Effective date: October 31, 2026
The Rickhouse is a bourbon community app operated by Combest Ventures LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("we," "us"). This policy covers the Rickhouse app and our website, getrickhouse.app. Questions or requests: privacy@rickhouseapp.com.
The Rickhouse is for adults of legal drinking age. You must be 21 or older to create an account, and we check your date of birth at signup. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 21. We do not sell alcohol, and members may not buy, sell or trade bottles through the app.
| What | Why we use it | Who can see it |
|---|---|---|
| Email address and password | Your sign-in. Passwords are stored hashed by our sign-in provider, and we can never read them. | Only you. Other members cannot see your email. |
| Name, username, profile photo | Your profile | Other members, as your privacy settings allow |
| Date of birth | Confirming you are 21 or older | Today: any signed-in member. Being restricted in an upcoming update. |
| Phone number (optional) | Letting friends find you | Only you |
| Zip code (optional) | Suggesting nearby Rickhouses and members. We turn it into the center point of your zip code. We never use your phone's GPS. | Today: any signed-in member can see that point. Being restricted in an upcoming update. |
| Your Cellar, wishlist, memories and photos | Your collection and its stories | Only you, or friends, or members, as your settings allow |
| Posts, comments, reactions, event RSVPs, chat and direct messages | Taking part in the community | The people in that Rickhouse, chat or conversation |
| Tasting scores, notes and guesses | Blind tastings and Tasting Room sessions | The other people in that tasting, or everyone in that Rickhouse when the organizer shares results with the whole Rickhouse. |
| Bottle label photos you scan | Reading the label to fill in the bottle's details for you | Only you. See "AI features" below. |
| Bottles and barcodes you add to the shared catalog | Building the catalog every member uses | All members, as catalog entries |
| Contacts (only if you use Find Friends and agree) | Finding which of your contacts already use The Rickhouse. We send only the email addresses in your contacts to match them against members. Phone numbers in your contacts never leave your phone, and we do not store your contacts after matching. | No one. You see only the matches. |
| Push notification token | Sending notifications you have turned on | No one |
| Usage analytics and crash reports | Seeing which features are used, and fixing bugs | Our team |
| Technical logs (IP address, device type) | Running and securing the service | Our team |
When you scan a bottle, your label photos are sent to Anthropic, our AI provider, to read the label. Text posted in shared community spaces is also checked by AI for harassment, hate speech and threats, in any language. Anything flagged is reviewed by a person.
Your label photos are kept with your Cellar entry and are deleted when you delete your account. They show bottles, not people.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for targeted advertising. We do not show ads.
You can delete your account in the app, under Settings. Deletion is permanent.
You can edit your profile, change who sees your profile, collection and activity, and delete anything you posted. You can export your Cellar at any time, for free. You can turn off notifications in your phone's settings.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your personal data, and to appeal our decision on a request. Email privacy@rickhouseapp.com and we will respond within 45 days.
Data is encrypted in transit. Database rules limit every member to what they are allowed to see. We test those rules automatically before every app release. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password.
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update this page and the effective date, and tell you in the app.
Combest Ventures LLC · privacy@rickhouseapp.com