Privacy Policy

Banded Cigars (“Banded”, “we”, “us”) is a personal collection and journaling app for adults who enjoy cigars. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. We don’t sell your personal data, and we don’t run advertising trackers.

1. Information you provide

• Account. You sign in with Sign in with Apple. Apple gives us a unique identifier and, only if you choose, your name and a (possibly relay) email address. We use this to create and secure your account.
• Profile. A display name, which you can edit at any time.
• Your scans. The photos you take of cigar bands, the identified cigar details, and anything you add — a rating, a tasting note, a place name you type, and the date and time of the moment.
• Crews. Crews you create or join, and the scans, posts, and reactions you choose to share within them.

2. Information collected automatically

We keep the minimum technical information needed to run the service — for example, logs of identification requests (used for rate limiting and to prevent abuse) and basic app/version information for support and reliability. We do not use third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, and we do not collect your precise GPS location. A “place” is simply optional text you type.

3. How we use your information

• To provide your Collection and sync it across your devices.
• To identify cigar bands you scan (see Section 4).
• To power features you opt into, such as sharing a scan with a crew.
• To keep the service secure and prevent abuse.
• To respond to your support requests.
• To comply with legal obligations.

4. Cigar band identification

When you scan a band, the image is sent to our identification provider, Google (Gemini API), which returns its best guess at the cigar. The image is sent solely to perform that identification and is subject to Google’s terms and privacy practices. We do not attach your profile or personal details to that request beyond what is needed to authenticate it.

5. How your information is shared

We share information only as described here, and we never sell it.

Service providers

• Supabase — our database and photo storage, hosted in the European Union.
• Google — cigar band identification (Gemini API), as described above.
• Apple — authentication (Sign in with Apple) and app distribution.

Crews you choose

A scan stays private to you unless you deliberately share it with a crew. When you do, it becomes visible to the members of that crew. Sharing is off by default for each crew until you turn it on.

Legal and safety

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and the service.

6. Where your data is stored

Your data is stored with Supabase in the European Union (eu-west-1). If you use Banded Cigars from outside the EU, your information is transferred to and stored on servers there. Data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS).

7. Data retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, or ask us to delete your data, we remove your profile, scans, photos, and crew activity, except where we’re required to retain limited records by law.

8. Your rights and choices

You can view, edit, and delete individual scans directly in the app. Depending on where you live (for example, under the EU/UK GDPR or California’s CCPA), you may also have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, and to object to certain processing. We will honor these rights and will not discriminate against you for exercising them. To make a request, contact us at support@bandedcigars.com.

9. Deleting your account and data

You can request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time, either from within the app (where available) or by emailing support@bandedcigars.com. We will process the deletion promptly.

10. Children’s privacy

Banded Cigars is for adults of legal smoking age. It is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll revise the “Effective” date above and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice.

13. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email us at support@bandedcigars.com.