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Terms of Use

Last updated: September 18, 2026.

This is a general-purpose template, not legal advice — have it reviewed by a lawyer before relying on it, especially the sections on liability and content ownership.

What this means, in short

  • Anyone can browse; publishing requires an approved photographer account (18+).
  • Photos are of places, not people — portraits, selfies, and photos where a person is the subject aren't accepted (see section 3).
  • You own your photos, but you're responsible for having the rights to publish them.
  • Content involving minors, non-consensual imagery, copyright infringement, hate speech, or harassment is never allowed, no exceptions.
  • Breaking these rules can get content removed, your account suspended, or banned — serious cases are reported to the authorities.
  • New accounts are reviewed before they can publish, and can be declined or suspended at Portrait Snap's discretion.
  • The site is offered "as is," with no warranty, and isn't liable for what other users post.

This summary simplifies the full terms below for convenience — the numbered sections are what actually governs your use of the site.

1. Who this applies to

These terms apply to everyone who uses Portrait Snap ("the site") — visitors browsing photos, and photographers with a publishing account. Photographer accounts are only available to people 18 years of age or older, and are reviewed by an administrator before they can publish.

2. Your content

You keep ownership of every photo you publish. By publishing, you confirm that:

  • You personally took the photo yourself, with a camera or phone, and are uploading the original file. Downloaded images, stock photography, screenshots, AI-generated images, and photos someone else took are never acceptable here, even if you otherwise hold the rights to use them. This is checked via the camera EXIF data embedded in the original file — see how to upload photos with EXIF data for what that means in practice and why a photo might get rejected.
  • Anyone who happens to be incidentally visible in an otherwise place-focused photo (see section 3) isn't the subject of the photo, and you have the necessary permission (a model release, where legally required) from anyone who is recognizably identifiable regardless.
  • You grant Portrait Snap a license to host, display, and technically process the image (resizing, format conversion, filters, watermarking) for the purpose of operating the site.

3. Content that is not allowed

Portrait Snap publishes photos of places — architecture, murals, streets, parks, and similar public points of interest ("portrait" in the name refers to the photo's orientation, not to portraiture of people — see the about page). To keep every published photo free of the consent, privacy, and safeguarding questions that come with photographing identifiable individuals, people are not an accepted subject here:

  • Portraits, selfies, and any photo where a person is the subject or focal point. A person who happens to be incidentally visible in an otherwise place-focused public photo — someone walking through a street scene, for example — is fine; a photo taken of or centered on a person is not.

Every photo is also assigned one of Portrait Snap's fixed subject categories at upload — a photo isn't accepted without one, and there's no catch-all "Other" option, so a photo that doesn't genuinely fit one of these isn't a fit for the site:

  • Murals & Street Art
  • Buildings & Architecture
  • Bridges & Infrastructure
  • Nature & Landscapes
  • Urban & Street
  • Transit & Vehicles
  • Parks & Green Spaces
  • Waterfront
  • Public Art & Sculpture
  • Events

The following is also never permitted, and will be removed on discovery:

  • Content that sexualizes, exploits, or endangers minors, in any way. This is reported to the relevant authorities and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (or the equivalent body in your jurisdiction) without exception.
  • Non-consensual intimate imagery, or photos taken/published without the depicted person's consent where consent is legally or ethically required.
  • Content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.
  • Graphic violence, content promoting self-harm, or material intended to harass, threaten, or demean an individual or group.
  • Hate speech, or content that attacks people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or similar protected characteristics.
  • Spam, malware, deceptive metadata, or content that misrepresents who took a photo or where it was taken.
  • Anything illegal under the laws applicable to you or to Portrait Snap's operation.

4. What happens if these rules are broken

Depending on severity, Portrait Snap may: remove the specific content, suspend the account (hiding all of that account's published photos and blocking further uploads), or permanently disable the account. Content that may be illegal — most seriously, anything involving the endangerment of minors — is reported to the appropriate authorities regardless of any other action taken. Portrait Snap reserves the right to take any of these actions at its own discretion, without advance notice, when it reasonably believes these terms have been violated.

5. Account reviews

New photographer accounts are reviewed by an administrator before they can publish. Portrait Snap may decline to approve an account, or may later suspend one, at its discretion.

6. No warranty, limitation of liability

Portrait Snap is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Portrait Snap and its operator are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the site, including content posted by other users.

7. Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated from time to time. Continued use of the site after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

8. Contact

Questions about these terms, or to report content that violates them, can be sent to [email protected].