Privacy and terms

• When you enquire: your name, phone or email, and anything you choose to tell us.
• When we make a book: interview recordings and transcripts, the stories and memories shared, scanned photos and documents you send us, and names of family members mentioned.
• When you order from the Gift shop: your name, email, phone, delivery address, the words you'd like on your keepsakes and any photos you upload.
• When you pay: payment records and billing details.

Only to reply to you, to make and deliver your family's book and keepsakes, and to keep the records the law requires. We never sell your information, and we never use your family's story, voice or photos for marketing.

Before we record anything, we ask the person telling their story for written consent. They can choose topics to leave out, and they can stop a conversation or withdraw consent at any time. If you share details about other family members, please make sure they are comfortable with this.

We use a small number of trusted services to do our work, such as secure cloud storage, transcription and writing tools (including AI tools), design software and our printing partner. Gift shop orders and photos are received through our website host, Netlify, and payments are handled by Stripe. We never see your full card details. These services only receive what they need to provide their service, and are not allowed to use your information for anything else.

• Recordings, transcripts and photo scans: deleted within 3 months after your finished book is delivered, unless you ask us to keep them longer or to delete them sooner.
• The final book file: kept for 12 months so you can order extra copies, unless you ask us to delete it.
• Photos uploaded for Gift shop orders: deleted within 3 months after your keepsake is delivered.
• Payment records: kept for as long as the law requires.
• Enquiries that don't go ahead: deleted within 1 month.

Files are kept in password-protected storage that only Smilestones can access.

To ask about your personal data, email hello.smilestones@gmail.com.

This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies. Your browser remembers what's in your cart on your own device. When you send an enquiry, it goes through your own email app.

A 50% deposit confirms your booking and reserves our time. The balance is due once you approve the final pages, before the book is printed. Prices are in Singapore dollars.

We will go through a draft with you during the second conversation. Further changes can be arranged at an extra cost. Changes asked for after approval are charged as a reprint.

If you cancel before our first conversation, we will refund your deposit minus administrative fees. After the first conversation, the deposit covers the work already done and isn't refundable, and no balance is owed.

We know this can happen, and we'll be gentle and flexible. You can choose for us to finish the book with the stories already recorded, together with memories from the family, at no extra cost. Or you can stop the project, and we'll refund any amount paid beyond the work already done.

The story belongs to your family. The person telling their story and your family own the content and the finished book. Smilestones keeps no right to use it for anything else.

Life stories often mention others. We may suggest leaving out details that could hurt or embarrass someone. Your family has the final say on what is included, and is responsible for the content it approves.

Please only send us photos you have the right to use. We can only print song lyrics, hymns or quotes that are out of copyright, or that we have permission to use.

Books will take at least 2 months. We'll agree on a target date at the start. Printing and delivery times can sometimes be affected by our partners, and we'll keep you updated.

Prices are in Singapore dollars and are paid in full at checkout. Delivery within Singapore is S$5 per order. We send you a preview of each personalised keepsake before we make it. Because every keepsake is made just for you, we can't accept returns once you've approved the preview, unless it arrives damaged or isn't what you approved.

We are storytellers, not counsellors. Telling a life story can bring up strong feelings, and we'll always go at your loved one's pace. For professional emotional support, we're happy to point you to the right help.

We take great care with every book. If something goes wrong because of us, we'll put it right, and our total responsibility is limited to the amount you paid us. These terms are governed by the laws of Singapore.