Privacy Policy | NextGen Studio

This Privacy Policy describes how NextGen Studio(“we”, “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use our AI animation platform (the “Service”). It applies to all users worldwide, with additional rights described for the EU/EEA, UK, and California.

Plain-English summary:We collect the minimum we need to run the Service - your account info, the projects you make, the credits you purchase, and basic technical logs. We don't sell your data. We don't train foundation models on your private projects.

1. Data we collect

Information you give us

Account info: name, email address, profile image - provided via Clerk when you sign up.
Project content: scripts, prompts, reference images, voice samples, generated storyboards, characters, images, audio, and video.
Billing info: handled by Dodo Payments. We receive transaction metadata (amount, plan, status, last-4 of card) but never the full card number, CVV, or bank account details.
Communications: the contents of any support email or feedback you send us.

Information collected automatically

Usage logs: API requests, feature usage, error reports, credit-deduction events, render timing - used for billing accuracy, abuse detection, and reliability.
Device/technical data: IP address, browser type, OS, referrer. Used for security and rate limiting.
Cookies and similar tech: see Section 5 below.
Referral data: if you arrive through an affiliate link, we record the referral code, the tag on the link if it has one, the time, and a per-affiliate hashed identifier derived from a first-party cookie. The identifier exists so one person visiting the same link twice counts once. We store the hash, never the cookie value, and it is salted differently for each affiliate so it cannot be used to follow you across the program.

2. How we use your data

To operate the Service: run generations, store your projects, deduct credits.
To process payments and prevent fraud (via Dodo Payments).
To authenticate you and protect accounts (via Clerk).
To send transactional emails - receipts, payment failures, account notices.
To debug, monitor reliability, and improve the Service.
To run the affiliate program: credit the right affiliate for a signup, calculate what they are owed, and pay it. Affiliates see their referrals with the email address masked (for examplema***@example.com) and never see your account, projects, or payment details.
To comply with legal obligations (tax, anti-fraud, lawful requests) and to enforce our Terms.

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We do not use your private project content to train foundation models.

3. Third-party processors

We rely on a small number of trusted vendors to deliver core functionality. They process data only on our instructions:

Clerk - authentication, session management. privacy.
Dodo Payments - payments, tax, invoices, refunds (acts as merchant of record). We never see your card details. privacy.
Google (Gemini, Veo and the Nano Banana image model) - AI writing of scripts and plans, scene and thumbnail images, and short scene animations. Your prompts and the images they reference are sent to generate the result. privacy.
ElevenLabs - voiceover synthesis from your script text. privacy.
69labs - the API service through which our image, video and voice requests reach the models above, under our own account.
OpenAI (Whisper) - transcription of voiceover audio for captions and scene timing. privacy.
Pixabay and Freesound - licensed music and sound-effect libraries. Only search terms are sent; no personal data.
Hetzner, Cloudflare R2 and RunPod - hosting, object storage and content delivery for your generated files, and GPU workers that render the final video.
Resend / SendGrid - transactional email such as sign-in codes and support replies.
Sentry (when configured) - error reporting. Stack traces and minimal user identifiers may be shared for debugging.

Some of these providers are based in the United States. By using the Service, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries with different data-protection laws than your own. Where required, we rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

4. Data retention

Account & project data is kept for as long as your account is active.
Generated files (images, audio, videos) are kept until you delete the project or your account.
Billing records are retained for the period required by tax law in our jurisdiction (typically 7 years).
Server logs are typically rotated within 30–90 days unless required for an active investigation.
Referral records (which affiliate a signup came from, and the click events behind it) are kept for as long as the referral can still earn commission, and afterwards for the same period as billing records, since they are part of what we paid out and why.

When you delete a project, its files and database rows are removed within a reasonable period. To delete your account in full, open the Billing pageand use the “Delete account” control in the right-hand panel. We cancel any active subscription immediately, wipe every project, render, voiceover, and stored file you own, and remove the personal data we hold except where retention is required by law or to resolve disputes.

5. Cookies & similar technologies

We use a minimal set of cookies and local storage entries:

Strictly necessary- set by Clerk to keep you signed in, and by Dodo Payments during checkout. These can't be turned off without breaking login or payments.
Functional - local storage entries we set ourselves to remember UI preferences (e.g. dismissed banners, expanded sections, the cookie banner choice itself).
Referral attribution - if you arrive through an affiliate link we store the referral code and any tag on it in local storage for up to 90 days, so the affiliate is still credited if you sign up later, and set a first-party ngs_vid cookie for up to a year. That cookie is a random value used only to avoid counting the same visit twice; it is not used for advertising, is not shared with anyone, and is not read by any third party. Clearing it costs you nothing.
Analytics / marketing - currently we do not run third-party analytics or advertising trackers. If we add them, the cookie banner will offer an opt-in before they load.

You can clear cookies and local storage at any time from your browser settings, and you can change your cookie preferences via the “Cookie preferences” link in the footer.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Delete your data (subject to legal retention obligations).
Receive a portable copy of your data (data export).
Object to or restrict certain processing.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

To exercise these rights, email businessvisionmediagroup@gmail.comfrom the address attached to your account. We'll respond within 30 days.

EU/EEA & UK (GDPR)

Our legal bases for processing are: (a) contract - to deliver the Service you signed up for; (b) legitimate interests - for security, abuse prevention, and product improvement; (c) legal obligation - for tax records and lawful requests; and (d) consent - for any non-essential cookies or marketing emails.

