Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Barrel Cult ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services. By using Barrel Cult, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address and optional profile information such as a display name, nickname, location (city/state), and profile photo. This information is used to identify you within the platform and enable social features.

Collection Data

Information you voluntarily provide about your bourbon, whiskey, and scotch collection — including bottle details, tasting notes, photos, and wish-list items. This data is stored to power your personal collection dashboard.

Sponsorship Analytics (Anonymous)

For sponsor advertisements displayed on our site, we collect anonymous, aggregated data including ad impressions, clicks, general geographic region (country and state/territory derived from your IP address), and device type. This data is not linked to your personal account and is used solely to measure ad performance for our sponsors.

Cookies & Local Storage

We use essential cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember your preferences (such as your cookie consent choice). Optional analytics cookies are only activated if you choose "Accept All" in the cookie consent banner. We do not use any third-party tracking cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide, maintain, and improve the Barrel Cult platform
• To authenticate your account and secure your sessions
• To display your collection, wish list, and profile to other users (based on your privacy settings)
• To enable social features such as friend requests and messaging
• To send transactional emails (password resets, friend requests) — never spam
• To provide anonymous, aggregated analytics to our sponsors

4. What We Do NOT Do

5. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored securely using Supabase, which provides enterprise-grade PostgreSQL hosting with row-level security, encrypted connections (TLS), and encrypted data at rest. Authentication is handled via Supabase Auth with secure, HTTP-only session cookies.

We apply the principle of least privilege — your data is only accessible to you and, where applicable, to other users you have explicitly connected with (e.g., friends). Administrators have limited access for platform operation purposes only.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account and collection data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data will be permanently removed from our systems within 30 days. Anonymous, aggregated sponsorship analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked back to individual users.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Deletion — Request that we delete your personal data
• Portability — Request your data in a portable, machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent — Change your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your browser storage

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below.

8. Children's Privacy

Barrel Cult is intended for users who are of legal drinking age in their jurisdiction (21+ in the United States). We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the legal drinking age. If we become aware that we have collected data from a minor, we will promptly delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, regulatory, or operational reasons. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out: