Selfie and result from the Portreya example library. Style and result vary with your selfie and options.
AI headshots can be safe for LinkedIn, your resume and directories when the provider is clear about how long it keeps your photos, how deletion works, whether uploads train models, and who handles payment. The real risk is uploading your face to a vague service, not science fiction. Below are the 7 questions to ask any provider, and Portreya's answers, one by one.
Questions every provider should answer in under a minute
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Are uploads used for model training by default? | Training reuse is a different risk class than one-off generation |
| How long are source photos and results retained? | Long retention without need is avoidable exposure |
| Can I request deletion? | You should be able to remove personal images after you download what you need |
| Who processes payment? | Card data should sit with a known payment processor, not a mystery form |
| Where is data stored / which laws apply? | GDPR-aware users care about region and rights language |
Write the answers down before you pay. Marketing blurbs are not a privacy policy. | Who processes the image? | Your selfie may pass through third-party AI providers with their own terms | | Are uploads moderated? | An automatic check stops prohibited content, but it also means the image is analysed |
Portreya's answers, one by one
Here are the same questions, answered with what our privacy policy says.
| Question | Portreya's answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Are uploads used for model training? | We do not train a custom face model for your account. Provider handling, including any retention or model-improvement setting, depends on the provider and configuration used. | Privacy policy, §2 |
| How long are photos kept? | Uploaded selfies, generated photos and related account records may remain while your account exists. AI providers may also retain request or output data under their own terms. | §5 |
| Can I delete them? | Yes. You can delete individual selfies and generated images, or all your images in account settings. To erase your account and data, email support@portreya.com; we confirm the scope and status. Some operational, security, transaction, backup or legally required records may be kept longer. | §2, §5, §9 |
| Who processes payment? | Stripe. | §3 |
| Where is data stored? | Application hosting, database and images are with Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany (EU). Some providers process data outside your country. | §3 |
| Who processes the image? | Third-party AI providers process your image. The current list is in the provider table of the privacy policy. More context in how AI headshots work. | §3 |
| Are uploads moderated? | Yes. Uploads may be scanned automatically to detect and reject prohibited content. A rejected image may already have been uploaded or briefly retained before the check completes. | §2 |
How the photos are made: we use generative image models from third-party AI providers. Your selfie is passed as a reference image; we don't train a model per person. There is an automatic editing step afterwards and no separate upscaling step.
Risks that are realistic (and ones that usually are not)
Real risks
- Uploading to a free or unknown site with no retention policy
- Keeping old selfies on a third-party server longer than you need
- Publishing a result that looks like a younger or heavily edited cousin, which can backfire in interviews
- Using work email + face on a tool your employer has not approved for regulated roles
Risks that are often overstated
- “The model will clone my life forever from one selfie” as a default outcome of every product
- Assuming every paid AI headshot tool is equally careless
- Believing a studio photographer has zero data risk (studios also store files)
What your selfie reveals besides your face
A photo says more than your face. Before you upload, check four things:
- Location. Many phone photos store metadata with the place and time. Turn off camera location, strip it when sharing, or upload a screenshot of the photo.
- The background. An address, a document, a screen or your company uniform give clues about you. Use a plain wall.
- Other people. If someone else is in the shot, especially a child, you need their permission. Crop or retake instead. Spain's data protection agency (AEPD) covers this in its guide on using third-party images in AI systems (in Spanish).
- Deepfakes. Any public photo can be used to impersonate you. Generating a headshot once doesn't raise that risk on its own, unless the provider reuses or publishes your uploads. Only publish what you'd publish anyway.
How to evaluate a tool in five minutes
- Open the privacy policy and search for training, retention, delete, and subprocessors.
- Check whether free tiers trade quality or rights for vague “research” language.
- Confirm you can download results and whether account deletion is documented.
- Generate with a non-sensitive selfie first if you are still unsure.
- Prefer products that state commercial use terms clearly for LinkedIn and resume use.
Portreya does not train a custom face model for your account. You can request deletion through support, which will confirm the scope and status; operational, transaction, backup, or legally required records may remain longer.
If you're comparing options, see our list of the best AI headshot generators in 2026.
How Portreya approaches individual headshots
Portreya is for individuals, not HR rollouts:
- One clear selfie (additional source photos optional)
- about a minute per photo to results
- Paid one-time generation packs at the current published price
- One-time payment (no subscription required to finish)
- 14-day Money-back guarantee on paid plans
Workplace and compliance notes
If you need photos for a whole company, ask IT or HR first which vendor is approved and whether they require a data processing agreement.
Checklist before you upload a selfie
- I read retention and training language
- I know how deletion works
- Payment processor is recognizable
- Selfie is recent and only shows me
- I will choose a natural final image
- I know whether this is personal use or company policy territory
- I removed location data and nobody else is in the photo.
Next step
If the privacy basics check out for your use case, start with one clear selfie on the AI headshot generator. It takes about a minute per photo, and packs start at $5.99 (1 Pack, 2 photos), one-time payment. For cost context, see how much professional headshots cost.
