Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 9, 2026

Nikita Zolotarenko ("we", "us", or "our") operates the WineSommelier mobile application (the "App"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding your data. We process your data only as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

• Anonymous users: We generate a unique device identifier (vendor ID) to create an anonymous account. No personal information is required.
• Sign in with Apple: If you choose to sign in with Apple, we receive your Apple user ID, display name (if provided), and email address (which may be a Private Relay address if you choose to hide your email). We do not receive your Apple ID password.

1.2 Photos

When you use the scan feature, you take or select photos of wine labels, wine menus, or food. These images are:

• Compressed to JPEG format (max ~5 MB) before upload
• Sent to our servers over HTTPS for AI analysis
• Stored on our servers to provide scan history and results

Photos are used solely for the purpose of generating wine recommendations and are not shared with third parties for marketing.

1.3 Taste Preferences

You may provide wine and food taste preferences (e.g., sweetness, body, preferred wine types, food categories). These are stored on our servers to personalize recommendations.

1.4 Scan History & Favorites

We store your scan history (wines you've scanned) and favorites (wines you've saved) on our servers, linked to your account.

1.5 Purchase Information

If you subscribe to WineSommelier Premium, Apple processes the payment. We use Adapty to manage subscriptions and validate purchases; Adapty receives your purchase receipt and device/user identifiers to determine your subscription status. We do not have access to your payment card details.

1.6 Device & Language Information

We collect your device's preferred language settings to deliver localized content (AI-generated notes, recommendations). We do not collect device model, OS version, or other hardware identifiers beyond the vendor ID.

1.7 Advertising & Attribution Information

For free (non-premium) users, we and our partners process advertising and attribution data to deliver and measure ads:

• Advertising Identifier (IDFA): collected only if you grant permission via the iOS App Tracking Transparency prompt. Free users only; Premium subscribers never have IDFA collected.
• Install & in-app event data: events such as app install and subscription are processed by AppsFlyer to attribute which advertising campaign led to your install and to detect fraud.
• Ad-measurement data: attribution and ad-interaction data is shared with Meta (Facebook) to measure the performance of our advertising campaigns.

1.8 Connection & Technical Information

When the App connects to our servers and to third-party services (Google AdMob, AppsFlyer, Meta), your device's IP address and connection information are automatically received. This is used for approximate (city/country-level) location, security and fraud prevention, ad delivery, and advertising attribution.

2. How We Use Your Information

Data	Purpose
Device ID / Apple ID	Account creation and authentication
Photos	AI-powered wine and food recognition
Taste preferences	Personalized wine recommendations and taste match scores
Scan history & favorites	Allowing you to review past scans and saved wines
Purchase receipt	Subscription validation and premium feature access (Apple, Adapty)
Language settings	Localized AI-generated content
Advertising Identifier (IDFA)	Personalized advertising via Google AdMob — only if you grant tracking permission in the iOS App Tracking Transparency prompt. Free users only; Premium subscribers never have IDFA collected.
Install & in-app event data	Advertising attribution and measurement (AppsFlyer, Meta) — free users only
IP address / connection info	Approximate location, security and fraud prevention, ad delivery, and attribution

We process your data only for the purposes described above and as set out in this Privacy Policy.

3. Third-Party Services

3.1 Google AdMob

For free (non-premium) users, we display advertisements through Google AdMob. On first launch we ask two permissions, in this order:

• EU / UK / Switzerland consent (UMP) — users in the European Economic Area, UK, and Switzerland see Google's consent form for GDPR compliance before any ad is loaded.
• App Tracking Transparency (ATT) — a system prompt asking whether WineSommelier may use your device's Advertising Identifier (IDFA) to personalize ads. If you decline, ads still work but are non-personalized.

Google's handling of advertising data is governed by Google's Privacy Policy and AdMob data disclosure. Premium subscribers do not see ads, and no ad-related data (including IDFA) is collected for them.

3.2 Apple Services

We use Apple's Sign in with Apple and StoreKit frameworks. Apple's handling of your data is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

3.3 AppsFlyer

We use AppsFlyer for mobile attribution and marketing analytics. AppsFlyer processes your device identifiers (including IDFA where permitted), IP address, and install and in-app event data to determine which advertising campaign led to your app install and to detect advertising fraud. AppsFlyer's handling of data is governed by AppsFlyer's Services Privacy Policy.

3.4 Meta Platforms (Facebook)

We advertise WineSommelier through Meta (Facebook). To measure the performance of these campaigns, advertising and attribution data — such as ad interactions, advertising/device identifiers, and IP address — is shared with Meta through our attribution partner. Meta's handling of data is governed by Meta's Privacy Policy.

3.5 Adapty

We use Adapty to manage and validate in-app subscriptions. Adapty receives your purchase receipt and device/user identifiers to determine your subscription status. Adapty's handling of data is governed by Adapty's Privacy Policy.

4. Data Storage & Security

• Authentication tokens are stored securely in the iOS Keychain (hardware-encrypted).
• All network communication uses HTTPS encryption.
• We do not store passwords — authentication is handled via Apple's identity system or anonymous device tokens.
• Server-side data is stored in secure, access-controlled databases.

5. International Data Transfers

We use service providers (including Google AdMob, AppsFlyer, Meta, Adapty, and Apple) that may process your data on servers located outside your country of residence, including in the United States. By using the App, you understand that your data may be transferred to and processed in jurisdictions whose data-protection laws may differ from those of your own. We rely on the privacy frameworks and safeguards of these providers for such transfers.

6. Data Retention

• Your account data, scan history, favorites, and taste preferences are retained as long as your account exists.
• Photos you scan are stored on our servers to provide scan history for as long as your account exists, and are permanently deleted when you delete your account.
• When you delete your account, all associated data is permanently deleted from our servers.
• Logging out invalidates your session but retains data for Apple-linked accounts (so you can sign back in).

7. Your Rights & Choices

• Delete your account: You can delete your account and all associated data from within the App (Profile → Delete Account).
• Manage favorites & history: You can remove individual favorites at any time.
• Ad personalization: You can revoke or change your tracking permission at any time via iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → WineSommelier. Disabling tracking switches ads to non-personalized mode; it does not remove ads entirely (upgrade to Premium to remove ads).
• Sign in with Apple: You can stop using your Apple ID with the App via Settings → Apple ID → Sign-In & Security → Sign in with Apple.

8. Children's Privacy

WineSommelier is intended for users of legal drinking age in their jurisdiction. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected data from a child, we will promptly delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by the "Effective Date" at the top. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

10. Contact Us