Privacy Policy

The short version

We're Picturesmith, a stop-motion animation studio based in London. When you get in touch through our website, we collect a few details so we can have a proper conversation about your project. We treat your information with care, keep it only as long as we need it, and never sell it to anyone. Ever.

Who we are

Picturesmith is a UK-based animation studio.

• Email: newbusiness@picturesmith.com
• Phone: +44 (0)20 7096 3348
• Website: picturesmith.com

For any questions about how we handle your data, drop us a line at the email above.

What we collect and why

When you use our contact form

Our enquiry form asks for:

• Your name — so we know who we're talking to
• Your email — so we can reply (we'll get back within a working day)
• Your company (optional) — helps us understand the context
• Your rough budget (optional) — so we can shape our suggestions realistically
• Your project brief (optional) — so we can start thinking about your idea

We collect this information because you've asked us to — you're reaching out, and we need these details to respond properly. In legal terms, that's legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR).

When you email or call us

If you contact us directly by email or phone, we'll keep a record of our conversation so we can follow up and do good work for you.

When you visit our website

Our site uses:

• Fonts — self-hosted. No third-party calls, no IP transfer to Google.
• Plausible — cookieless, privacy-friendly analytics. Counts visits and page views with no personal data, no cookies, no cross-site tracking. Plausible's privacy approach
• Vimeo — hosts and streams our showreel and project films. Vimeo sets tracking cookies on load, so Vimeo embeds are blocked by default until you accept cookies or click to load a specific video. Vimeo's privacy policy
• HubSpot — processes contact form submissions. Only fires when you submit the form and tick the consent checkbox. HubSpot's privacy policy

We don't use advertising cookies. We don't build profiles of our visitors.

Cookies and your choice

On your first visit, a small prompt appears at the bottom-left of the page asking whether you're happy for us to load Vimeo embeds (which set cookies). You can choose Accept all or Essential only. The choice is stored locally and you can change it any time by clicking the small cookie icon at the bottom-left.

If you choose Essential only, Vimeo videos will appear as a poster with a play button. Clicking an individual video will load it (and set Vimeo's cookies for that video).

How long we keep your data

• Enquiry form submissions: We keep these for up to 24 months after your last contact with us, then delete them — unless we're actively working together, in which case we keep project-related records for the duration of the engagement plus a reasonable period afterwards.
• Email and phone records: Same as above.

If you'd like us to delete your data sooner, just ask.

Who sees your data

Your information stays within the Picturesmith team. We don't sell, rent, or share your personal data with anyone — except:

• HubSpot (form processing, as described above)
• Google and Vimeo (as described above)
• If we're legally required to share it (e.g. a court order — this has never happened)

We don't transfer your data outside the UK/EEA unless a third-party service listed above does so under appropriate safeguards.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your data — ask us what we hold
• Correct your data — if something's wrong, we'll fix it
• Delete your data — ask and we'll remove it
• Restrict processing — ask us to pause how we use your data
• Object to processing — tell us to stop
• Portability — ask for your data in a standard format

To exercise any of these, email newbusiness@picturesmith.com. We'll respond within 30 days.

If you're not happy with how we've handled things, you can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Cookies

Our site doesn't set any first-party cookies. Third-party services (Vimeo, Google Fonts) may set their own — see their policies linked above. You can manage cookies in your browser settings at any time.

Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, we'll post the revised version here with a new date. For significant changes, we'll make it obvious.