At VSCO, we believe in fostering a creative and inclusive environment where everyone can experiment freely, be inspired, and make meaningful connections. Our mission is to nurture creativity to help all creators make it.

 

Image by seandanaher

 

Users on our platform (who we refer to as “Creators”) bring VSCO to life. When you share your work — whether it’s photos, videos, or thoughtful comments — you’re contributing to a creative space built for creators. As defined in our Terms of Use, the content you share or publish on VSCO, such as images, videos, and comments, is what we call “Creator Content.” 

As a Creator-first company, we deeply value the work of Creators. We know that behind each image, every edit, and every shared moment, there can be great effort and passion. We respect that. Our goal is to ensure that your work is valued, protected, and treated with care.

These Creator Content Standards (these “Standards”) are here to give you clarity and confidence in how we approach your creative work. We want you to fully understand how your publicly shared content is handled, how we protect your data, and how we’re committed to fostering a space where creators feel empowered to create, share, and grow.

 

Creator Content on VSCO

How We Protect Your Privacy (including your PI) on VSCO

Our Responsible Use of Creator Content

Protecting Creator Content From Misuse

Managing Your Content’s Visibility

 

Creator Content on VSCO

VSCO is designed to be a community-based, creative platform for Creators. As our VSCO community evolves, we continue to build features that may be designed differently than what you might see elsewhere, but always with Creators at the center of all we do. 

Creator Content is shared throughout our platform (both in app and on our web experience) and off platform in various ways (for SEO optimization, creator-driven sharing, and related purposes). In addition, your access to VSCO’s creative tools and features is shaped by your membership status. Whether you're on a free account or a paid member, we want you to have the best possible experience. 

 

VSCO Membership Entitlements

We operate our business as a subscription-based business with multiple tiers of VSCO membership, currently Plus and Pro. A VSCO membership unlocks additional benefits, exclusive tools, and enhanced services that only paid members will have the ability to engage with or use. This helps us continue developing innovative tools and features that empower Creators like you. It also allows us to cultivate a vibrant, authentic community where creativity thrives.

Non-paying Creators still have access to a range of features to support their creative journey. No matter how you choose to engage, we’re here to support and inspire your creativity.

 

Publicly Shared Content

While we do require a registered account to have full access to our platform, most content on VSCO is public by default. For example, any images you share to your profile, as well as in public VSCO Spaces are made public by default. This is to encourage an open exchange of creative content among Creators in the VSCO community. We refer to such content as “Public Creator Content.”

As we design and offer additional products and services, any Creator Content that is shared broadly with other Creators will be managed as Public Creator Content. 

We continuously work to protect your Creator Content from misuse and to keep our community safe. Part of this includes requiring that everyone with full access to our community is logged into a VSCO account. Although our main website and limited web experiences are accessible to anyone online, logged-in users have access to complete profiles and content.

 

Private Creator Content on VSCO 

There are areas on our platform that are better served for publishing private content, such as our Messages feature where our Creators can connect and interact with one another to build community. We have also enabled private VSCO Spaces, for groups of selected contributors that can only be accessed by a shared link, and Client Spaces where Creators can share portfolios or photo shoot images with their clients in a private manner. 

Except for information you choose to disclose, any personal information (“PI”) related to you or your account is also kept private and secure. All of this information constitutes “Private Creator Content.”

 

 

How We Protect Your Privacy (including your PI) on VSCO

VSCO may share public content with others, but we do not license or make available Private Creator Content or your PI that you choose to not disclose publicly, such as:

• Private Messages;
• Unpublished Studio content or drafts (these are saved only on device, unless you opt-in for our cloud sync features as a paid member);
• Non-public account information or personally identifiable information, such as your email address, IP address, etc.; and
• Content shared in Private Spaces or Client Spaces.

We care deeply about your privacy and work to ensure your private data is not shared without your permission, unless required by law. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy.

 

 

Our Responsible Use of Creator Content

We believe in the power of collaboration and creative exploration. To support this, we work closely with trusted third-party service providers and partners to both improve the Creator experience by providing our Creators the best products and services and to provide our Creators exposure for their work and talent. Partnering with such providers enables opportunities for Creators to get exposure, to find paid work, and build their professional portfolio and business.

 

General Standards

We operate in accordance with the following standards:

• Respect for Ownership: We honor the rights of Creators by requiring that their work is used under a license. Unauthorized use, replication, or misrepresentation of Creator Content has no place on our platform.
  
  
• Protection of Creative Rights: We actively work to protect and prevent misuse or infringement of Creator Content. All use of Creator Content must be in strict compliance with VSCO’s terms and policies.
  
  
• Transparency in Use: We aim to be transparent about how we engage with and share Creator Content. If we feature your work, we make an effort to communicate with you about the purpose of its use.
  
  
• Integrity in Partnerships: We strive to build trust with Creators by fostering thoughtful and equitable partnerships.
  
  
• Always Improving: We’re committed to continuous improvement. If a Creator has concerns or feedback, we’ll listen.

 

Third-Party Partnerships 

As noted above, VSCO will use trusted third-party service providers and partners to be the best platform for our Creators. For example, as a part of VSCO Hub and our efforts to help our Creators succeed as professional photographers and creatives, we have built a sophisticated search tool to allow our Pro Members to be discovered by brands and agencies.

