True Herf Cigar Journal Privacy Policy
Effective date: November 11, 2026
Who we are
True Herf Cigar Journal ("True Herf," "we," "us") is a cigar journal you install from your browser at trueherfjournal.com. It is run by Raymond Watson, doing business as True Herf, of Fresno, Texas. Privacy questions go to support@trueherfjournal.com.
Adults only
True Herf is for people 21 and older. Before anything loads, we ask for your date of birth. That check happens on your device. Your birth date is never sent to us or saved; we keep only a note on your device that the check passed. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 21, we delete it.
What we collect
| What | Examples | When | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase details | Email address, order number, payment status. The name on your card goes straight to Stripe with your card details and is not kept by us. | When you buy | Unlocking your account, sending your access link, receipts, refunds |
| Account details | Email address and your 4-digit PIN, stored only as a salted hash | When you set up your account | Signing you in |
| Journal entries | Brand, line, size, wrapper, binder, filler, strength, body, rating, price paid, pairing, tasting notes by the thirds, flavor tags, draw, burn, ash, relights, date smoked, and photos | When you log a cigar | Showing your journal, stats, calendar and monthly recaps back to you |
| Wish list | Cigars you want to try, your notes about them, and photos | When you add one | Your wish list, and filling in a new entry when you tap Smoked it |
| Reset codes | A 6-digit code sent to your email | When you reset your PIN | Confirming it is you |
| Server logs | IP address, browser type, time of request | Each time the app talks to our servers | Security, stopping abuse, fixing errors |
Photos. Photos you take or pick from your library are resized on your phone before they are uploaded with your entry. Resizing saves a fresh copy of the picture, so location data (GPS) and other camera details in the original are not uploaded.
What stays on your device. The app keeps these in your browser's local storage: a random device ID, your sign-in token, your account email, the age-check note, your list view choice and your accessibility settings. Clearing your browser's site data removes them and signs you out.
Exports and share cards. Spreadsheet and PDF exports, and the shareable images of entries and monthly recaps, are built on your phone. We do not receive them, and you decide where they go.
Payments
Stripe processes all payments. Your card number, expiry date and security code go directly into Stripe's secure fields and never reach True Herf. Stripe's handling of that data is covered by the Stripe Privacy Policy.
To spot fraud, Stripe's script runs on every page of True Herf, including the age check, and sets cookies named __stripe_mid and __stripe_sid. At checkout, Stripe may also run an hCaptcha bot check and offer its Link saved-payment service.
Other services we use
| Service | Provider | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and server functions | Netlify | All requests to the app, including server logs |
| Data and photo storage | Netlify (Netlify DB) | Account details, journal entries, wish list, photos |
| Email delivery | Resend | Your email address, access links and reset codes |
| Support mailbox | Porkbun | Messages you send to our support address |
| Payments and fraud checks | Stripe | Purchase details, card data, device and browsing signals on True Herf |
| Fonts | Google Fonts | Your IP address and browser details when the page loads its fonts |
We use no analytics, advertising or tracking pixels. We never sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and your entries are never shown to other users.
We may disclose information when the law requires it, to protect someone's safety, or as part of a sale or merger of True Herf, in which case this policy keeps applying to your data.
How long we keep it
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Journal entries, wish list and photos | Until you delete them or your account |
| After you delete your account | Removed from live systems at once. Copies in backups are removed as those backups expire: daily backups are kept for 30 days, and the backup taken each time we publish a site update is kept until 10 newer updates replace it. |
| Purchase records | 7 years, for tax and dispute purposes. Stripe keeps its own records under its policy. |
| Server logs | 30 days |
| Support emails | 12 months after the conversation ends |
Your choices and rights
From the Account tab you can download your whole journal as a spreadsheet or PDF, with or without photos, and permanently delete your account and every entry and photo attached to it. You can also email support@trueherfjournal.com to ask for a copy of your data, a correction or deletion. We answer within 30 days, and asking will never change how we treat you.
Depending on where you live (for example California, Colorado, Virginia, the EU or the UK), you may have further rights, including appealing a decision we make about your request. We honor those rights where the law applies to us. EU and UK residents may also complain to their local data protection authority.
Security
All traffic uses HTTPS, and our site forces it. PINs are stored only as salted hashes. After 5 wrong PINs, sign-in locks until you reset your PIN, and we limit repeated attempts from any one network. A 4-digit PIN is short, so use one you do not use elsewhere. If a breach exposes your personal information, we will tell you without undue delay.
Where data is stored
Our providers store data in the United States. If you use True Herf from elsewhere, your data travels there.
Changes
We post every update on this page with a new effective date. For material changes, we also email account holders at least 14 days before they take effect.
Contact
Raymond Watson, doing business as True Herf, 4734 Montclair Hill Ln., Fresno, Texas 77545, support@trueherfjournal.com