Privacy Notice
Last updated: October 2026
This Privacy Notice provides you with information about what personal data we collect about you, how and why we use it, with whom we share it, how we store it, and your rights with respect to your data. This Privacy Notice is meant to be read together with our Terms of Service, which you can find at https://www.benmesa.com/legal/terms.
We at Ben Mesa Photos ("us", "we", or "our") recognize and respect the importance of maintaining the privacy of our customers or visitors. This Privacy Notice describes the types of information we collect from you when you visit our site and/or use our services thereon (such services, together with the site, the "services"). "You" means an individual using the services, and "personal data" means any information that refers, is related to, or is associated with an identified or identifiable individual or as otherwise may be defined by applicable law. This Privacy Notice details which personal data we collect when we provide the Services to you.
This website is created, hosted, and powered by Magic Merlin Inc. (“Merlin”), a platform that allows its customers to generate and operate their own websites. In addition to the data collected by us as described in this Privacy Notice, Merlin may independently collect and process certain information from visitors to this website, as further described in Section 4 below.
You have no legal obligation to provide us with any personal data. Note that if you do not provide us with certain personal data, we may not be able to provide you with some or all of the associated services.
1. Personal Data We Collect
1.1 Communications. When you send us a message through the contact form on our site or other means, request information from us, sign up for our email list, complete online forms, or contact us for any other reason we collect any data you provide, such as your name, company, email, and the content of your message.
1.2 Activity and System Data (including Cookies). In addition, when you use the site, we may gather certain information automatically about your computer or mobile device, such as your operating system, your IP address, device ID, as well as your browsing history (e.g. the other sites you've visited before ours) and any other information regarding your use of our site. This data may be collected via essential cookies, which are necessary for the proper functioning of the site, as well as non-essential cookies, which you may choose to disable or remove at any time (for more information about the cookies we use and how to manage your preferences, see cookies section below).
2. How We Use Your Personal Data
2.1 General. We and any of our trusted third-party subcontractors and service providers use the personal data we collect from and about you for any of the following purposes: (1) to provide you with the services; (2) to respond to your inquiries or requests, contact and communicate with you; (3) to develop new products or services and conduct analyses to improve our current content, products, and services; (4) to provide you with customized content, targeted offers, and advertising on the site, on other third-party sites or apps you may visit, or via e-mail; (5) to contact you with informational newsletters and promotional materials relating to our site and services; (6) to review the usage and operations of our site and services; (7) to use your data in an aggregated, non-specific format for analytical purposes (as detailed below); (8) to prevent fraud, protect the security of our site and services, and address any problems with the site and/or services; (9) to provide customer support; (10) for the management and strategy development of our business, including to act upon our customer retention efforts, including predicting customer preferences (including their desire to terminate their engagement with us) and identify trends and preferences in the market and among customers; and (11) if necessary, to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights or those of others, including enforcing our Terms and this Privacy Notice, and for dispute resolution purposes.
2.2 Statistical Information and Analytics. We and/or our service providers use analytics tools to collect and analyze information about the use of the services, such as how often users visit the site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites and mobile applications they used prior to visiting the site. By analyzing the information we receive, we may compile statistical information across a variety of platforms and users. This helps us improve our services by allowing us to identify new trends and customer needs, which in turn allows us to consider new products and services or tailor existing products and services accordingly. As part of our use of analytic tools, we may use Google Analytics. You can find more information about how Google collects information and how you can control such use at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
3. Sharing the Personal Data We Collect.
We share your information, including personal data, as follows:
3.1 Access-Holders. Access-holders who have access to personal data are personnel who have a need to know and process personal data in accordance with this Privacy Notice, and who are bound by confidentiality obligations towards us. It is hereby clarified that the identity and/or type of access-holders may change from time to time in accordance with our business needs. In case there is a material change in the types of access-holders, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to update you about such change.
3.2 Affiliates. We share information, including your personal data, with our affiliated companies, where this is necessary to provide you with our products and services, and for business management purposes.
