How Your Photos Are Handled

Here is the short version: your originals stay with you, nothing is mailed anywhere, your archive stays private to you and the people you invite, your photos are never sold or used to train AI models, and your original files are always free to export.

You are trusting Phossil with your family. So it is fair to ask exactly what happens to a photo once you add it. This page answers that plainly, with no fine print.

What happens to a photo when you add it?

Every photo follows the same simple path. Here it is, step by step.

1. You add it from home, whether you scan a print or upload a photo you already have. Your original stays in your hands. Nothing is mailed anywhere.
2. You upload the scan to your archive. The archive is yours, and it is private from the first photo.
3. Phossil reads the photo to date and organize it. It looks at visual evidence, like clothing, the print style, and the objects in the frame, to estimate when the photo was taken. It gives you a date range with a confidence band, never a fake exact year.
4. The photo joins your timeline. It becomes part of a dated, searchable archive that only you and the people you invite can see.

No person pages through your album. The reading and dating are done by software, for your eyes only. There is no review floor and no editor looking over your shoulder.

Do I need to mail my photos anywhere?

No. Some services ask you to ship your original prints across the country to be digitized by hand (Legacybox, How It Works). Phossil works the other way. You scan at home and upload the scans, so your originals never travel. Because nothing is in the mail, there is nothing to lose or damage in transit.

What does Phossil never do?

Some promises are easiest to keep when they are stated plainly. Here is what we never do with your photos.

• Never sold. Your photos and your data are never sold to anyone.
• Never used to train AI models. Your photos train nothing. They are read only to build your own archive.
• Never mailed anywhere. Your photos stay home with you, so your originals never leave your house.
• No ads. Phossil is not paid for by advertising, so your memories are never turned into ad targeting.

You can read the full detail on our security and privacy pages.

Who can see your photos?

Only you and the people you invite.

Your archive is private by default. You choose who joins each collection. People you invite as viewers can look. People you invite as editors can help you organize. No one else can see your photos, and no one at Phossil pages through your album.

What if you ever want to leave?

This is the question families care about most, so here is the clear answer: your originals are always yours to take with you.

• Export is always free. Downloading your original files is never locked behind a payment.
• Your archive is never locked. If your access ever lapses, your archive becomes read-only. You can still open it, look through it, download it, and export everything.
• Nothing is deleted because access lapsed. Your photos stay right where they are.

The promise is simple. What you put in, you can always take back out. See how access works on the pricing page.

Common questions