Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Velvet Shelf, operated by Legendary Success LLC, DBA Velvet Shelf ("we," "us," "our," or "Velvet Shelf"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding data collection and use when you access our website, mobile application, or services (collectively, the "Service"). By using Velvet Shelf, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Age Verification & Restrictions

Age Requirements

• Account Creation: You must be of legal drinking age to create an account and access personalized features of Velvet Shelf.
• Public Content Access: Users of any age may browse publicly available content such as recipes and blog posts. However, we encourage parental supervision for minors accessing alcohol-related content.

Verification Process

We implement age verification during the account registration process. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are of legal drinking age in your jurisdiction.

Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Velvet Shelf does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take immediate steps to delete such information from our records. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at support@usevelvetshelf.com.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

Account Information:

• Email address
• Name (if provided)
• Password (encrypted and stored securely via our authentication provider)
• Age verification responses
• Profile preferences

User-Generated Content:

• Bar inventory (ingredients you add)
• Favorite cocktails
• Custom cocktail recipes created with AI
• Chat conversations with our AI mixologist
• Search queries and preferences

Payment Information:

• Payment information is processed securely through Stripe, our payment processor
• We do not store complete credit card numbers on our servers
• Billing address and transaction history are maintained for subscription management

Communications:

• Support inquiries and correspondence
• Feedback and survey responses

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

Usage Data:

• Pages visited and features used
• Time spent on pages
• Click patterns and navigation paths
• Device information (device type, operating system, browser type)
• IP address and general location (city/state level)
• Referral source (how you found Velvet Shelf)

Cookies and Tracking Technologies:

We use cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar technologies to:

• Remember your preferences and settings
• Analyze user behavior and improve our Service
• Deliver personalized content and advertisements
• Measure marketing campaign effectiveness
• Enable retargeting advertisements

Technologies We Use:

• Essential cookies (required for Service functionality)
• Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4, and similar tools)
• Advertising cookies (Meta Pixel, Google Ads conversion tracking, and similar tools)
• Session cookies and persistent cookies

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may limit your ability to use some features of the Service.

Automatically Generated Content:

• For paid subscribers, when you favorite AI-generated recipes, we automatically create cocktail images using AI
• These images are generated by our AI service providers without additional input from you
• Images are stored in association with your favorited recipes
• We may display these images publicly on the Service or in marketing materials

3.3 Information from Third-Party Sources

Authentication Services:

• We use Clerk for authentication, which may provide us with basic profile information

Social Media:

• If you connect via social login (future feature), we may receive information from those platforms in accordance with their privacy policies

Affiliate Networks:

• When you click on affiliate links (e.g., Amazon Associates links), those platforms may share conversion data with us

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

Service Delivery

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Velvet Shelf Service
• Process and manage your account and subscriptions
• Generate AI-powered cocktail recommendations
• Track your bar inventory and favorite recipes
• Deliver customer support

Service Features:

• Generate cocktail images for paid subscribers' favorited recipes
• Display recipe images in your favorites collection
• Showcase recipe images in public galleries and community features
• Use recipe images in marketing and promotional materials

Personalization

• Customize your experience based on preferences
• Remember your ingredient inventory across sessions
• Provide relevant cocktail recommendations

Communication

• Send transactional emails (account confirmations, password resets, subscription updates)
• Provide customer support responses
• Send promotional communications (with your consent; you may opt out at any time)

Analytics & Improvement

• Analyze usage patterns to improve features
• Conduct A/B testing for user experience optimization
• Generate aggregate statistics about Service usage
• Identify and fix technical issues

Marketing & Advertising

• Display relevant advertisements based on your interests
• Measure advertising campaign performance
• Enable retargeting campaigns to users who have visited our Service
• Track affiliate conversions and commissions

Legal & Safety

• Enforce our Terms of Service and Fair Use Policy
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to legal requests
• Protect the rights, property, and safety of Velvet Shelf and our users

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. However, we may share your information in the following circumstances:

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Service:

• Payment Processing: Stripe
• Authentication Services: Third-party authentication provider
• AI Services: Third-party AI model providers
• Analytics & Marketing: Standard web analytics and advertising platforms (Google Analytics, advertising pixels)
• Email Services: Resend for transactional email delivery

