Last updated 15 July 2026 · DevCSM, LLC
Banded is a private journal of the cigars you smoke. This page says plainly what we
collect, who else sees it, and what we will never do with it.
What we collect
- Your email address, when you sign in. Authentication is handled by WorkOS — we never see or store your password.
- A display name, if you set one. It's what other smokers see when you share a cigar.
- Band photos you take or upload.
- Your ratings and notes, and when you logged them.
- Where a cigar was smoked, if — and only if — your camera recorded a location in the photo. See “Location”, below.
- How many AI scans you've used this month, to apply your plan's allowance.
Who else sees it
We don't sell or rent your personal information. These companies process data so Banded can work:
- Anthropic — your band photo is sent to Claude to read the band. This is how scanning works. Anthropic does not use it to train their models.
- WorkOS — sign-in, and the emails that go with it.
- Fly.io and Tigris — hosting, the database, and where your photos are stored.
- Stripe — if you subscribe. Card details go straight to Stripe; they never touch our servers.
- GitHub — if you report a bug from inside the app, your message, your email address, and the page you were on are filed as an issue in our private tracker.
What's public — and what isn't
Your humidor is private. Two things are exceptions, and you control both:
- The Rank & File. Each cigar can take part in the public board — its rating counts toward the community average, and its band photo may represent that cigar. It's on by default and you can switch it off per cigar, any time, on the cigar's own page.
- Signed takes. On the board, a cigar can also carry your display name and
your most recent tasting note, as a card under the community verdict — so other
smokers can see who said what, and why. This is on by default and switches off per
cigar, on the cigar's own page, under Sign my take. Switching it off removes
your name and your note from the board; your rating still counts toward the
average, anonymously. Your other notes, and every cigar you've kept off the board,
stay private.
- Sharing. When you share a cigar, you create a link. Anyone holding that link can see that card — the brand, the photo, your rating, your note, and your display name. Treat it like handing someone a photograph.
Location
Phone cameras can write a GPS position into a photo. When you upload a band shot, we read
that position out, record it against that smoke, and then strip it out of the image
file — so it can't travel to anyone you share the photo with.
Your precise location is private. No page shows it, no link exposes it, and it is
never part of anything we share or sell. If your camera doesn't record a location, we
don't have one.
Aggregate insights
We may produce and share or sell aggregate, de-identified insights about cigars —
which lines are rated well, how a wrapper shade tends to score, what's popular in a region.
This is how Banded stays free to use.
The line we will not cross: we never share or sell your identity, your email, your
photos, your notes, or your precise location, and we never let anyone re-identify you
from an aggregate. Statistics leave; you don't.
Your data is yours
- Delete everything. Account → Delete account erases your humidor, your ratings, your photos and your shares. It's immediate and it can't be undone.
- Take it out. Email us and we'll send you your data.
- Correct it. Every field on a cigar is editable.
Depending on where you live you may have additional rights over your data. Ask us and
we'll honor them — we'd rather do it because you asked than because a law made us.
Keeping it
We keep your data while your account exists. Delete the account and it goes. Backups roll
off within 30 days. Aggregate statistics that can't identify you may remain.
Children
Banded is for adults 21 and over. We don't knowingly collect anything from anyone younger.
Changes
If we change how we use your data in a way that matters, we'll tell you in the app before
it takes effect — not by quietly editing this page.
Reach us
DevCSM, LLC · Tennessee, USA
support@devcsm.com