Download problems and backups: keeping your files safe

Paying for a photo and never receiving the file is one of the commonest complaints about photo services: dead download links, files that existed only in an email that never came, apps that lost the result. Our delivery is built so that the file exists on your device before any payment happens, and this guide explains exactly how it works, what the optional email backup adds, and what to do at each failure point.

How delivery works here

Your photo is processed in the browser, and the finished files, the single photo, the print sheet, the portal file where a document has a digital route, and the compliance report, are rendered on your device and saved into the browser's own storage before the pay button activates. Payment removes the watermark, and the files you saw stay in the browser. Download means your browser writing a file it already has to your Downloads folder, so a server problem at the moment you pay cannot cost you the standard files. After payment a copy of the cropped photo is also sent to our servers for the high-quality render and deleted within 7 days.

If something goes wrong mid-flow

Closed the tab, crashed the browser, pressed pay and saw nothing? Reopen the same browser on the same device and return to the tool: the saved results are restored from the browser's storage, and your unlock is remembered, so the download buttons come back without re-doing anything. The unlock also keeps re-rendering free for 30 days, so adjusting the crop, switching the sheet to another paper size, or re-rendering a digital file such as the UK passport upload does not cost again. The restore is per browser and per device, which is exactly its limit: a different machine knows nothing, and that is what the backup below is for.

The optional email backup

After payment you can choose 'Keep a backup': your finished files are uploaded encrypted, and one email arrives with a download link that stays valid for 7 days, after which the files are deleted from our storage. The upload is opt-in because of our privacy stance, your photo does not leave the device until you pay and never without your choice, and a 'Delete my data now' control removes the backup early. If the email has not arrived, check spam first, then use the re-download page linked from any of our emails and enter your email address; if we hold files for it, a fresh link is sent. After the 7 days the server copy is gone for good, by design.

Protect yourself in thirty seconds

A download that exists in three places cannot strand you.

1.Download every file immediately after paying, while the page is open, and check the JPEGs open in your photo viewer.
2.Opt in to the email backup; forwarding that email to yourself or a family member duplicates the link.
3.Copy the files off the phone or laptop that made them: cloud drive, or simply attach them to an email to yourself.
4.Keep the compliance report with the photos; if an officer or portal disputes the photo, the measured values are your evidence.
5.Applying for several people? Repeat per person; each result is stored and backed up separately.

Frequently asked questions

I cleared my browser data and the 7 days have passed. Are my files gone?

If you downloaded them or kept the backup email's files, no. If neither, then yes, nothing recoverable remains, on your device or our storage; that is the honest cost of a design that keeps your photo off our servers by default. Contact support and we will help you re-make the photo.

Does the 7-day deletion also end my ability to re-render?

No. Re-rendering runs on your device from the browser's saved result and stays free for 30 days after purchase; the 7 days applies to the copies on our storage: the emailed backup and the high-quality render.

Sources

Last updated 2026-10-11

We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.