (Often stored for "re-orders")
Marketing Use	Never (Without Permission)	Often buried in T&Cs as "Royalty-Free Use"

3. Tech Integration: Why We Don't Use AI Upscaling by Default

You might ask, "Why don't you use AI to fix my blurry photo automatically?"

While we can use AI upscaling tools for restoration (upon request), we do not run your photos through third-party AI enhancers by default.

• The Risk: Many online "Photo Enhancers" claim ownership of the images they process to train their models.
• Our Method: If your photo needs fixing, we use local, offline software tools (like Topaz Labs) licensed to us, ensuring your face does not become training data for a neural network.

4. The Craftsman’s Promise: The "Sydney Protocol"

I want to address a specific fear: "Will I see my photo in your Instagram ad?"

The answer is No. Never.

We love sharing the beautiful pieces we make, but we have a strict Opt-In Policy.

1. The Ask: If a photo is particularly stunning or technically perfect, we might email you personally to ask: "May we share this anonymously?"
2. The Silence: If you do not reply, or say no, the photo remains private. We prioritize your privacy over our marketing content.

Furthermore, our "Pre-Processing" involves manually adjusting the gamma curves of your photo to suit the refractive index of the crystal. This is a technical adjustment done by eye, ensuring that when the light hits the stone, your memory glows—but only for you.

Summary

In a digital world, privacy is the ultimate luxury. A projection necklace is a secret. It is designed to be hidden in plain sight, revealed only when you choose to shine a light on it.

We believe our data handling should mirror the jewellery itself: secure, private, and respectful of the treasure it holds.