Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 27, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Animation Reference (“we”, “us”) handles information when you use animationreference.org (the “Website”) and the Animation Reference — Clip & Save browser extension (the “Extension”). Together these are the “Services”.

Using the Services means you agree to this policy. It works alongside our Terms of Use.

1. Information we collect

1.1 Account information. When you register we collect your email address and a display name. If you sign in with Google, Google provides us your email address, name, and profile picture — we never see your Google password. If you register with an email and password, authentication is handled by Firebase Authentication and we never store your password ourselves.

1.2 Profile information. Anything you choose to add to your public profile — biography, links, avatar, role, location, portfolio items and breakdowns. This is optional, and whatever you put here is visible to other users.

1.3 Content you create. Boards, saved references, moodboards, drawings, clips, comments, feedback, production and crew listings, and any files you upload.

1.4 Payment information. Subscriptions are processed by Stripe. We never receive or store your card number. Stripe gives us a customer identifier, your subscription status and plan tier, which is all we keep.

1.5 Technical information. Like most websites, our hosting and content delivery providers automatically log IP addresses, browser and device type, and pages requested. This is used for security, abuse prevention and diagnosing faults.

1.6 Communications. If you email us or submit feedback, we keep that correspondence so we can respond and follow up.

2. The Clip & Save browser extension

The Extension is covered by this same policy. Because browser extensions can be intrusive, here is precisely what ours does and does not do.

2.1 What it accesses. The Extension places a small capture button on web pages so you can save a video you are watching. To do that it needs permission to run on the sites you visit. It reads a page’s address and video details only when you actively click to capture — it does not read, log, or transmit the pages you browse otherwise.

2.2 What it stores on your device. Your Animation Reference sign-in token, its refresh token and expiry, and the address of the site it is paired with. These live in your browser’s local extension storage on your own computer. They are used to prove you are signed in when saving a clip. Signing out or disconnecting removes them.

2.3 What it sends us. When you capture a clip, the Extension sends the page address and the video’s public metadata (such as title, duration and thumbnail) to animationreference.org so the clip can be saved to your account.

2.4 What it never does. The Extension does not sell or transfer your data to third parties; does not use your data for advertising, credit scoring or lending decisions; does not track your browsing history; does not record your screen, microphone or camera; and contains no remotely-hosted or dynamically-executed code. Its use of information is limited to providing and improving the capture feature.

2.5 Removing it. Uninstalling the Extension from your browser deletes everything it stored on your device. Clips already saved to your account remain in your account until you delete them.

3. How we use information

• To create and operate your account and authenticate you.
• To store, display and sync the references, boards and work you save.
• To process subscriptions and manage billing.
• To send transactional email — welcome messages, crew application notices, and account or security notifications.
• To display your public profile and any work you choose to publish.
• To keep the Services secure, prevent abuse, and fix problems.
• To respond when you contact us.

4. Service providers

We use a small number of established providers to run the Services. They process data only on our instructions and for the purposes below:

• Google Firebase — authentication, database, and file storage.
• Stripe — subscription payments and billing.
• Bunny.net — video hosting and content delivery.
• Resend — transactional email delivery.
• Google AI — optional AI-assisted features. Content is sent for processing only when you use one of those features.

5. What we do not do

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with data brokers, we do not run third-party advertising or advertising trackers on the Services, and we do not use your personal information to make decisions about credit or lending.

We disclose information outside the providers listed above only when we are legally required to, or where it is genuinely necessary to protect the rights and safety of our users. If Animation Reference were ever acquired or merged, account data could transfer as part of that business — you would be told before it happened.

6. Public information

Some things are public by design: your profile, published breakdowns, portfolio items, production and crew listings, and anything else you deliberately publish. Please treat those as visible to anyone, including search engines. Private boards, vaults and drafts are not public.

7. Retention

We keep your account information and the content you create for as long as your account is open. When you delete your account we remove your personal information and private content, apart from records we must keep for legal or accounting reasons — payment records, for example. Server logs are kept for a limited period and then discarded.

8. Your rights

Wherever you live, you may ask us to:

• Give you a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct anything that is wrong — most of this you can edit yourself in your profile.
• Delete your account and the personal information attached to it.
• Stop sending you non-essential email.

Email michaelfred124@gmail.com from the address on your account and we will respond within 30 days. Depending on where you live — for example the EEA, UK, or California — you may have further rights, including to object to processing or to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. We honour these requests regardless of where you are.

9. Security

Traffic is encrypted in transit. Authentication is handled by Firebase, and payment details go directly to Stripe without passing through our servers. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us promptly if you think your account has been compromised.

10. Children

The Services are not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. International users

We operate from the United States and our providers may process and store data there and in other countries. By using the Services you understand your information may be transferred outside your country of residence.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Services change. The “Last Updated” date above will always reflect the current version, and we will give notice on the Website for significant changes.

13. Contact

Questions about this policy or about your data: michaelfred124@gmail.com.

See also our Terms of Use and DMCA Policy.