OceanLens · Data & Privacy
Last Updated: May 2026
Welcome to OceanLens. We prioritize data privacy, copyright protection, and transparency. Below is our comprehensive policy on how our AI securely processes and minimizes your data:
OceanLens strictly adheres to data minimization principles. Because using this platform requires your explicit consent, the images you upload are converted into mathematical data (Vector Embeddings) solely for morphological analysis and improving our Machine Learning model's accuracy. We absolutely do not sell, distribute, or use your original images to train Generative AI models (e.g., AI image generators).
You retain 100% full ownership and copyright of your photographic work. To make OceanLens function properly, you strictly grant us the necessary technical permissions to process your image through our system — royalty-free (no licensing fees are charged for processing) and worldwide (our infrastructure spans multiple geographic zones, including Google Cloud and our cloud storage servers in Singapore). This permission is used solely to extract mathematical data (Vector Embeddings) for species identification and to improve our specific model's accuracy. We do not claim ownership of your work, and we guarantee your raw images will NEVER be sold or used to train Generative AI (e.g., AI image generators).
Once processed, your image becomes part of our marine species reference collection. Since OceanLens does not require login, deletion requests are handled manually — simply email privacy@oceanlens.app with your approximate upload date and the species submitted. Once processed, your image is converted into anonymous mathematical patterns (Vector Embeddings) — numbers that describe shapes and colors, not a recoverable copy of your photo. Like every AI platform in existence, these learned patterns become part of the model's general knowledge and cannot be individually isolated. We are transparent about this limitation upfront, before you upload, because we believe you deserve to know.
The system is free to use with no login required, meaning we do not collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as names or emails. We only use basic Local Storage for browser preferences. However, for abuse prevention and rate limiting purposes, we temporarily process your IP address. IP logs are not linked to your uploaded images and are automatically purged on a rolling basis.
For designated expert contributors, our system will prominently display your name and website link whenever the AI identifies a species using your reference image. This applies only to photographers who have submitted reference images through our expert contributor pipeline — not general uploads.
To deliver AI-powered species identification, your uploaded image is securely transmitted to the following third-party processors: (1) Google Cloud services — for image pre-screening and AI analysis (processed under Google's Cloud Data Processing terms); (2) our cloud storage provider — for secure image storage (hosted in Singapore, ap-southeast-1 region). No image in our reference collection is ever shared outside these processors. No data is sold or used for advertising purposes.
We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized usage statistics such as page views, session duration, and general geographic region. Google Analytics may set cookies on your browser. This data is aggregated and cannot identify you personally. We do not use any advertising cookies or tracking pixels. You may disable cookies in your browser settings at any time.