Privacy policy

GETTY IMAGES PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: September 2022

Getty Images, Inc., and its affiliates, (collectively, "Getty Images") is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy tells you about our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data. The terms of this policy apply to all Getty Images websites and associated services that link to this privacy policy (the "websites"), it does not apply to websites or services that link to a different privacy notice.

Collection of Your Personal Information

The personal data we collect depends on how you interact with us, the websites you use, and the choices you make. We collect and process personal data about you with your consent and/or as necessary to provide the products you use, operate our business, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect the security of our systems and our customers, or fulfil other legitimate interests.

Information you provide directly.

We collect personal information you provide to us. For example, we collect your name, email address, postal address, phone number, fax number, demographics, and other information you provide us. If you make a purchase, we also collect credit card numbers and other payment information.

Information collected automatically.

Getty Images collects certain kinds of information, such as the website that referred you to us, your IP address, browser type and language, and access times. We also may collect navigational information, including information about the pages you view, the links you click, and other actions taken in connection with the site. We also collect further information as discussed below under "Use of Cookies and Other Technologies".

Third-party sources.

We also obtain information from third parties. We protect information obtained from third parties according to the practices described in this statement, plus any additional restrictions imposed by the source of the information. These third-party sources include:

• Data brokers from which we purchase demographic data to supplement the data we collect;
• Applications and services, such as social networks, that make users' information available to others;
• Service providers that help us determine your device's location based on its IP address to customize certain products to your location;
• Partners with which we offer co-branded services or engage in joint marketing activities; and
• Publicly-available sources, such as open government databases or other data in the public domain.

We may combine your personal data collected across the above sources. You may always choose not to provide personal data, but if you so choose, certain products and services may not be available to you.

We use the term "devices" to refer collectively to computers and mobile devices, as well as the internet browsers and other applications on your devices that interact with the internet. Getty Images engages in cross device data collection which refers to the process of collecting data from devices that have been determined through statistical analysis to be linked or related. Our partners whom we employ to provide this service use cross device data to provide interest-based advertising services to our customers and to deliver tailored ads to users across multiple devices.

Use of Your Personal Data

Getty Images uses your personal data collected through our websites for purposes described in the privacy policy or otherwise disclosed to you. For example, we use your personal data to:

• provide and deliver services, including securing, troubleshooting, improving, and personalizing those products;
• operate and improve our websites and business, including our internal operations and security systems,
• understand you and your preferences to enhance your experience using our websites,
• process your transactions,
• provide customer service and respond to your questions,
• perform research and analysis aimed at improving our products, services and technologies,
• send you information, including confirmations, invoices, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages,
• communicate with you about new products, offers, promotions, rewards, contests, upcoming events, and other about our products and those of our selected partners (see the Choice and Preferences section of this privacy statement for how to change your preferences for promotional communications), and
• display content, including advertising, that is customized to your interests and preferences.

In carrying out these purposes, we combine data we collect from different sources to give you a more seamless, consistent, and personalized experience.

Please note that for US customers, upon account registration, you will be signed up for our marketing communications. Please see "Choice and Preferences" below for how to unsubscribe from these communications.

Location of Personal Data, Privacy Shield and Standard Contractual Clauses

Personal data collected by Getty Images may be stored and processed in your country or region, or in any other country where we or our affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Currently we primarily use data centers in the United States. The storage locations are chosen in order to operate efficiently, to improve performance, and to create redundancies in order to protect the data in the event of an outage or other problem. We take steps designed to ensure that the data we collect under this Privacy Policy is processed according to the provisions of this Privacy Policy and applicable law wherever the data is located.

We transfer personal data from the European Economic Area and Switzerland to other countries, some of which have been determined by the European Commission to not have an adequate level of data protection. When we do so, we use a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts where required by applicable law, to help ensure your rights and protections. To learn more about the European Commission's decisions on the adequacy of personal data protections, please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en.