These service providers have access to your information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated to protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Affiliate Disclosures

Velvet Shelf participates in affiliate marketing programs, including Amazon Associates. We may earn commissions when you purchase products through affiliate links on our Service. When you click an affiliate link:

• You will be redirected to the third-party website (e.g., Amazon.com)
• The third-party site will track your purchase via cookies
• We may receive commission data from the affiliate network
• We do not receive your payment information from these transactions

For more information about affiliate relationships, please see our Terms of Service.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to:

• Court orders or subpoenas
• Legal processes or government requests
• Investigations of potential violations of our Terms of Service
• Situations involving potential threats to physical safety

Business Transfers

If Velvet Shelf is involved in a merger, acquisition, asset sale, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or prominent notice on our Service of any change in ownership or use of your personal information.

With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.

Automatically Generated Images

For paid subscribers, we automatically generate cocktail images when you favorite AI-created recipes. These images are created by third-party AI providers based on recipe details, without additional input from you. Images may be displayed publicly on our Service, in marketing materials, or shared on Velvet Shelf-controlled social media channels. When we post images to social media platforms, those platforms may receive limited licenses as governed by their own terms of service; however, we do not sell or license images to third parties for their independent commercial use. You may remove your association with images at any time by unfavoriting the recipe; this will disassociate the image from your account, though previously shared content may remain on our platform or social channels per standard content retention practices.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Account Data:

• Active accounts: Data retained while your account is active
• Deleted accounts: Data retained for 30 days after account deletion to allow for reactivation, then permanently deleted
• Backup systems: Data may persist in backup systems for up to 90 days after deletion

Financial Records:

• Transaction records retained for 7 years for tax and accounting purposes

Legal Obligations:

• Data may be retained longer if required by law or to resolve disputes

Aggregated Data:

• Anonymous, aggregated data may be retained indefinitely for analytics purposes

You may request deletion of your account and personal information at any time by contacting support@usevelvetshelf.com.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:

Technical Safeguards:

• Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
• Encryption at rest for sensitive data
• Secure password hashing (via Clerk authentication)
• Regular security audits and monitoring
• Access controls and authentication

Organizational Safeguards:

• Employee training on data protection
• Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Secure development practices

Third-Party Security:

• We work only with service providers who maintain strong security practices
• Regular vendor security assessments

Despite our efforts, 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.

8. Your Rights & Choices

Account Management

• Access: You can view and update your account information through your profile settings
• Correction: You may correct inaccurate information in your account settings
• Deletion: You may request account deletion by contacting support@usevelvetshelf.com

Communication Preferences

• Marketing Emails: Unsubscribe via the link in any promotional email
• Transactional Emails: Cannot be disabled as they are necessary for Service operation

Cookie Management

• Browser Settings: Adjust cookie preferences in your browser settings
• Opt-Out Tools: Use opt-out tools provided by advertising networks (e.g., NAI opt-out, DAA opt-out)

Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature. Velvet Shelf does not currently respond to DNT signals due to lack of industry consensus on their interpretation.

9. Additional Rights for Specific Jurisdictions

European Union (GDPR)

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

Your GDPR Rights:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to Restriction: Request limitation of data processing
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for processing at any time

Legal Basis for Processing:

We process your data based on:

• Contract performance (providing the Service)
• Consent (marketing, cookies)
• Legitimate interests (analytics, fraud prevention)
• Legal obligations (tax records, legal compliance)

International Data Transfers:

Your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries. We use appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses to protect your data during international transfers.

Data Protection Officer: For GDPR-related inquiries, contact: support@usevelvetshelf.com

California (CCPA/CPRA)

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

Your California Rights:

• Right to Know: Request disclosure of personal information collected, used, and shared
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
• Right to Opt-Out: Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information
• Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Right to Limit Use: Limit the use of sensitive personal information
• Right to Non-Discrimination: Equal service and pricing regardless of privacy choices

Notice for California Residents:

We do not "sell" personal information as defined by the CCPA. However, we may "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes (e.g., retargeting). You may opt out by contacting support@usevelvetshelf.com or adjusting your cookie preferences.