California (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete it, to correct inaccuracies, and to opt out of sale or sharing. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

7. Security

We use industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption in transit, access controls on storage, hashed authentication via Clerk, and PCI-compliant payment handling via Dodo Payments. No system is perfectly secure - if we ever discover a breach affecting your data, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

8. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in some jurisdictions). We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent version. Material changes will be announced in the app or by email.

10. Contact

The responsible party (data controller) for the Service is Shaun Jonck, trading as NextGen Studio, South Africa. Privacy questions, data requests, or complaints: businessvisionmediagroup@gmail.com.

1. Data we collect

Information you give us

Account info: name, email address, profile image - provided via Clerk when you sign up.
Project content: scripts, prompts, reference images, voice samples, generated storyboards, characters, images, audio, and video.
Billing info: handled by Dodo Payments. We receive transaction metadata (amount, plan, status, last-4 of card) but never the full card number, CVV, or bank account details.
Communications: the contents of any support email or feedback you send us.

Information collected automatically

Usage logs: API requests, feature usage, error reports, credit-deduction events, render timing - used for billing accuracy, abuse detection, and reliability.
Device/technical data: IP address, browser type, OS, referrer. Used for security and rate limiting.
Cookies and similar tech: see Section 5 below.
Referral data: if you arrive through an affiliate link, we record the referral code, the tag on the link if it has one, the time, and a per-affiliate hashed identifier derived from a first-party cookie. The identifier exists so one person visiting the same link twice counts once. We store the hash, never the cookie value, and it is salted differently for each affiliate so it cannot be used to follow you across the program.

2. How we use your data

To operate the Service: run generations, store your projects, deduct credits.
To process payments and prevent fraud (via Dodo Payments).
To authenticate you and protect accounts (via Clerk).
To send transactional emails - receipts, payment failures, account notices.
To debug, monitor reliability, and improve the Service.
To run the affiliate program: credit the right affiliate for a signup, calculate what they are owed, and pay it. Affiliates see their referrals with the email address masked (for examplema***@example.com) and never see your account, projects, or payment details.
To comply with legal obligations (tax, anti-fraud, lawful requests) and to enforce our Terms.

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We do not use your private project content to train foundation models.

3. Third-party processors

We rely on a small number of trusted vendors to deliver core functionality. They process data only on our instructions:

Clerk - authentication, session management. privacy.
Dodo Payments - payments, tax, invoices, refunds (acts as merchant of record). We never see your card details. privacy.
Google (Gemini, Veo and the Nano Banana image model) - AI writing of scripts and plans, scene and thumbnail images, and short scene animations. Your prompts and the images they reference are sent to generate the result. privacy.
ElevenLabs - voiceover synthesis from your script text. privacy.
69labs - the API service through which our image, video and voice requests reach the models above, under our own account.
OpenAI (Whisper) - transcription of voiceover audio for captions and scene timing. privacy.
Pixabay and Freesound - licensed music and sound-effect libraries. Only search terms are sent; no personal data.
Hetzner, Cloudflare R2 and RunPod - hosting, object storage and content delivery for your generated files, and GPU workers that render the final video.
Resend / SendGrid - transactional email such as sign-in codes and support replies.
Sentry (when configured) - error reporting. Stack traces and minimal user identifiers may be shared for debugging.

4. Data retention

Account & project data is kept for as long as your account is active.
Generated files (images, audio, videos) are kept until you delete the project or your account.
Billing records are retained for the period required by tax law in our jurisdiction (typically 7 years).
Server logs are typically rotated within 30–90 days unless required for an active investigation.
Referral records (which affiliate a signup came from, and the click events behind it) are kept for as long as the referral can still earn commission, and afterwards for the same period as billing records, since they are part of what we paid out and why.

5. Cookies & similar technologies

We use a minimal set of cookies and local storage entries:

Strictly necessary- set by Clerk to keep you signed in, and by Dodo Payments during checkout. These can't be turned off without breaking login or payments.
Functional - local storage entries we set ourselves to remember UI preferences (e.g. dismissed banners, expanded sections, the cookie banner choice itself).
Referral attribution - if you arrive through an affiliate link we store the referral code and any tag on it in local storage for up to 90 days, so the affiliate is still credited if you sign up later, and set a first-party ngs_vid cookie for up to a year. That cookie is a random value used only to avoid counting the same visit twice; it is not used for advertising, is not shared with anyone, and is not read by any third party. Clearing it costs you nothing.
Analytics / marketing - currently we do not run third-party analytics or advertising trackers. If we add them, the cookie banner will offer an opt-in before they load.

You can clear cookies and local storage at any time from your browser settings, and you can change your cookie preferences via the “Cookie preferences” link in the footer.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Delete your data (subject to legal retention obligations).
Receive a portable copy of your data (data export).
Object to or restrict certain processing.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

To exercise these rights, email businessvisionmediagroup@gmail.comfrom the address attached to your account. We'll respond within 30 days.

EU/EEA & UK (GDPR)

California (CCPA / CPRA)

7. Security

8. Children

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent version. Material changes will be announced in the app or by email.

10. Contact

The responsible party (data controller) for the Service is Shaun Jonck, trading as NextGen Studio, South Africa. Privacy questions, data requests, or complaints: businessvisionmediagroup@gmail.com.