Privacy Policy
Testing version: not yet reviewed by a legal professional · Last updated · 10 November 2026
BYO Somm is in testing
You’re one of a small group trying BYO Somm before it’s released. Things will change, some features are unfinished, and some answers may be wrong.
Our Privacy and Terms pages describe what the app does today. They have not yet been reviewed by a legal professional, and they will be updated before BYO Somm is released publicly.
By testing, you agree to use the app on that basis.
If anything here worries you, email [email protected].
We keep this simple. Here’s what BYO Somm collects, why, where it goes, how long we keep it, and what we never do with it.
1 · Who we are
BYO Somm is operated by Liam John Hutchison, trading as BYO Somm (ABN 84 674 260 192), based in Victoria, Australia. Privacy questions? [email protected].
2 · The short version
We never sell your information, and there are no ads, analytics or tracking in the app. You can use BYO Somm as a guest without giving us your name or email. Your photos, saved pairings, winery visits and learning progress stay on your phone. What we do keep is stored in Sydney, and you can delete it from the app at any time.
3 · What we collect
Your account. If you sign in with Apple or a code sent to your email, we keep your email address, a user ID and, if you give it, your name. With Apple you can hide your email; we then get an Apple relay address that forwards to you. We need your email so you can sign in again on a new phone, get your account back, and hear from us about your account. If you ask for wine news and tips, we also keep a record of when you agreed and the words you agreed to. We never ask for a password or your date of birth.
As a guest. So scanning works, a guest gets a random ID with no name or email attached. The wines a guest scans are stored on our servers under that ID, and deleted with it after 30 days without use. Saving wines needs a free account. If you later sign in, a guest’s scans move to your account.
Your wines. The wines you scan and save, with your notes, ratings, reminder dates, bottle counts and drinking history. A scan of a wine list or menu can include the prices and dishes on it. We also count your scans each day to apply the daily limit.
What you ask Search. The question and what Search found. It is stored without your name, account or device. Please don’t type personal details into Search.
Reports you send. If you tell us a cellar door’s details or something in the app isn’t right, we keep what you chose and wrote, without your name, account or device. Your phone keeps its own copy so it can tell you when it’s fixed. Please don’t type personal details into a report.
Kept on your phone only. Your photos, saved pairings (including the restaurant or cookbook and your notes), the wineries you save, visit or rate, and your learning progress, streak and quiz scores. They are not sent to us. Your phone’s own backup (iCloud or Google) may include them.
Technical information. Like any app that goes online, your phone’s IP address reaches our servers with each request. Our hosting provider records it in logs that are deleted after 1 day. We don’t keep IP addresses ourselves. When you first open the app we record, on your phone, that you confirmed you are of drinking age and agreed to test the app, and when.
4 · How scanning and our AI work
When you scan a label, wine list, menu or recipe, your phone asks permission to use the camera the first time. The image is then resized and stripped of location data, and sent to our AI provider, Anthropic, to read it. Anthropic does not use what we send to train its AI, and usually deletes it within 30 days. During testing, Search answers from our own content and doesn’t send your question to an AI provider. Scan results are written by AI and can be wrong. Check anything that matters, such as allergens, yourself.
5 · Your photos
Photos you add stay on your phone. Before they are stored they are resized, compressed and stripped of hidden data the camera adds, including where the photo was taken. You can delete any photo at any time. Removing a wine from your Saved list keeps its photos; deleting your data, your account or the app removes them from your phone.
6 · Why we collect it
To sign you in and keep your account; to run scans, Search, tracking and lessons; to keep your saved wines; to apply the daily scan limit; to send emails needed for sign-in and your account; to send wine news and tips, only if you ask for them in the app or on our website, which you can stop at any time; and to improve Search answers. We never sell your personal information.
7 · Who we share it with
Only the services that help us run BYO Somm:
Supabase hosts your account, saved wines, the Search log and reports (Sydney, Australia; its logs are kept in the European Union).
Anthropic reads your scans (United States and other countries).
Sanity stores the lessons and wine information the app downloads, and a copy of Search questions and reports so we can see what people ask and fix what’s wrong (European Union).
Brevo sends sign-in and account emails, and wine news and tips if you ask for them (European Union). If you sign up on our website, Brevo keeps the email you give and when you confirmed it.
Cloudflare hosts our website and checks that sign-ups on it come from a person, not a bot, using Turnstile. See Cloudflare's Turnstile Privacy Addendum at cloudflare.com/turnstile-privacy-policy.
Apple signs you in if you choose it. Maps are Apple Maps on iPhone and Google Maps on Android; they get the area on screen, never your location.
We never sell your information and never share it with advertisers.
8 · Where it’s stored and how it’s protected
Your account, saved wines and Search log are stored in Sydney, Australia. Some of it is handled overseas by the services in section 7: our hosting provider’s logs and our email in the European Union, and AI processing in the United States and other countries. Your information is encrypted while it travels and while it is stored. Only you can reach your account’s information through the app. On our side, the founder of BYO Somm can see it in our hosting provider’s dashboard, which is protected by two-step sign-in.
9 · How long we keep it
Your account, saved wines, notes and history: while you have an account, then deleted with it.
Scan results for wines you didn’t save: until you clear them or delete your account. We’ll set a time limit before release.
Search questions and reports: during testing, until we’ve reviewed them. We’ll set a time limit before release.
Guest information: deleted after 30 days without use.
Our hosting provider’s logs: 1 day. We don’t keep backup copies of our database, so once something is deleted it’s gone.
10 · Your choices and rights
You can see, correct or delete your information at any time. In the app you can delete your account, which removes your account and everything stored under it; delete your data as a guest; and clear your scan results. Search questions and reports aren’t linked to you, so they can’t be found and deleted this way. You can also email us to delete your account or ask for a copy of what we hold. We reply within 30 days and never charge. If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, email us at [email protected] first and we’ll try to put it right. If you’re still not satisfied, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can tell you what your options are: oaic.gov.au.
11 · Children and drinking age
BYO Somm is for people aged 18 or over, the legal drinking age everywhere in Australia. We record that you confirmed your age and when, never your date of birth. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 18, we delete it and its information.
12 · Changes to this policy
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we’ll tell you in the app, and by email if you have an account, before the change applies.
13 · Contact
Scaffold only. A qualified Australian lawyer must complete and verify this. Not legal advice.
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