3.3 Service Providers and Subcontractors. We disclose information, including personal data we collect from and/or about you, to our trusted service providers and subcontractors, who use such information to: (1) help us provide you with the services; (2) aid in their understanding of how users are using our services; (3) for the purpose of direct marketing (see above for more details).
| Type of Service | Description | Personal Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Computing | We use service providers that offer cloud computing services. They offer us space on their servers for us to store our files and programs, including your personal data. | All personal data that we collect from you is stored on third party servers. |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | We use an external CRM tool to help us keep track of our customers and information related to them, including their personal data. | your name, company, position, email address, and phone number. |
| Email Marketing | We use an independent vendor to send out marketing emails on our behalf. | your name and email address. |
| Bookkeeping Services | We use the services of a third-party bookkeeping service to manage our financial transactions and records. | Your name, age, marital status, position in the company, address, and bank account information. |
| Analytics Providers | We use a service provider to assist us with analytics services. | Data collected automatically through our site, including IP addresses and cookie information. |
| Online Advertising | External service providers assist us in placement of online advertisements. | Data collected automatically through our site, including IP addresses and cookie information. |
3.4 International Transfers. By accepting this Privacy Notice, you acknowledge and agree that we may use subcontractors and service providers who are located in countries other than your own and may send them information we receive (including personal data). All of our subcontractors and service providers will be subject to non-disclosure and non-use obligations.
3.5 Business Transfers. Your personal data may be disclosed as part of, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets or acquisition (including in cases of liquidation). In such case, your personal data shall continue being subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice.
3.6 Law Enforcement Related Disclosure. We may share your personal data with third parties: (i) if we believe in good faith that disclosure is appropriate to protect our or a third party's rights, property or safety (including the enforcement of the Terms and this Privacy Notice); (ii) as is necessary to comply with any legal and/or regulatory obligation; or (iii) when required by subpoena, court order or the order of another governmental or law enforcement authority.
3.7 Legal Uses. We may use your personal data as required or permitted by any applicable law, for example, to comply with audit and other legal requirements.
3.8 Advertisers. When you click on an ad, whether or not it's on our site, the relevant advertiser will be alerted that someone has visited the page on which the relevant advertisement was displayed, and may be able to identify that it was you by using certain mechanisms, like cookies. Advertisers are able to combine the personal data they collect independently with the personal data we share.
4. Data Collection and Processing by Magic Merlin Inc.
4.1 When you visit this website, submit information through lead-generation forms or similar data-collection features, or otherwise interact with this website, Merlin may collect certain information about you (“Website Visitor Data”). Website Visitor Data may include your name, email address, phone number, any other information you submit through forms on this website, and usage data such as clicks, page views, and browsing behavior.
4.2 With respect to Website Visitor Data, Merlin processes such data as an independent controller (or a “business” under applicable privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)) for its own purposes, including product improvement, model improvement and training, analytics, and marketing. Merlin does not process Website Visitor Data as a service provider or processor on our behalf for these purposes.
4.3 If we remove or materially modify this Privacy Notice (the “Standard Notice”) on this website, Merlin will not process Website Visitor Data collected after such removal or modification through this website for Merlin’s independent purposes described above.
4.4 For more information about how Merlin collects and processes your data, please see Merlin’s privacy policy at https://merlin.site/privacy.
5. Security.
We make efforts to follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal data submitted to and collected by us, both during transmission and once we receive it. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As the security of information depends in part on the security of the computer you use to communicate with us and the security you use to protect user IDs and passwords, please take appropriate measures to protect this information.
6. Your Rights.
Subject to applicable law, you may request to access any personal data you have provided to us and request that such personal data be corrected, updated, or deleted, including in accordance with applicable law. With respect to Website Visitor Data please contact Merlin directly at help@hey-merlin.com.
7. Data Retention
Subject to applicable law, we retain personal data as necessary for the purposes set forth above and then delete the personal data once we deem it is no longer necessary for these purposes. In some circumstances, however, we may store your personal data for longer periods of time, for instance where we are required to do so in accordance with legal, regulatory, tax, audit, accounting requirements and so that we have an accurate record of your dealings with us in the event of any complaints or challenges, or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation relating to your personal data or dealings.
