A photo booth processes personal data, and the most sensitive kind there is at a party: faces. Add e-mail addresses for delivery and sometimes names from a guest form. GDPR does not demand a doctoral thesis for this, but it does demand a few things that must be settled before the event. This checklist goes through them one by one and says at each point what BoothDock brings along and what stays with you.
1. Legal basis: consent on the device
Every processing operation needs a legal basis (Art. 6 GDPR). For a photo booth, in practice, that is consent: the guest decides whether to step in front of the camera and confirms before the capture that the photo will be stored. Three things matter: consent comes before the capture, it is voluntary, and you can later prove who was shown which text.
Separate from this are purposes that go beyond the photo itself, such as publication on the company website or being contacted later. Each needs its own tick box that the guest can decline without giving up their photo.
In BoothDock: The notice screen before the capture is switched on under System, Protection, Privacy notice. Storage is the mandatory tick there; publication and contact are optional ticks with their own text. Every consent is written to the consent log with a timestamp and the exact wording shown, and you can export that log as a file.
2. Duty to inform: the notice before the photo
Whoever collects data must inform the people concerned (Art. 13 GDPR): who is responsible, what the photos are processed for, how long they are kept, who receives them and what rights the guest has. Nobody reads three pages at a party. What works is a short text on the device plus a sign or a link with the full information.
In BoothDock: You write the text on the notice screen yourself, in every guest language. Only a neutral default sentence is provided; replace it with your name, the purpose, the gallery retention and where the full information can be found.
3. DPA with the software provider
As soon as a service provider stores or sends photos for you, it is a processor, and that requires a contract (Art. 28 GDPR). Without a data processing agreement there is no basis for the provider to touch the guest photos at all; corporate clients ask for it before they accept a quote.
In BoothDock: The DPA is at boothdock.cloud/avv and is accepted when you register in the Hub. If the text changes, the Hub asks again before you continue. You do not have to request anything or collect signatures.
4. Storage location: servers in the EU
Where the photos are stored decides whether you have to explain a transfer to a third country. If gallery and storage are in the EU, that question disappears, and your quote to a corporate client gets one paragraph shorter.
In BoothDock: Hub, gallery and photo storage run on servers in the EU. The booth itself works locally and only uploads once a connection exists.
5. Retention periods: set in advance, not improvised afterwards
Personal data may only be kept as long as the purpose requires. "We delete at some point" is not a period. A gallery that expires on its own after a fixed time is the simplest form of a deletion concept, and the period belongs in your quote and in the notice on the device.
In BoothDock: Per event, under Gallery and guests, you set the retention: 90 days by default, 365 days with PIN protection, 730 days at most. In the Free plan the gallery stays online for 2 days. After that it expires automatically, without anyone having to remember. If you want an event gone sooner, delete it in the Hub.
6. Guests' deletion requests: at the booth and from the gallery
Guests have the right to have their data erased (Art. 17 GDPR). With a photo booth there are two moments for this: right after the capture, when the photo is disliked, and days later, when someone discovers the picture in the gallery. Both need a route that does not run through your inbox.
In BoothDock: The result screen has a "Delete" button that you enable per booth. It really discards the capture, including from the gallery in the Hub, after a confirmation and only shortly after the capture. In the gallery, every guest can request deletion of their photos. The request appears in the event under Deletion requests, and you receive an e-mail with a review link. If you do not decide within 30 days, the photo is removed automatically. A forgotten request therefore never stays open.
7. Access protection for the gallery
A gallery reachable via a guessable address or a search engine is a data breach that simply has not been noticed yet. The link must be long and random.
In BoothDock: The gallery is never openly discoverable. Per event you choose between a secret link and an additional PIN. With the scope "per session", each guest sees only their own photos; the QR code on the print leads exactly there. A wrong address shows a neutral page with no hint of the event. Details are in the wiki under Protecting access.
8. Pass on guest data only with consent
The host often wants the guests' e-mail addresses for their own invitations. They may only have them if the guest has expressly agreed, to this transfer, to this recipient, for this purpose. An address the guest enters only to receive their photo is not marketing consent.
In BoothDock: The address from the "Receive by e-mail" window is used only to send that photo; the Hub does not store it, and you do not get to see it either. If the host is to receive addresses, use the guest-data form with its own voluntary tick box whose text you write yourself. It is never mandatory and never pre-selected. The export "Export only with marketing consent" produces a CSV file containing exclusively guests who set the tick. Only that list goes to the client. The guide: Photos by e-mail only.
9. Who is responsible: you, the client or both?
This is the question most often left open. If you rent the booth to a bridal couple, they act privately; responsibility for the processing then usually lies with you as the operator, because you provide device, software and gallery and decide on purpose and means. With a corporate client who receives the photos for their own purposes or gets the guest list, it can look different: either both of you are joint controllers, or you act as a processor for the company and need a DPA with the client, not just with the software provider.
Which role applies depends on who decides what, and that belongs in a legal consultation. Regardless: name the role in your quote and settle it before the event, not after.
10. Print and gallery: two outputs, the same rules
The print leaves the room with the guest. For the gallery, everything above applies: retention, access protection, deletion route. If guests may upload their own phone photos, switch on moderation in BoothDock; uploads then only appear after your approval.
The checklist to tick off
- Notice screen before the capture switched on, text with your name, purpose and retention?
- Publication and contact as separate, voluntary tick boxes?
- Full privacy information as a sign or link at the device?
- DPA with the software provider accepted and filed?
- Storage location of the photos known and named in the quote?
- Gallery retention set per event and communicated to the client?
- "Delete" on the result screen enabled, deletion requests in the Hub kept in view?
- Gallery with secret link or PIN, scope "per session" where it fits?
- Guest data exported and passed on only with the marketing tick?
- Role towards the client (controller, joint, processor) clarified?
Notice screen, consent log, deletion at the booth, deletion requests and the protected gallery link are part of every plan, including the free one. Gallery retention beyond 2 days and the guest-data export in the Hub belong to the paid plan; the differences are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need consent for every guest photo?
For a photo booth, consent is the usual route, because the guest decides whether to step in front of the camera. It should be obtained before the capture and logged. Whether legitimate interest could apply alongside depends on the individual case and belongs in a legal consultation.
How long may I keep guest photos in the gallery?
As long as the purpose requires, and that period should be fixed in advance. In BoothDock you set a retention period per event: 90 days by default, 365 with a PIN, 730 at most. After that the gallery expires on its own.
May I pass guests' e-mail addresses on to the host?
Only if the guest has expressly agreed, naming the recipient and the purpose. In BoothDock there is a voluntary tick box in the guest-data form for this, and the export "only with marketing consent" contains only those guests.
This article describes BoothDock's features and is not legal advice. Which legal basis, which role and which periods apply to your business model is something to clarify with a data protection advisor.