Privacy policy

Who we are

This website and the tools described below are operated by Max Sydko Photography LLC (“we”, “us”), a wedding and family photography studio based in Springfield, Missouri. Questions about this policy: sydkomax@gmail.com.

Information you give us

When you send an inquiry through our contact form, you provide details such as your name, email, phone number, wedding date, venue and message. The form is provided by our client-management service, HoneyBook, and the information is stored in our HoneyBook account. We use it only to answer your inquiry, prepare a proposal and, if you book, to deliver our services.

Information collected automatically

• Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site (pages viewed, device type, approximate location, how you found us). Google Analytics uses cookies. You can opt out with Google's opt-out browser add-on or by blocking cookies in your browser.
• Where you came from. When you arrive from an ad or another website, your browser stores the campaign labels in the link (such as utm_source) and the referring site. If you send an inquiry, this source is sent to us in a private notification so we know which channel brought you. It is not used to identify you elsewhere.
• Hosting. Our hosting provider, Netlify, processes standard technical data (such as IP address and browser type) to deliver and secure the site.

Wedding Radar (internal research tool)

We use an internal, read-only tool called Sydko Wedding Radar to stay aware of public wedding-related conversations in our service area (Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma).

• What it reads: only publicly available Instagram and Facebook posts, through Meta's official APIs, for a fixed list of wedding hashtags and public business Pages. It reads the post ID, caption text, publication time and the link to the public post. For hashtag results, Meta does not provide the author's username or profile, and we do not collect it.
• What it never does: it does not access private accounts or private messages, and it never posts, comments, likes, follows or messages anyone automatically. Any contact is made personally by the studio owner.
• Where data is kept: on the owner's own computer, not on public servers. Short notifications (post link, city, category) are sent to the owner's private Telegram chat. Captions are deleted automatically after 180 days.
• Sharing: this data is not sold, shared or used for advertising.

To have a post or any related information removed, see our data deletion instructions.

How we share information

We do not sell or rent personal information. We share it only with service providers that help us run the business — HoneyBook (inquiries and client management), Google (analytics), Netlify (hosting) and Telegram (private notifications to the studio owner) — or when required by law.

How long we keep information

Inquiry and client records are kept for as long as needed to provide our services and meet legal and tax obligations. Wedding Radar captions are deleted after 180 days. You can ask us to delete your information at any time.

Your choices

You can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it by emailing sydkomax@gmail.com. We respond within 30 days. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

Children

This site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page.