8. Cookies and Similar Technologies.
We use cookies and similar technologies for a number of reasons, including to help personalize your experience and to personalize the ads we serve you. Third parties through which we provide the services and/or our business partners may be placing and reading cookies on your browser or using web beacons to collect information in the course of advertising being served on different websites. When visiting this site, you shall be notified of the use and placement of cookies and other similar technologies on your device as specified herein.
8.1 What are Cookies? A cookie is a small piece of text that is sent to a user's browser or device. The browser provides this piece of text to the device of the originating user when this user returns.
8.1.1 A "session cookie" is temporary and will remain on your device until you leave the site.
8.1.2 A "persistent" cookie may be used to help save your settings and customizations across visits. It will remain on your device until you delete it.
8.1.3 First-party cookies are placed by us, while third-party cookies may be placed by a third party. We use both first- and third-party cookies.
8.1.4 We may use the terms "cookies" to refer to all technologies that we may use to store data in your browser or device or that collect information or help us identify you in the manner described above, such as web beacons or "pixel tags".
8.2 How We Use Cookies. We use cookies and similar technologies for a number of reasons, as specified below.
The specific names and types of the cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies we use may change from time to time. However, the cookies we use generally fall into one of the following categories:
| Type of Cookie | Why We Use These Cookies |
|---|---|
| Necessary | These cookies are necessary in order to allow the site to work correctly. They enable you to access the site, move around, and access different services, features, and tools. Examples include remembering previous actions (e.g. entered text) when navigating back to a page in the same session. These cookies cannot be disabled. |
| Functionality | These cookies remember your settings and preferences and the choices you make (such as language or regional preferences) in order to help us personalize your experience and offer you enhanced functionality and content. |
| Security | These cookies can help us identify and prevent security risks. They may be used to store your session information to prevent others from changing your password without your login information. |
| Performance/Analytics | These cookies can help us collect information to help us understand how you use our site, for example whether you have viewed messages or specific pages and how long you spent on each page. This helps us improve the performance of our site. |
| Advertising | These cookies are placed in order to deliver content, including ads relevant and meaningful to you and your interests. They may also be used to deliver targeted advertising or to limit the number of times you see an advertisement. This can help us track how efficient advertising campaigns are, both for our own services and for other websites. Such cookies may track your browsing habits and activity when visiting our site and those of third parties. |
8.3 How to Adjust Your Preferences. Most web browsers are initially configured to accept cookies, but you can change this setting so your browser either refuses all cookies or informs you when a cookie is being sent. In addition, you are free to delete any existing cookies at any time. Please note that some features of the services may not function properly when cookies are disabled or removed. For example, if you delete cookies that store your account information or preferences, you will be required to input these each time you visit.
8.4 Do Not Track Signals. Some web browsers offer a "Do Not Track" ("DNT") setting or similar mechanisms that let you signal that you do not want your online activities tracked over time and across third-party websites or online services. Because there is not yet a common industry standard for recognizing or honoring DNT signals, our site does not currently respond to DNT signals or similar mechanisms. As described in this Privacy Notice, we and third parties, including our advertising and analytics service providers and Magic Merlin Inc., may collect personal data about your online activities over time and across different websites or online services when you use our site. You can manage non-essential cookies as described in Section 8.3 above.
9. Third-Party Applications and Services.
All use of third-party applications or services is at your own risk and subject to such third party's terms and privacy policies. We do not take any responsibility for the performance of other services.
10. Communications.
We reserve the right to send you service-related communications, including service announcements and administrative messages, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them. Should you not wish to receive such communications, please contact us at contact form.
11. Children.
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of eighteen (18). In the event that you become aware that an individual under the age of eighteen (18) has enrolled without parental permission, please advise us immediately.
12. Changes to the Privacy Notice.
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to keep it up to date with legal requirements and the way we operate our business, and we will place any updates on this webpage. Please come back to this page every now and then to make sure you are familiar with the latest version. If we make material changes to this Privacy Notice, we will seek to inform you by notice on our site or via email.
13. Comments and Questions.
If you have any comments or questions about this Privacy Notice or if you wish to exercise any of your legal rights as set out herein, please contact us at contact form.