Personal Information Categories Collected (Last 12 Months):

• Identifiers (name, email, IP address)
• Commercial information (purchase history, subscription status)
• Internet activity (browsing history, interactions with Service)
• Geolocation data (general location)
• Inferences (preferences, behavior predictions)

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact support@usevelvetshelf.com with "California Privacy Request" in the subject line.

Other Jurisdictions

We comply with applicable data protection laws in all jurisdictions where we operate. If your jurisdiction provides specific privacy rights not listed here, please contact us at support@usevelvetshelf.com.

10. Third-Party Links & Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, products, or services (including affiliate links). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Specifically:

• Affiliate Links: Clicking affiliate links (e.g., Amazon Associates) redirects you to external sites with their own privacy policies
• Social Media: Social sharing features may allow social networks to track your activity
• External APIs: External services have their own data practices

11. Velvet Shelf Browser Extension

The Velvet Shelf Browser Extension (the "Extension") allows you to save cocktail and mocktail recipes from third-party websites directly to your Velvet Shelf account. This section describes the data practices specific to the Extension.

Data the Extension Collects

Website Content (Recipe Data):

When you click the Extension icon on a webpage, the Extension reads structured recipe data from that page, including:

• Recipe name
• Ingredients and measurements
• Preparation instructions
• Glass type and garnish (when available)
• The URL and site name of the page you are saving from

The Extension extracts this data from structured sources on the page such as JSON-LD (Schema.org), HTML Microdata, and common recipe plugin markup. The Extension does not read, collect, or transmit any other content from the pages you visit.

Authentication Information:

To connect the Extension to your Velvet Shelf account, an authentication token is passed from the Velvet Shelf website to the Extension during sign-in. This token is stored locally in your browser using Chrome's built-in storage API (chrome.storage.local) and is used solely to authenticate API requests to Velvet Shelf servers. The token is not shared with any third party.

Data the Extension Does Not Collect

The Extension does not collect, access, or transmit any of the following:

• Browsing history or the list of websites you visit
• Personal information such as names, email addresses, or passwords
• Cookies, form data, or autofill information from any website
• Images, videos, or media files from any website
• User activity such as clicks, scrolling, mouse movements, or keystrokes
• Location, financial, or health information

When Data Is Accessed

The Extension only reads page content when you actively click the Extension icon. It does not run in the background, monitor your browsing, or access page content automatically. No data is collected from any page unless you initiate a save action.

Where Data Is Sent

Recipe data you choose to save is transmitted exclusively to Velvet Shelf servers at velvetshelf.app via encrypted HTTPS connections. No data is sent to any other server, analytics service, or third party.

Local Storage and Sign-Out

The only data stored locally by the Extension is your authentication token. You can remove this token at any time by clicking "Sign Out" within the Extension popup. Uninstalling the Extension also removes all locally stored data. The Extension's sign-in session is independent from your Velvet Shelf website session; signing out of one does not automatically sign you out of the other.

Permissions

The Extension requests the following browser permissions:

• Active Tab: To read recipe data from the current page when you click the Extension icon
• Storage: To store your authentication token locally in the browser
• Host Permission (velvetshelf.app): To send saved recipe data to the Velvet Shelf API and authenticate your account

The Extension does not use remote code. All scripts are bundled locally within the Extension package.

12. International Users

Velvet Shelf is based in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries where we operate.

For EU users, we implement appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) to ensure your data is protected in accordance with GDPR requirements.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.

Notification of Changes:

• Material Changes: We will notify you via email or prominent notice on the Service at least 30 days before changes take effect
• Non-Material Changes: Updated "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy

Your Continued Use:

Continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with changes, you must discontinue use of the Service.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

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.

15. AI-Generated Content Disclaimer

Velvet Shelf uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate cocktail recipes and recommendations. Please note:

• AI-generated recipes are for informational and entertainment purposes only
• We do not guarantee the accuracy, safety, or quality of AI-generated recipes
• Users are responsible for evaluating recipes before preparation
• Always verify ingredient safety, proportions, and preparation methods
• Consult professional bartending resources for complex techniques
• We are not liable for any outcomes resulting from the use of AI-generated recipes

For more information, please see our Terms of Service.