Getty Images has certified under the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks (individually and collectively, "Privacy Shield"). On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the Privacy Shield Framework but affirmed that Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) remain an acceptable method to transfer personal data outside of the EU. Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are another method to transfer personal data lawfully outside the EU and ensure that personal data remains protected in accordance with EU law. They consist of non-negotiable language approved by the European Commission for agreements governing the transfer of personal data outside the EU. They may also be used to transfer data to the US. While Switzerland is not bound by any CJEU judgment, we will no longer rely on the Swiss-US Privacy Shield alone.

Getty Images will continue to comply with its commitments under its Privacy Shield certification despite the CJEU ruling. Customers can continue to use Getty Images' services in compliance with EU data privacy law. To the extent a transfer of EU customer data to the US is required for Getty Images to perform services for its EU customers, Getty Images has intracompany SCCs in place to validate the transfer. As the SCCs remain a valid method of transfer under the CJEU ruling, customers can continue to rely on these SCCs as a compliant method to transfer customer data from the EU to the U.S.

Your data may be shared with the following US-based Getty Images affiliates: (a) Getty Images (Seattle), Inc.; (b) Getty Images (US), Inc.; (c) Getty Images News Services (PRC), Inc.; and (d) Getty Images, Inc. Although Getty Images no longer relies on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as a legal basis for transfers of personal data, but instead the SCCs, we maintain our adherence to the Privacy Shield principles based on Notice, Choice, Accountability for Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation, Access, and Recourse, Enforcement and Liability.

We are still subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. If third-party agents process personal data on our behalf in a manner inconsistent with the principles of Privacy Shield, we remain liable unless we prove we are not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage. If there is any conflict between the terms in this Privacy Policy and the Privacy Shield principles, the Privacy Shield principles shall govern.

If you have a question or complaint related to our data privacy processes, we encourage you to contact us as indicated at the bottom of this privacy statement. For any complaints that cannot be resolved with us directly, you may refer the matter to JAMS by going to https://www.jamsadr.com/eu-us-privacy-shield. JAMS provides an independent third-party dispute resolution body based in the United States. JAMS has committed to respond to complaints and to provide appropriate recourse at no cost to you. We will cooperate with JAMS pursuant to the JAMS International Mediation Rules, which are accessible on the JAMS website at http://www.jamsadr.com.  Given that JAMS' affiliated Regional Center outside of the United States is based in the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has jurisdiction if you are located in the UK for any cross-border processing activity, or if you are resident in an EU country, under the GDPR you may contact the supervisory authority in your country. If neither Getty Images nor JAMS resolves your complaint, you may have the possibility to engage in binding arbitration through the Privacy Shield Panel or otherwise seek a resolution as set out in the SCCs. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers' data. We will continue to monitor and evaluate new guidance as it emerges.

Sharing of Your Personal Data

Except as disclosed in this privacy policy, Getty Images does not share your personal data with any outside parties.

We share personal data with your consent or as necessary to complete your transactions or provide the products or services you have requested or authorized. We may also share your personal data within our corporate group, including with our subsidiaries, affiliates, and divisions, all of whom may use your data for the purposes disclosed herein. In addition, we may share your personal data with our approved and appointed distributor network.

We may share your personal data with service providers who perform services on our behalf. For example, we may hire other companies to handle the processing of payments, to provide data storage, to host websites, to fulfill orders and shipments, to assist in direct marketing, analyze your interests and preferences and to conduct audits, etc. Those companies will be permitted to obtain only the personal data they need to provide the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose. Getty Images maintains contracts with these third parties requiring their treatment (access, use and disclosure) of personal data to be consistent with our obligations under the law.

Information about our customers, including personal data, may be disclosed as part of any merger, transfer, divestiture, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of the company and/or its assets, as well as in the unlikely event of insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership, in which personal data would be transferred as one of the business assets of the company. We will notify you of such an occurrence as described in the "Changes to This Privacy Policy" section below.

