Photo Sharing | arch guide

You must accept these terms before uploading your first photo (or when a new version is published).

By uploading photos to Arch Guide, you agree to the following:

1. You Keep Ownership — You Grant Us a License

You retain full ownership of every photo you upload. You are not transferring your copyright to us.

In exchange for the ability to upload, store, and share photos through Arch Guide, you grant us a:

Perpetual
Irrevocable
Worldwide
Royalty-free
Sublicensable
Transferable

license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, crop, enhance, display, distribute, and create derivative works from your uploaded photos for the following purposes:

Displaying them in the App (your profile, Discover page, etc.)
Posting them on Arch Guide's social media accounts (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X/Twitter, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, and any future social platforms we operate)
Using them in marketing, advertising, promotional materials, press, website content, email campaigns, and printed materials
Applying our branding, watermarks, filters, or logos to them

This license is irrevocable. Even if you later delete a photo or your account, we may continue to use copies of photos we already had on file, including in posts already published. We are not required to take down or delete previously published uses.

2. No Compensation or Attribution

You agree that we may use your photos:

Without paying you
Without crediting you by name or username
Without notifying you in advance

If we choose to credit you (e.g., tagging your social handle), that is at our discretion.

3. Photo Content Requirements

Photos MUST:

Focus primarily on architecture, buildings, streetscapes, or neighborhood scenes
Be photos you took yourself (or that you have full rights to upload)
Be appropriate for all audiences

Photos MAY include:

People incidentally in the frame
You in the photo, as long as a building or neighborhood scene is the primary subject
Urban scenery (street art, plantings, signage, etc.)

Photos MUST NOT:

Be selfie-focused or portrait-style
Contain nudity, sexually explicit content, violence, gore, hateful imagery, or illegal activity
Display offensive clothing, accessories, or signage (slurs, hate symbols, etc.)
Invade others' privacy (e.g., shots through windows, upskirt photos, identifiable people in compromising positions)
Identifiably feature minors (children under 18) as the primary subject
Identifiably feature residents, owners, guests, or employees of a private home without their consent
Be captioned, tagged, or accompanied by the street address, unit number, exact GPS coordinates, mailbox number, or any other information that identifies the specific private residence depicted, or by the name of a private resident or owner
Be captured using a drone or other aerial recording device over or near private property without the property owner's consent
Be obtained in violation of the Tour Safety & Liability Waiver (e.g., taken while trespassing)

We automatically remove embedded GPS/location metadata (EXIF geodata) from photos before they are displayed on your public profile, the Discover page, our social media, or in marketing. This is separate from — and in addition to — the caption restriction above.

Contain advertising for other businesses or competitors
Infringe on anyone else's copyright or trademark

If a homeowner, resident, or property owner objects to a photo of their building being displayed in the App or shared through it, they may request removal by emailing hello@archguide.co. We will review requests in good faith and may remove photos at our discretion.

4. Content Moderation

Automated review: All uploads are scanned for inappropriate content.

Manual review: Flagged photos go to our review team. We may approve, reject, or request you remove a photo for any reason.

Removal: We may remove any photo at any time, without notice, if we believe it violates these Terms or our community standards.

5. Branded Sharing Feature

When you use the in-app "Share" feature:

Arch Guide branding (watermark, logo, filter) is applied to the exported image
You agree that only the branded version may be shared externally
You may not crop, alter, or remove Arch Guide branding from shared images
Branding and filters are only authorized for photos uploaded and approved through the App
Unauthorized use of our branding, logos, or filters outside the App is trademark infringement

6. Marketing Use

By uploading, you grant automatic consent for us to use your photos in marketing, including:

Social media posts (with or without crediting you)
App and website promotional content
Print and digital advertising
Press kits and media outreach
Email newsletters

Identifiable faces: If your face is clearly visible in a photo we use for marketing, you may request its removal from future marketing by emailing hello@archguide.co. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to stop using the image going forward, but we are not required to delete it from posts already published or printed materials already distributed.

Minors: We will not knowingly use photos with identifiable children as primary subjects in any marketing. If you spot one, report it to hello@archguide.co.

7. Deletion & What It Means

You may delete any photo from your profile at any time.

What "delete" does:

Removes the photo from your public profile
Removes the photo from the Discover page
Stops display of the photo within the App

What "delete" does NOT do:

Revoke the license you granted us
Force us to take down social media posts or marketing that already used the photo
Delete copies we already have on file for our records or future use

If you want to revoke our right to make new uses of a specific photo going forward (e.g., your face is visible and you want to opt out of future marketing), email hello@archguide.co.

8. Public Profile & Discover Page

Opt-in required. You choose whether:

Your profile is publicly visible
Your photos appear on the Discover page

Toggle these anytime in Account Settings. Even with public visibility off, our license to use uploaded photos for marketing and social media remains in effect.

9. Violations & Enforcement

Violations include:

Uploading inappropriate content
Removing or altering Arch Guide branding from shared images
Using our branding outside the App
Repeatedly uploading non-architectural content
Infringing on others' rights

Consequences:

Minor violations: Warning, photo removal
Repeated violations: Account strikes
Serious violations (hateful content, illegal material, trademark infringement): Immediate permanent ban

10. Your Representations

By uploading photos, you represent and warrant that:

You took the photo or have full rights to upload it
The photo does not infringe on anyone's copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity rights
All identifiable people in the photo have consented to being photographed
The photo complies with all laws and these Terms