Privacy Policy

Last updated October 24, 2026

Cata is a guided cigar-tasting app at cataguide.com. This page explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it. Cata is for adults 21 and over.

What we collect

• Your account: your email address, and your name and photo if you sign in with Google. Passwords are handled by Google Firebase Authentication; we never see them.
• Your profile: the name, public nickname, smoker level and picture you choose, and your home ZIP code (or your country, if you live outside the US).
• Feedback you send: your message, any screenshot you attach, the screen you were on, your phone and browser type, and the app version. If you report a problem with a tasting note, we also get that tasting's answers and note.
• Your tastings: the cigars you log, your answers, notes, scores, sizes, prices and the shops you name. Each tasting also keeps the home ZIP code you had when you logged it.
• What you share: tastings you share on Home, and your thumbs up and down on other people's.
• Basic technical data our hosting provider keeps to run the service, such as IP address and browser type.

How we use it

• To run Cata: save your tastings, show your Journal, build your score and your taste profile.
• To suggest cigars that fit your taste.
• To write your tasting note. Your answers for that tasting are sent to Anthropic's Claude service to draft the note. Anthropic processes them to return the note and doesn't use them to train its models.
• To show shared tastings to other Cata users, under your nickname and picture.

Who can see what

• Your Journal and unshared tastings are visible only to you.
• Tastings you share on Home are visible to other signed-in Cata users, along with your nickname, level and picture. You can stop sharing anytime in Profile.
• Cigars and shops you add to the shared lists are visible to everyone who uses Cata.
• Your home ZIP code is never shown to other users.
• Feedback and screenshots you send go only to the Cata team.

Aggregated data

We may combine tastings from many smokers into anonymous, aggregated insights, for example "Ecuador Sumatra wrappers are rated highly by smokers in Texas," and share or sell those insights to cigar makers, shops and others. These insights never include your name, email, nickname or any single person's tastings. Regional insights are reported by area, such as state, metro area or ZIP code, and only for areas with enough smokers that no one can be singled out.

What we don't do

• We don't sell your personal information.
• We don't show ads based on your data.
• We don't sell cigars or link you to stores.

Where your data lives

Cata runs on Google Firebase in the United States. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Your choices

• Download a backup of your tastings anytime in Profile.
• Delete your account in Profile. That removes your tastings, shared reviews, votes and profile, then your sign-in. Backups kept by our providers are cleared on their normal schedule. Feedback you sent is kept so we can act on it; email privacy@cataguide.com and we'll remove yours.
• Questions or requests: email privacy@cataguide.com.

Children

Cata isn't for anyone under 21. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 21, we delete it.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect.