eSomme Privacy Policy
Effective Date: August 14, 2026
Last Updated: August 14, 2026
eSomme is operated by Christopher Johnson, doing business as eSomme (“eSomme,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), from Mission Viejo, California. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect information when you use the eSomme mobile application, esomme.com, and related services collectively referred to as the “Services.”
1. Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create or use an eSomme account, we may receive:
Your email address;
An account or user identifier;
Your selected authentication provider, such as Apple or Google; and
Authentication tokens and related account-security information.
Your password, Apple credentials, or Google credentials are handled by the applicable authentication provider and are not provided directly to eSomme.
Profile and Preference Information
You may choose to provide information used to personalize your experience, including:
Display name;
Birth year;
Country or region;
Gender;
Wine-experience level;
Wine preferences;
Preferred varietals, regions, styles, and characteristics; and
Budget or price preferences.
Profile fields identified as optional are not required to use the basic features of the Services.
Wine and Tasting Information
The Services allow you to create and save wine-related content, including:
Wine name, type, producer, vintage, varietal, region, and vineyard information;
Prices and currency;
Ratings and tasting scores;
Aromas, flavors, structural characteristics, and other descriptors;
Tasting dates;
Notes and other free-form content;
Saved wines and tasting history; and
AI-generated write-ups, recommendations, pairings, and insights.
Please avoid entering personal or sensitive information that is unrelated to using the Services in free-form fields.
AI Requests
When you use a server-powered AI feature, eSomme may transmit information relevant to your request to our systems and AI service providers. Depending on the feature, this may include:
Your question or requested meal pairing;
Wine information and tasting notes;
Your wine-preference profile;
Relevant portions of your tasting history;
Budget and recommendation preferences; and
Technical information needed to process and secure the request.
eSomme attempts to send only information reasonably necessary to generate the requested response.
Subscription and Transaction Information
If you subscribe to eSomme Premium, we may receive information from Apple such as:
The subscription product purchased;
Subscription status;
Purchase, renewal, and expiration dates;
A transaction or account-linking identifier; and
Eligibility and entitlement information.
Apple processes your payment. eSomme does not receive or store your complete payment-card or bank-account information.
Technical and Service Information
When you use online features, our systems may automatically receive technical information such as:
IP address;
Request date and time;
App version and operating-system information;
Device name or similar device information;
Server and security logs;
Error and performance information; and
Information concerning authentication, synchronization, and AI requests.
The eSomme website may also receive standard browser and hosting-log information. We do not use app information for third-party advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising.
Support Communications
If you contact us, we collect the information you provide, such as your email address, message, attachments, and other information needed to respond.
2. Local and Cloud Processing
Some eSomme features operate entirely on your device. Local ratings, saved wines, heuristic summaries, and local analysis may be created without sending their contents to an AI provider.
If you sign in and use synchronization, server-powered AI, account, or subscription features, relevant information is transmitted to eSomme’s servers and service providers. Data saved locally may remain on your device until you delete it or remove the app, subject to Apple’s device-backup settings.
3. How We Use Information
We use information to:
Create, authenticate, and secure accounts;
Save and synchronize tasting records across devices;
Provide ratings, analysis, recommendations, pairings, and AI-generated content;
Personalize the Services to your tastes and preferences;
Verify and provide Premium subscription benefits;
Respond to support requests;
Maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the Services;
Detect abuse, fraud, security threats, and technical failures;
Enforce our Terms of Use; and
Comply with applicable legal obligations.
We may use aggregated or de-identified information to understand and improve the Services when that information cannot reasonably be linked to an individual user.
4. How We Disclose Information
We may disclose information to the following categories of recipients:
Service Providers
We use service providers for functions such as hosting, databases, authentication, security, customer support, and technical infrastructure. These providers may process information only as needed to provide their services to eSomme.
AI Providers
Server-powered AI requests may be processed by OpenAI or another AI provider identified within the Services. Information sent for AI processing is subject to the provider arrangements maintained by eSomme and may also be governed by the provider’s applicable privacy and security terms.
Authentication Providers
If you sign in with Apple or Google, the provider processes information necessary to authenticate you under its own privacy terms.
Apple and the App Store
Apple processes subscriptions, payments, refunds, and subscription management. Apple’s handling of this information is governed by Apple’s privacy policy and App Store terms.
Legal and Safety Disclosures
We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to:
Comply with law, legal process, or a valid governmental request;
Protect the rights, safety, and security of users, eSomme, or others;
Investigate fraud, abuse, or security incidents; or
Enforce our agreements.
Business Transfers
If eSomme is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law.
5. No Sale of Personal Information
eSomme does not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use app information to track users across unaffiliated companies’ apps or websites for advertising purposes.
6. Data Retention and Deletion
We retain account and service information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the Services, maintain your account, comply with law, resolve disputes, prevent fraud, and enforce our agreements.
When an account-deletion request is completed, we delete or de-identify associated personal information from active systems within a reasonable period, except where retention is required for legal, security, fraud-prevention, accounting, or dispute-resolution purposes. Information may remain temporarily in restricted backups until those backups are overwritten through our ordinary retention cycle.
Records concerning purchases and subscriptions may be retained as required for accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, and App Store administration. Deleting an eSomme account does not automatically cancel an Apple subscription.
AI providers and other service providers may retain information under their applicable service terms and retention schedules.
7. Your Choices and Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to request that we:
Provide access to personal information associated with you;
Correct inaccurate information;
Provide a portable copy of certain information;
Delete personal information;
Restrict or object to certain processing; or
Explain how your information is used or disclosed.
You may edit certain profile information and export tasting records through the app. You may request account and data deletion using the in-app account-deletion control or by contacting privacy@esomme.com.
We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. We will not discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right.
8. Do Not Track Signals
Because there is not currently a uniform industry standard for responding to browser “Do Not Track” signals, the eSomme website does not presently respond differently when such a signal is received.
eSomme does not engage in cross-site tracking for targeted advertising. Third-party services you independently use, including authentication and App Store services, may collect information under their own privacy policies.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information. These measures may include encrypted network connections, access controls, authenticated requests, and secure storage of account credentials and tokens.
No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Children and Alcohol-Related Content
The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Because eSomme concerns wine and alcoholic beverages, its wine-related content is intended for adults of legal drinking age in their jurisdiction.
eSomme does not sell alcohol. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact privacy@esomme.com.
11. International Processing
eSomme is operated from the United States. If you access the Services from another country, information may be processed in the United States or other locations where our service providers operate. Those locations may have different data-protection laws than your jurisdiction.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the Services, our practices, or applicable law. We will post the revised policy with a new “Last Updated” date. If a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will provide additional notice when reasonably appropriate, such as through the app or website.
13. Contact Us
For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact:
eSomme
Operated by Christopher Johnson
Mission Viejo, California, United States
Email: privacy@esomme.com
Website: https://esomme.com