We reserve the right to disclose your personal data if we have a good faith understanding we are required to do so by law (including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements), or in the good-faith belief that such action is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, respond to claims, or protect the rights, property or safety of our company, employees, customers, or the public.

Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other essential purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different data types in the context of different products, actual retention periods can vary significantly based on criteria such as user expectations or consent, the sensitivity of the data, the availability of automated controls that enable users to delete data, and our legal or contractual obligations.

Social Media

On some pages, we allow you to share personal data with third parties, such as social networks like Facebook. In these instances, you are agreeing to the data being shared and the shared data is subject to the privacy policies of such third parties. We may combine information we receive from those platforms (e.g., profile information, likes, pageviews) with other information we collect from you or other sources and use and disclose it as described in this privacy policy. Except where required by applicable law or regulation, we do not control and do not assume any responsibility for the use of personal data by such third parties. For more information about the third party's purpose and scope of their use of personal data in connection with sharing features, please visit the privacy policies of these third parties.

Accessing Your Personal Data

If you would like to review or revise information that you previously provided to us, you may access your information in the "My Account" section of the website. Your Account Executive can also assist you in making any changes, as well as in exercising your right to have your personal data deleted. If you need additional assistance, please contact us at privacy@gettyimages.com. You can expect a response from us within 30 days. Please be advised that you cannot change your username without re-registering.

Use of Cookies and Other Technologies

Getty Images uses "cookies" and other technologies like pixel tags, web beacons and similar technologies ("Cookies") to enable you to sign in to our services and to help personalize and improve your online experience. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard drive or device. Cookies contain information, including personal data that can later be read by a web server in the domain that issued the Cookie to you. The information that Cookies collect includes the date and time of your visit, your registration information, and your navigational and purchase history. Pixel tags, also called web beacons, are clear image (i.e., non-visible) files that may be placed on a website, in an email or newsletter, and request information from your device such as your browser type and may assist us in determining your engagement with the content of the website and emails we send, how many users have visited certain pages, or how users have otherwise engaged with our messages or newsletters. We may use web beacons to help deliver cookies.

Cookies offer you many conveniences:

We use cookies for a variety of legitimate purposes, such as:

1. They allow us to identify registered users when they return to the site so that they can retrieve previous image search results, access Boards and shopping carts and view their previous invoices.
2. Cookies save you time by eliminating the need to repeatedly enter the same information.
3. Cookies enable us to see what actions you take on this site and other websites. This allows us to deliver personalized content to you and other users, including search results and interest-based targeted advertising on our site and other websites.
4. Cookies help to protect your security by checking your login details and may help prevent fraud.
5. Cookies remember your preferences when using the site.
6. Cookies also identify particular customers in the event such customer would like assistance from a live, online customer service representative.

We strive to make this site and our family of sites, user-friendly and relevant. Our goal is to deliver more personalized products and services to you.

Analytics

Our websites may include Cookies from third-party service providers. In some cases, that is because we have hired the third party to provide services on our behalf, such as site analytics. For this purpose, Getty Images works with various third-party partners like Amazon, Facebook and Google to see what actions you take on third party websites to deliver our personalized ads to you via third party websites. We use Demographics and Interest reporting features in Google Analytics to inform our requests to our service providers.

Our third-party partners like Google use Cookies on our site to:

1. Measure and analyze aggregate usage and volume statistical information from our users on our site. Information gathered may include, but is not limited to the following: activity of the user browser when the user is visiting the site, the site path of users, general information regarding the visitor's internet service provider and host, and the time users come to the site.
2. Remember our users' previous search of products and services, and dynamically display more relevant content to them.
3. Record users' behavior on our site, such as pages visited, emails clicked, forms completed and products and services purchased to create customized advertisements and communications that better meet your needs.
4. Evaluate user traffic and behavior on the site to compile activity reports.
5. Conduct research and diagnostics to improve our products and services.
6. Identify users arriving at the site via a referral from an affiliate website or sponsored link.

Google's ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy. Learn more about privacy at Google here.

