Privacy Policy

At 12 AWARDS (accessible via 12awards.com), we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring a transparent, secure experience for all our participants. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you register for our competition, submit your photography, or interact with our website.

1. Information We Collect

To provide our services and manage the competition effectively, we collect the following types of information:

A. Personal Information

When you create an account or enter the competition, we collect:

• Identity Data: First name, last name, and country of residence.
• Contact Data: Email address.

B. Submission Data

When you submit your work, we collect:

• Visual Content: The photographs you upload.
• Metadata: Image titles, descriptions, and technical details (e.g., EXIF data).
• Verification Data: If requested, original RAW files or additional evidence to verify authenticity.

C. Technical & Usage Data

We automatically collect information about how you interact with our website, including:

• IP address, browser type, operating system, and device information.
• Pages visited, time spent on the site, and navigation patterns.

D. Payment Information

All financial transactions are processed securely through our third-party payment providers. 12 AWARDS does not collect or store your credit card or bank account details.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your data for the following purposes:

• Competition Administration: To process your entries, manage your account, and facilitate the judging process.
• Communication: To send you essential service updates, such as entry confirmations and winner notifications.
• Promotion: To showcase winning and commended entries on our website, social media, and in our annual book publication (as per our Terms of Service).
• Security: To prevent fraud, verify eligibility, and ensure compliance with our rules.

3. Email Marketing & Communications

We value your inbox and aim to be respectful and transparent in our communications. By registering with 12 AWARDS, you may receive the following types of emails:

• Service Emails: Essential updates regarding your account, submission status, or changes to our terms.
• Deadline Reminders: Periodic notifications to help you stay on track with competition phases (Early Bird, Standard, and Final Call).
• Newsletters & Announcements: Occasional updates about the competition, jury announcements, and photography-related insights.
• Partner Offers: Very rarely, we may share information from our media partners that we believe is relevant to your growth as a photographer.
• Platform-wide Communications: If you registered on any of our photography competitions platforms organized by baytvisual.com, we may email you with relevant updates and offers from those platforms.

Your Control & Opt-Out

We do not want to send you emails you do not wish to receive. You can manage your preferences at any time:

• Unsubscribe: Every marketing email we send includes a clear "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom. Clicking this will immediately remove you from our marketing list.
• Account Settings: You can also update your communication preferences within your user dashboard.

4. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. Your data is only shared in the following limited circumstances:

• The Jury: Our international panel of judges will view your submitted images and descriptions for evaluation purposes.
• Service Providers: We use trusted third-party tools for email delivery (e.g., Mailchimp), website hosting, and payment processing. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data.
• Media Partners: If you win or are commended, your name and images may be shared with our media partners solely for promotional purposes related to the competition.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights and safety of our community.

5. Data Security

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. This includes SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption for data transmission and restricted access to personal data within our team. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location (including rights under GDPR), you may have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request that we fix any inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your account and personal data (subject to certain legal obligations).
• Objection: Object to the processing of your data for marketing purposes.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@12awards.com.

7. Cookies

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, remember your login state, and analyze website traffic. You can choose to disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect the functionality of certain parts of our website.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out to us:

12 AWARDS
Email: contact@12awards.com
Website: 12awards.com