Below are a few other examples of our third-party partnerships.

• Brand Challenges
• Special or exclusive access to partner products
• Exclusive discounts on partner products 
• Photography contests

When working with our partners for Brand Challenges, we require that our creators receive attribution and are paid for their work. 

 

AI License Rights

Paid Member Public Creator Content

If you are a paid member with an active VSCO membership, your Creator Content will not be utilized to develop, train, or improve generative AI models. 

Free Account Public Creator Content

If you are a non-paying Creator on VSCO, your Public Creator Content may be used to develop, train, and improve generative AI models. 

This may be the case with AI models and our AI products and services that we develop internally at VSCO or ones that are developed by our trusted third-party partners. 

This allows us to build and innovate the next best product for our Creators as well as continue to improve the existing products and services we offer, while still maintaining the availability of a free account experience. 

Our goal is to responsibly use content in ways that empower the creative community, uphold ethical standards, and foster trust all in accordance with the following:

• Content Licensed: Only Public Creator Content will be used to develop, train, or improve generative AI models, meaning we do not use Private Creator Content or PI from any Creator for these purposes. We will not train on the Public Creator Content of known minors (Creators who identify they are under the age of 18).
  
  
• Prohibited Uses: We require that Public Creator Content must not be used for any of the following:
  
  
  • • Generating replicas or derivatives that impersonate any Creator or their work without their consent.
    • Violating privacy, or promoting profiling, targeting or discrimination.
    • Use in any illegal, deceptive, unethical, false, misleading, or improper purpose, including the infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
      
      
• Collaboration with Third Party Partners: We will carefully evaluate any potential third-party partners in terms of their alignment with our values. Any Public Creator Content we share for AI training is anonymized where possible to reduce risks of misuse.
  
  
• Ongoing Review and Updates: We will review these Standards periodically as technology and the creative landscape evolves. We plan to communicate any material updates to these Standards or our policies, as applicable.  

AI Content and Creator Data

For all Creators, if you use our AI products and services, we may use your AI Content (as defined in our Terms of Use) to continue to refine and improve these products. 

We may also use limited account information and certain usage data to provide a personalized and customized experience and improve our products and services. This includes AI and machine learning-based tools and features, such as “For this Photo” recommended presets, recommended Creators to follow, and our advanced editing tools. 

For more information on some of these services, please review this article on our recommender systems.

Upgrading to Membership from a Free Account

If you do not want your Public Creator Content to be used for the purposes outlined here, you can upgrade to a VSCO membership, which means your Public Creator Content will not be used to develop, train, or improve generative AI models.

Membership Lapse

If you are paying for a VSCO Membership, and your membership lapses for any reason on or after March 2, 2025, your content will be treated as non-paying Public Creator Content following the expiration of your membership term. 

 

 

Protecting Creator Content From Misuse

We value an open and collaborative creative space. While Public Creator Content is accessible by other Creators in the VSCO community, misuse of this content is not permitted. 

We work to prevent misuse by monitoring access and requiring compliance with our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.

For example, the following activities are strictly prohibited on VSCO:

• Unauthorized data scraping or bulk collection of VSCO Creator Content;
• Using Creator Content for harmful or unethical purposes, including exploitation or harassment; or
• Commercial use of Public Creator Content without our or the Creator’s consent.

When we determine that someone is in violation of our Terms of Use, including our Community Guidelines, we take appropriate action, which may include suspending the account at issue, reporting any illegal activity to law enforcement, and seeking all remedies available to us by law. 

For more information and resources about safety on VSCO, please visit our Safety Center.

 

 

Managing Your Content’s Visibility

While VSCO encourages creativity and the open exchange of content and information, we respect your choice to control your Creator Content. 

Sharing Content More Broadly

We understand that some Creators may want to share their VSCO profiles more broadly with individuals who do not have VSCO accounts. For this reason, we enabled profile customizations for our VSCO Plus and Pro Members to allow more public viewer access. 

Limiting Public Visibility

To limit public visibility, you have the following options:

• Use Private or Client Spaces: You can share content or projects privately with selected collaborators or clients.
  
  
• Delete content: You can choose to delete content posted to VSCO. Removed posts or discussions will no longer be visible to anyone on VSCO.
  
  
• Deactivate your VSCO profile but keep your VSCO account active: You can deactivate your VSCO profile, including Creator Content posted to your profile, Collections and/or Journals. Your profile will no longer be accessible by anyone on VSCO. 
  
  
• Deactivate your VSCO account which includes your VSCO profile: You can elect to deactivate your entire VSCO account. If you take this action, you will no longer be able to access your VSCO profile and purchases.
  
  
• Delete your VSCO account: You can delete your Creator Content and identifiable profile information from VSCO. This action cannot be undone. 

For more information on controls and how to manage your Creator Content on VSCO, see our article on How To Manage Your Content.

 

Image by alvarogil

 

Thank you for being part of the VSCO community and for sharing your work. We’re here to support you every step of the way in your creative journey.

 

Our updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy will be effective on March 2, 2025.

 

Posted January 31, 2025