This policy explains what information First Sips collects, why we collect it, and what we do with it. We have tried to write it in plain English. If anything is unclear, please email privacy@firstsips.app.
Who we are
First Sips is a mobile app (available on iPhone, with Android in development) developed and operated by Edward Marno, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom ("we", "us", "our"). For the purposes of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, Edward Marno is the data controller for personal data processed through the First Sips app and website.
Contact: privacy@firstsips.app
What information we collect
Information you give us
- Account details — if you sign in, we receive your email address and display name from your chosen sign-in provider (Apple, Google, or email/password).
- Your wine cellar — the wines you save, including label photographs, producer, vintage, tasting notes, ratings, drink-by dates and any notes you add.
- Your preferences — your palate preferences (preferred grape varieties, styles, dislikes), budget settings, and other personalisation choices.
- Your journal entries — any tasting notes, photographs and memories you save in the Vinography journal.
- Support correspondence — if you email us, we keep a copy of the message and our reply.
Information collected automatically
- Usage data — basic analytics about how the app is used (which screens are opened, approximate feature usage). This data is aggregated and does not identify you personally.
- Device information — operating system version, device model, and app version, used for crash reporting and to fix bugs.
- Diagnostics — if the app crashes, we receive an anonymous crash report via Apple.
What we do NOT collect
We do not sell your data to anyone. Ever.
We do not collect your contacts, your location, your calendar, your health data, your Apple Pay transactions, or any data outside the app. We do not show you advertising and we do not share data with advertising networks.
How we use your information
We use your information only to:
- Provide the core features of the app (scanning, identifying, saving and syncing wines).
- Send your wine label photos to our AI analysis provider so we can return wine information to you.
- Back up your cellar so you can access it across your Apple devices.
- Share your cellar with people you explicitly invite (see below).
- Reply to support requests.
- Fix bugs and improve the app based on anonymous usage analytics.
- Comply with our legal obligations.
Shared cellars
First Sips lets you share a cellar with other people — typically a partner, family or close friends. When you invite someone to a shared cellar, the wines, photographs, tasting notes and consumption history in that cellar become visible to every collaborator. They will also see the display name associated with any notes or actions you take in that shared cellar.
You can remove a collaborator at any time from Profile → Shared Cellars. Leaving or being removed from a shared cellar revokes your access to its contents going forward. Your personal cellar and journal are always private and never shared unless you choose to share them.
AI analysis of wine labels
When you scan a wine label, the photograph is sent to Anthropic (the makers of Claude) for identification and analysis. Anthropic acts as a data processor on our behalf. Your label photos are transmitted securely and are not used by Anthropic to train their AI models. You can read Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/legal/privacy.
Where your data is stored
Your cellar, wine photographs, journal entries and account details are stored using Google Firebase (Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Cloud Storage). Firebase is operated by Google LLC and data may be stored on servers in the European Union or the United States. Google acts as a data processor on our behalf under appropriate contractual safeguards. You can read Google's privacy information at firebase.google.com/support/privacy.
Who we share data with
We share data only with the following service providers, and only as strictly necessary to run the app:
- Google (Firebase) — cloud storage, authentication and database hosting.
- Anthropic — AI wine label analysis.
- Apple — App Store distribution, crash reporting, and "Sign in with Apple" (if used on iPhone).
- Google Play — app distribution and crash reporting for Android users (when the Android version launches).
We will only share data with other parties if we are legally required to (for example, in response to a valid court order), or if you explicitly ask us to.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Correct information that is inaccurate.
- Delete your account and all associated data. You can do this from within the app (Profile → Delete Account) or by emailing us.
- Export a copy of your cellar data in a machine-readable format.
- Object to certain types of processing.
- Complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) if you believe we have mishandled your data.
To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@firstsips.app.
How long we keep your data
We keep your cellar and account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all personal data is deleted from our active systems within 30 days. Backups may persist for up to 90 days before being permanently deleted. Anonymous, aggregated usage statistics may be kept indefinitely.
Children
First Sips is intended for adults of legal drinking age in their country. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18 (or the legal drinking age in your country, whichever is higher). If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
Security
We take security seriously. Data in transit is protected with TLS encryption. Firebase access is controlled by per-user security rules, so only you can read or modify your own cellar. Authentication tokens are stored in secure device storage (iOS Keychain on iPhone, Android Keystore on Android). We cannot, however, guarantee absolute security — no internet transmission is ever perfectly safe.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this policy we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you inside the app. Continued use of First Sips after changes means you accept the revised policy.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please email privacy@firstsips.app.