What we collect
When you interact with @CalesteaBot we receive: your Telegram user ID and display name, your birth date and place (mandatory) and time (optional), and a selfie image. We additionally collect anonymous traffic statistics on calestea.com via Plausible (no cookies set, no cross-site tracking).
Selfie & biometric data (GDPR Art. 9)
Processing your selfie constitutes biometric data processing under GDPR Articles 4(14) and 9: an identity-preservation model extracts your facial geometry to uniquely render your likeness in an AI-generated portrait.
Legal basis: Article 9(2)(a) GDPR — your explicit consent, given in the bot or Mini App before any selfie is uploaded.
Processor: OpenAI, LLC (USA). Your image is transmitted to OpenAI for portrait generation. The transfer to the USA is made under Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) and OpenAI's Data Processing Agreement.
Input selfie retention: by default the original photo is permanently deleted immediately after generation. If you enable "Save selfie" in settings, the photo is stored for reuse and auto-deleted after 30 days of inactivity (12-month hard cap from first upload); turning the setting off deletes it immediately. The input file is never retained beyond this period.
Output portrait retention: the generated portrait (a biometric-derived image) is stored under your Cosmic ID for the lifetime of your account. This is necessary to deliver the paid service (access to your history, re-download). You may request deletion of a specific portrait at any time; all portraits are deleted on account deletion.
Withdrawal of biometric consent: you may withdraw your consent to biometric processing at any time via /privacy in the bot. Withdrawal stops future processing and triggers immediate deletion of any retained input selfies. Already-paid portraits remain accessible under contract performance (you paid for them) unless you separately request their deletion. Withdrawing biometric consent does not affect your birth chart, archetype, or purchase history. This right is distinct from your general right to erasure under GDPR Art. 17.
Birth data
Birth date, place and (optionally) time are used to compute your astrological chart. They are stored attached to your Cosmic ID. They are not sold, never shared with advertisers, and not used to train any third-party model.
Third-party processors
We use the following third parties to operate the service: Anthropic (LLM inference for the bot dialogue), OpenAI (image generation for portraits — receives biometric input data, USA), Telegram (chat platform), and Cloudflare R2 (image storage). Each processor receives only the minimum data required for its function and operates under its own DPA.
Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the right to access, correct, export, and delete your data. To exercise any of these rights, message @CalesteaBot with the command /privacy or email privacy@calestea.com. We respond within 30 days; usually within 48 hours.
Data retention
Cosmic ID data (birth chart, generated portrait, archetype) is retained as long as your account is active. Selfies are deleted immediately after processing (default). If the "Save selfie" setting is enabled, the photo is retained for up to 30 days of inactivity (12-month max from first upload) and deleted immediately when the setting is disabled. If you delete your account, all associated data is purged within 30 days from primary systems and within 90 days from backups.
Age requirements
Calestea is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact privacy@calestea.com and we will delete it immediately.
Portrait generation features (Avatar Packs, Natal Portrait, Past Lives, Couple Portrait) involve biometric data processing. These features require you to be at least 18 years old. Users aged 13–17 may access all text-based features of Calestea but are not permitted to use selfie-upload features.
Changes to this policy
We will post any change to this policy here at least 14 days before it takes effect. Significant changes are also announced via the bot.
Contact
Questions about privacy → privacy@calestea.com. For data-subject requests, please include your Telegram user ID.