Before you upload a single picture, I want you to know exactly where it goes, who can see it, and how quickly it disappears the moment you say so. No fine print. No surprises.
Uploading directly into consumer chat tools like ChatGPT or Gemini isn't private. Those tools aren't set up to keep your files to themselves — by default, your child's face can be folded into the data that trains their next public model.
Lionmain was built deliberately, by a parent, to make sure that never happens here.
You stop on the footpath. The artist glances at your child, sketches their portrait, and hands it to you. They use your child as a visual reference for that one drawing — nothing more.
They won't see you again. They won't remember you next time. You walk away with the artwork, and your privacy walks away with you.
That's exactly what happens here. Your photo helps make this story. Then it's done.
Your stories and photos are locked to your account. No other parent, no team member, no curious eye can open your library. Just you.
I pay out of pocket for a private developer API key so your uploads travel through a secure pipeline that explicitly prohibits tech companies from storing, sharing, or training on your child's data.
Your child's photo will never be fed into a model that other people use. Full stop. Their face stays out of the training data.
Delete a story and its photos leave our database with it. Your data stays with you for exactly as long as you want it — and not a moment longer.
Plenty of parents would rather not put their child's face online — for any reason, or no reason at all. That's a completely valid choice, and Lionmain is built for it.
Instead of uploading a photo, describe your child in a sentence or two: hair colour, skin tone, glasses, that favourite hoodie they refuse to take off. Lionmain creates a warm 2D cartoon-style likeness and uses that character as the star of every page. Same story. Same starring role. Zero photos.
Some families actually prefer the drawn version even when they could upload — especially sensory-sensitive kids who find seeing photos of themselves a bit much. The cartoon version feels softer, more like a picture book, while still being unmistakably them.
"I built Lionmain for my own child first. I protect your family's photos the same way I protect ours — because anything less wouldn't be good enough for either of us."
Maysa — Founder & Mum to a small, brave lion
Have a question I haven't answered? Email me directly. A real human (hi 👋) will write back.