Third Party Advertising

In other cases, we allow third parties to use Cookies for advertising purposes. Sometimes our web pages contain content or ads from third parties, such as videos, news content, or ads delivered by other ad networks. Because your browser connects to those third parties' web servers to retrieve that content, those third parties are able to set or read their own cookies on your device and may collect information about your online activities across websites or online services. We also work with third party partners to show their advertisements to you on our and third- party websites. Our partners may use demographic and preference information to allow advertising to be targeted to the users for whom they are most pertinent. This means users see advertising that is most likely to interest them, and advertisers send their messages to people who are most likely to be receptive, improving both the viewer's experience and the effectiveness of the ads.

Third-party advertising partners who are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) or Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) are listed at the sites below. These sites provide a simple way to opt out of ad targeting from those participating companies, which you can access at:
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.aspx and http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or if located in the European Union go here: http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/.

Choice and Preference

Getty Images respects your right to make choices about the use and disclosure of your personal data. If at any time you decide that you do not want to receive marketing emails from us or change the settings in relation to your personal email preferences, you can take the following actions as set out below:

• Access, correction, and deletion: If you wish to request access to, or correction or deletion of, certain personal data about you that we hold, you can visit the applicable section of your account profile. For other personal data, you can contact us as described at the bottom of this privacy policy. However, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right to charge a fee or decline requests that are unreasonable, excessive, or prohibited by law, could adversely affect the privacy or other rights of another person, or where we are unable to authenticate you as the person to whom the data relates.
• Marketing Emails: If you do not wish to receive marketing emails, you will have the option of opting out and/or unsubscribing from our emails and mailing lists by adjusting your marketing preferences as follows: (1) checking or unchecking the appropriate box on the applicable Getty Images (http://engage.gettyimages.com/email-preferences); or iStock (http://engage.istockphoto.com/email-preferences) email preference page; (2) contacting your Account Executive; (3) sending an email to privacy@gettyimages.com; or (4) following the directions at the bottom of one of our marketing emails. Please note, if you choose not to receive marketing emails, you may still continue to receive transactional or account emails (e.g., purchase confirmations and account balance statements).
• Cookies: You can accept or decline cookies. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser setting to decline cookies. Please be aware that the site is optimally designed to operate with cookies enabled in your internet browser. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to sign in or use other interactive features of our sites and services that depend on cookies. This may negatively impact your experience of the site. If you would like to opt-out from the use of pixel gifs in our emails, please email us at privacy@gettyimages.com. To view Google Analytics' currently available opt-outs for the web, please go here. If you choose to delete cookies, settings and preferences controlled by those cookies, including advertising preferences, may be deleted and may need to be recreated.
• Third Party Advertising: If you would like to opt out of information collection by our third-party advertising partners or otherwise find out more information about Internet advertising companies, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ and http://www.aboutads.info/choices/. You can prevent the companies listed from showing you targeted ads by submitting opt-outs. Opting-out will only prevent targeted ads so you may continue to see generic (non-targeted ads) from these companies after you opt-out.
• Mobile Devices: Use your mobile device settings to stop or limit interest-based advertising on that device. For instructions for using the advertising choice mechanisms provided by the most popular mobile operating systems, visit the NAI's Mobile Choices page at: http://www.networkadvertising.org/mobile-choices.
• Do Not Track. Some browsers have incorporated "Do Not Track" (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal, our websites do not currently respond to browser DNT signals. Instead, you can use the range of other tools to control data collection and use, including the cookie controls and advertising controls described above.

European Data Protection Rights

If the processing of personal data about you is subject to European Union data protection law, you have certain rights with respect to that data:

• You can request access to, and rectification or erasure of, personal data;
• If any automated processing of personal data is based on your consent or a contract with you, you have a right to transfer or receive a copy of your personal data in a usable and portable format;
• If the processing of personal data is based on your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time for future processing;
• You can to object to, or obtain a restriction of, the processing of personal data under certain circumstances; and
• For residents of France, you can send us specific instructions regarding the use of your data after your death.

