Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Sophie's Trophies ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website https://sophiestrophies.com and use our wine identification and education services.

By using Sophie's Trophies, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and authentication credentials through Google Sign-In.
• Profile Information: Information you provide in your user profile, including preferences and settings.
• Wine Collection Data: Information about wines you've identified, saved, reviewed, or added to your collection.
• Communication Data: Information from your interactions with our Sophie AI chat feature, customer support, or feedback.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, time spent on the site, and interaction patterns.
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device type, IP address, and unique device identifiers.
• Location Data: Approximate geographic location based on IP address (not precise GPS location).
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience.

2.3 Wine Image Data

When you use our wine identification feature, we process images of wine labels. These images are:

• Temporarily stored for processing via AI analysis
• Used to extract wine information (name, winery, vintage, region, etc.)
• Associated with your account if you choose to save the identified wine
• Not shared with third parties except our AI processing partner (Anthropic Claude)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To provide wine identification, education, and personalized recommendations.
• Account Management: To create and manage your account, authenticate users, and provide customer support.
• Personalization: To customize your experience based on your preferences and wine collection.
• Communication: To send service-related notifications, updates, and promotional materials (with your consent).
• Analytics: To understand how users interact with our services and improve functionality.
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, or security concerns.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms of service.

4. Third-Party Services

4.1 Service Providers

We use third-party services to help operate our platform:

• Google Sign-In: For secure authentication (Google Privacy Policy applies)
• Anthropic Claude: For AI-powered wine label identification and chat features
• Amazon Web Services (AWS): For cloud hosting, data storage, and infrastructure
• Analytics Providers: For understanding user behavior and improving our services

4.2 Affiliate Links

Our site may contain affiliate links to wine retailers. When you click these links and make purchases, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. These retailers have their own privacy policies.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

5.1 What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, provide functionality, and gather information about user behavior.

5.2 Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies (Required)

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled:

• Authentication cookies: Remember your login status and session information
• Age verification cookies: Store your age verification consent (expires after 90 days)
• Security cookies: Protect against fraud and maintain site security

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website:

• Usage analytics: Track page views, features used, and navigation patterns
• Performance monitoring: Measure page load times and identify technical issues
• A/B testing: Compare different versions of features to improve user experience

5.3 Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are placed by third-party services that appear on our pages:

• Google Analytics: Uses cookies like _ga, _gid, _gat for website analytics
• Google Sign-In: Uses authentication cookies for OAuth 2.0 login

5.4 Managing Cookies

You have several options to manage cookies:

• Browser settings: Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may affect website functionality.
• Do Not Track: We respect browser Do Not Track signals where applicable

5.5 Cookie Duration

Cookies may be session-based (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent:

• Session cookies: Authentication and temporary preferences
• Persistent cookies: Age verification (90 days), user preferences (1 year), analytics (up to 2 years)

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information:

• Encryption of data in transit using HTTPS/TLS
• Secure authentication via Google Sign-In OAuth 2.0
• Regular security audits and monitoring
• Access controls limiting data access to authorized personnel only
• Data backups and disaster recovery procedures

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: You can update or correct your account information through your profile settings.
• Deletion: You can request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us.
• Data Portability: You can request an export of your wine collection and profile data.
• Opt-Out: You can opt out of marketing emails via the unsubscribe link in any email.
• Cookie Control: You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@sophiestrophies.com.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. Specifically:

• Account information: Until you delete your account or after 3 years of inactivity
• Wine identification data: As long as you maintain your account
• Usage analytics: Aggregated data may be retained indefinitely for improvement purposes
• Legal compliance: As required by applicable laws and regulations

9. Children's Privacy

Sophie's Trophies is intended for users who are at least 21 years of age (or the legal drinking age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the legal drinking age. If we become aware that we have collected information from someone under the legal drinking age, we will delete that information promptly.

Our age verification system requires users to confirm they meet the minimum age requirement before accessing wine content.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States where our servers are located. These countries may have data protection laws different from your jurisdiction. By using Sophie's Trophies, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers, including:

• Standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities
• Compliance with applicable data protection frameworks
• Security measures to protect data during transfer

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
• Right to delete personal information held by us
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@sophiestrophies.com. We will verify your identity before processing requests.

12. European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right to access your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing
• Right to withdraw consent

Our lawful basis for processing includes: consent, contractual necessity, legal obligations, and legitimate interests.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or business operations. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting a prominent notice on our website
• Sending an email to your registered email address
• Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy

Your continued use of Sophie's Trophies after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days. For urgent privacy concerns, please indicate "URGENT - Privacy Request" in your email subject line.

15. Alcohol Content Disclaimer

Sophie's Trophies provides educational information about alcoholic beverages. We do not sell alcohol directly. All wine purchases made through affiliate links are subject to the retailers' age verification processes, terms of service, and privacy policies.

By using Sophie's Trophies, you certify that you are of legal drinking age in your jurisdiction and will comply with all applicable laws regarding alcohol consumption.