Privacy & terms

Privacy, data and participation terms

HandsBook.it is an editorial and participatory archive of hands. This policy explains how the project collects hand photographs, essential personal details and reading texts, how AI may assist the symbolic interpretation, and what rights participants keep.

1. Data Controller

The Data Controller is Gianluigi Ruju, natural person, owner and editorial curator of HandsBook.it, contactable at hello@handsbook.it. The project is managed from Italy and follows the GDPR for EU/EEA users.

2. Data we process

We may process: the photograph of the participant’s hand, the public name or pseudonym chosen by the participant, email address, age, profession, country or city when provided, short biography, generated or edited reading texts, publication preferences, consent records, timestamps, IP address and technical metadata needed for security and proof of consent.

3. Hand images and biometric caution

HandsBook does not use hand images to uniquely identify, authenticate or track a person, and does not create biometric templates. The photograph is used only to prepare a symbolic editorial reading and, if approved, to publish the profile. Because hand images can still be personal data and may be treated as sensitive or biometric data in some circumstances, participation requires explicit consent for the photograph, AI-assisted analysis and publication.

4. Purposes and legal bases

Processing is based on the participant’s explicit consent for the hand image and AI-assisted reading, consent and/or performance of the participation request for editorial publication, legal obligations where applicable, and legitimate interest for security, abuse prevention and archive integrity.

5. AI-assisted symbolic reading

The AI output is a draft symbolic interpretation of mind, heart and life. HandsBook currently uses an AI-assisted drafting workflow that may include Anthropic Claude or an equivalent provider acting under appropriate contractual safeguards. The reading is not a medical, psychological, scientific or predictive assessment. The participant can review, modify and approve the text before submission. Published content may be reviewed by a human editor.

6. Publication license and copyright

By submitting materials, the participant grants Gianluigi Ruju / HandsBook.it a free, non-exclusive, worldwide and revocable license to use the submitted photograph, public details, biography and approved reading texts for lawful uses connected to the HandsBook project: website publication, archive display, newsletter, social channels, press kit, editorial promotion, exhibitions, catalogues and documentation of the project. Participants retain any rights they hold in their original submitted materials. The HandsBook name, design, archive structure, editorial format, curated readings, selection, layout, database and project documentation are © Gianluigi Ruju, unless otherwise stated. No participant material is sold as a standalone asset, used for unrelated advertising profiling, or used for unrelated AI training.

7. Sharing and processors

Data may be processed by named technical providers and categories of providers used only for the HandsBook project: Supabase for hosting, database, storage and edge functions; Anthropic Claude or an equivalent AI provider for AI-assisted drafting; an email delivery provider such as Resend or equivalent for transactional messages; domain, DNS, CDN, backup and security providers where necessary. Where a provider processes data outside the EU/EEA, HandsBook uses appropriate safeguards such as contractual protections, SCCs or equivalent mechanisms where available. Personal data is not sold and is not used for unrelated advertising profiling or unrelated AI training. For transfers to U.S. providers, in particular to Anthropic for the symbolic draft generation, HandsBook relies on the European Commission Standard Contractual Clauses — Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914 — supplemented by up-to-date Data Processing Agreements and additional technical measures including encryption in transit, access control and minimum retention.

8. Retention and withdrawal

Unpublished submissions may be deleted if not suitable for the project. Published profiles remain online until the participant requests removal or the editorial project changes. A participant can withdraw publication permission by writing to hello@handsbook.it; the profile will be removed within 30 days, except for lawful archival, security, accounting or legal records that must be retained. Reference retention periods: IP addresses and technical metadata kept as proof of consent for up to 24 months unless longer legal obligations apply; consent records for the duration of the consent plus 5 years under art. 7(1) GDPR; encrypted backups rotated every 30 days.

9. Participant rights

Participants may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or objection where applicable. Requests can be sent to hello@handsbook.it. GDPR requests are normally handled within 30 days.

10. Minors

Participation is reserved to adults aged 18 or over. By submitting, the participant declares that they are at least 18 years old and that the photograph represents their own hand.

11. Security

HandsBook applies proportionate security measures including encrypted hosting, limited access, consent records and editorial review. No online system is risk-free, but the project limits processing to what is necessary for participation and publication. Where relevant, HandsBook conducts and keeps updated a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA, art. 35 GDPR) for the processing flow of palm photographs, given their potentially biometric nature and the AI component.

12. Changes

If the project introduces new uses such as advertising, sponsorship integrations, analytics beyond privacy-friendly measurement, or materially different AI processing, this policy will be updated and new consent will be requested where required by law.

Last updated: 2026-04-24.