To make such requests, contact us at privacy@gettyimages.com. When we are processing data on behalf of another party that is the "data controller," you should direct your request to that party. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, but we encourage you to first contact us with any questions or concerns. Please be aware that those rights set out above may not apply in some instances, for example where our right to processing your personal data may be necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression (e.g., news gathering); or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident and the processing of personal information about you is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), you have certain rights with respect to that information. In particular, you have a right to request that companies provide you with the following information:

(1) The categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
(2) The categories of sources from which we collect personal information.
(3) The purposes for collecting, using, or selling personal information.
(4) The categories of third parties with which we share personal information.
(5) For companies that disclose personal information for a business purpose, the categories of personal information disclosed about you for a business purpose.
(6) For companies that sell personal information, the categories of personal information sold about you and the categories of third parties to which the personal information was sold, by category or categories of personal information for each third party to which the personal information was sold.

To make such requests, contact us at privacy@gettyimages.com. Note that we have provided the information described in (2)-(5) in this privacy statement. With respect to (6), note that we do not sell personal information as defined by the CCPA.

You also have a right to request that we delete personal information under certain circumstances, subject to a number of exceptions. Finally, you have a right to not be discriminated against for exercising rights set out in the CCPA.

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of your personal data is important to us. We take appropriate and reasonable steps designed to help protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. For instance, in some cases we encrypt that information in transit using secure socket layer (SSL) technology. No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

If a password is used to protect your account and personal data, it is your responsibility to keep your password confidential.

Forums & Other Interactive Services

Our websites may include discussion forums or other interactive areas or services, including blogs, chat rooms, bulletin boards, message boards, online hosting or storage services, or other areas or services in which you or third parties create, post or store any content, messages, comments, materials or other items on the sites ("Interactive Areas"). If you use an Interactive Area, you should be aware that these areas are open to the public and any personal data you post or provide at registration may be viewable by others. We are not responsible for public disclosure of personal data you submit in connection with the Interactive Areas, nor are we responsible for how others might use that information, including to send you unsolicited messages. Interactive Area postings may be retained indefinitely. If at any time you would like to request that we remove a posting, please email us at privacy@gettyimages.com. Keep in mind that removal of a posting from an Interactive Area does not necessarily mean that the posting will be deleted from our backend systems.

Links

We may link to websites, including those of our third-party content providers or distributor network, that have different privacy policies and practices from those disclosed here. We assume no responsibility for the policies or practices of such linked sites, and encourage you to become acquainted with them prior to use.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change the terms of this privacy policy at any time when necessary to reflect changes in our products, how we process personal data, or applicable law. When we make changes, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of the policy. If there are material changes to this statement, we will provide notice or obtain consent regarding such changes as may be required by law. We encourage you to review this policy whenever you visit one of our sites.

Model Photoshoot

If you have taken part in any Photoshoot (as defined) and signed the applicable Model Release which has been submitted to Getty Images, click here for more information about the personal data we collect and process.

Children’s personal data

We do not knowingly permit children (under the age of 13 in the US and UK or 16, if you live in the EEA) to sign up for a Getty Images account. If we discover someone who is underage has signed up for a Getty Images account, we will take reasonable steps to promptly remove that person’s personal information from our records. If you believe a person who is underage has signed up for a Getty Images account, please contact us at privacy@gettyimages.com

Contact Information

If you have a privacy concern, complaint, or question, you can contact Getty Images by emailing privacy@gettyimages.com or by phone at 206-925-5000, or by postal mail at Attn: Privacy Getty Images, Inc., Sales, 605 5th Avenue South, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98104, United States.

For the EU

Our data protection representative for the European Economic Area and Switzerland is located at Getty Images International UC. You can contact them by emailing privacy@gettyimages.com or by phone at 1800 931 768, or by postal mail at Attn: Privacy, Getty Images International UC, 1st Floor, The Herbert Building, The Park, Carrickmines, Dublin 18, Ireland.