Houghton Photo

Terms of service

Last updated: 16 May 2026

These terms govern your use of Photo Panel (the "Service"), a web application provided by Houghton Photo ("we", "us"), trading as a sole trader registered in Ireland by Joe Houghton. By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these terms.

1. The Service

Photo Panel lets you upload photographs, arrange them into a panel layout, and receive an AI-generated critique. The critique is produced by sending your image(s) and a fixed instruction prompt to Anthropic's Claude API. The text returned is generated by an AI model and is informational - it isn't a guarantee of competition success or photographic merit.

2. Accounts

You need an account to use Photo Panel. You may sign up with an email and password, or with Google. You're responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your password secure. Don't share your account credentials. If you suspect unauthorised use of your account, email joe.houghton@gmail.com immediately.

You must be at least 16 years of age to create an account (the minimum age for valid consent under the Irish Data Protection Act 2018).

3. Credits and payments

The Service runs on a credit model. Every new account receives five free credits on signup. Each critique deducts one credit. When your balance reaches zero you may top up by purchasing more credits.

Credits are sold through Paddle.com Market Limited ("Paddle"), which acts as the Merchant of Record for all card payments. Paddle handles the transaction, takes payment in your local currency where available, and issues the invoice. Their terms and refund policy apply to the payment leg; ours apply to the credits you receive.

Pricing. Current prices are shown on the pricing page. We may change prices in the future. Any price change applies only to credits purchased on or after the change date - credits you already hold stay valid at the rate at which you bought them.

Refunds.Credits are non-refundable once purchased, with two exceptions: (a) we'll restore credits automatically if a critique fails because of a server error on our side; (b) we'll consider a refund on a case-by-case basis where required by EU consumer law (typically within 14 days of purchase, where the credits haven't been used). Contact joe.houghton@gmail.com if you believe either applies.

Expiry. Credits do not expire. They remain on your account until used or until your account is deleted.

4. Your content

You retain all rights to the photographs you upload. By uploading you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to (a) process the image in memory and pass it to Anthropic's Claude API for the critique, and (b) hold it transiently while the critique is being produced. We do not store your photographs after the critique completes. We do not use your photographs to train AI models. We do not share them with any third party other than Anthropic, who processes them under their own privacy policy.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

Upload images you don't have the right to upload, including images that infringe copyright, trademark, or any other right of a third party.
Upload content that depicts a child sexually, depicts non-consenting adults, or otherwise violates applicable law.
Use the Service to harass, defame, or impersonate another person.
Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract the AI prompts or model weights.
Use automated tools to scrape, rate-bombard, or otherwise stress the Service beyond ordinary use.
Resell credits or access to the Service without our prior written permission.

We may suspend or terminate an account that breaches these rules, without refund of any unused credits, and in serious cases may report conduct to the relevant authorities.

6. AI-generated output

Critiques are produced by Claude, an AI model operated by Anthropic. Output is generated automatically and may contain inaccuracies, omissions, or judgements you disagree with. The critique is offered as one perspective among many. We do not guarantee that critiques will pass any particular RPS panel, win any competition, or reflect the opinion of any specific human judge.

7. Service availability

We aim to keep the Service available at all times but don't guarantee uninterrupted access. We may take the Service down for maintenance, security, or to roll out updates. We're not liable for any inability to access the Service. If a planned outage will last more than a few minutes, we'll attempt to notify signed-in users in advance.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or related to the Service is limited to the amount you paid for credits in the twelve months immediately preceding the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, or loss of goodwill.

Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

9. Termination

You may close your account at any time by emailing joe.houghton@gmail.com. Unused credits are forfeit on closure. We may terminate or suspend your account if you breach these terms, with written notice (by email) except where the breach is serious enough to require immediate action.

10. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Substantive changes will be notified by email to your account address at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after that date constitutes acceptance.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ireland. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these terms is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts, except that, if you are a consumer resident in another EU member state, you may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence.

12. Contact

For any question about these terms, contact Joe Houghton at joe.houghton@gmail.com.