A few years ago, "where is my data stored?" felt like a question for IT people. Today it feels like a question for every family.
We're living in turbulent times. Free trade is making way for tariffs and trade barriers. Alliances that felt rock-solid are being questioned. Rules that seemed permanent can change overnight, decided by governments we didn't vote for, in countries we don't live in. And in the middle of all that sits something most of us never think about: the photos of our kids.
The question nobody asked
When my wife and I went looking for a family album app, we compared features, prices, ease of use. But one thing really stuck with me: almost every app we found stored its data outside of Europe.
Think about what that means. Your baby's first steps, your toddler's funniest quotes, the moments you'll want to look back on in twenty years… all living on servers under another country's laws. If those laws change, if the relationship between Europe and that country sours, if access to your data becomes a bargaining chip, you have very little say in it.
Data isn't just data anymore. It has become strategic, and it's increasingly caught up in the same tensions as steel, chips and energy. I didn't want our family's memories to be part of that game.
So I built a European family album
When I started building TinyMoments, I made one decision before anything else: this would be a European family album. Built in Belgium, with your memories stored in Belgium. 🏡
Not because it was the easy option (it wasn't), or because it was the cheapest option (heck no, it's way more expensive), but because I believe Europe is the best place in the world to keep something this precious:
- The strongest data protection in the world. The GDPR gives you real, enforceable rights over your personal data, wherever the company behind an app is based.
- Leading on responsible AI. With the EU AI Act, Europe is the first to set clear rules on how AI may and may not be used.
- The rule of law. Independent courts and regulators that actually enforce the rules, regardless of which way the political winds are blowing.
In a world that feels less predictable every month, that stability matters. Europe's rules don't flip with the next trade dispute.
What this means for you
Big words are easy, so here's what it concretely means when you use TinyMoments:
- Your memories are stored in Belgium. Every photo, video, quote and milestone you add is stored in a data centre in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium. The servers that run the app are there too.
- A Belgian company, under Belgian and EU law. TinyMoments is run by a Belgian company, bound by the GDPR and the Belgian Data Protection Act. If you ever have a complaint, you can turn to the Belgian Data Protection Authority, in your own language.
- Your family is not the product. No ads, no advertising trackers, and we never sell or rent your data. Ever.
- Your children's photos never train AI. We don't use your photos, videos or quotes to train AI models. It's written in our privacy policy, black on white.
- Truly private. Only the family members you invite can see your moments. Not other users, not the public. Everything is encrypted, both on the way to our servers and while it's stored there.
- You're in control. You can view, correct or delete your data at any time. Deleting your account takes a few taps and removes all your moments, photos and videos.
- Your memories are never locked in. You can export all your moments to a PDF anytime. Whatever happens in the world, your memories stay yours.
- Payments stay in Europe too. Subscriptions are handled by a European payment provider, and we never see or store your card number.
Full transparency, because that's how I want to run TinyMoments: a few small helper services, like the ones that deliver emails and push notifications, are run by providers outside the EU. They never see your photos or videos, and they're bound by EU-approved data protection agreements. Everything is listed in our privacy policy.
Coming in October: your own printed photobook 📖
Remember the empty family album from our origin story? This one's for that book. 😄
In October we're launching something I'm really excited about: Print to Photobook. You pick your favourite moments, TinyMoments lays them out for you, and in just a few minutes your photobook is ready. We print it and ship it straight to your doorstep.
And true to our European roots, we chose a European print partner for it.
Built by a parent, for a parent
I can't do much about tariffs or trade wars. But I can make sure that the place where our children's memories live isn't affected by them. Keeping that place in Belgium, under European rules, is a big part of what "safe" means to me.
If you have questions about how we handle your data, or ideas to make TinyMoments better, I'd love to hear from you at hello@tinymoments.io.
Lots of love,
Maxim 💛