Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 01, 2026

American Whiskey Scholar ("we," "us," or "our") operates the American Whiskey Scholar educational platform hosted via Thinkific. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring a secure student experience. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you purchase our courses and interact with our learning management system directly on Thinkific.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By purchasing a course, creating an account, or utilizing the platform, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described herein.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information about you in a variety of ways when you interact with our platform, purchase certifications, or communicate with our team.

Information Provided Directly Upon Account Creation and Purchase: When you register for an account and purchase a certification course or bundle directly through our Thinkific site, you provide us with personal data necessary to fulfill your enrollment and process payment. This includes:

• First and last name
• Email address
• Billing and shipping addresses
• Payment information (processed securely through Thinkific's integrated payment gateways; we do not store your full credit card details)
• Transaction details (order ID, products purchased)

Information Collected Automatically via Thinkific:

When you access your Thinkific student dashboard, certain data is gathered automatically by the platform to manage and track your academic progress, including:

• Course progress data (modules viewed, lessons completed, time spent)
• Quiz and examination performance (scores, responses, certification status)
• Technical data (IP address, browser type, device details, and operating system)
• Cookies and tracking technologies used by Thinkific to maintain your authenticated login session.

Direct Communications:

If you contact our support team via email or web forms regarding technical issues or curriculum questions, we collect your name, email address, and any contents or context you provide in your query.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect strictly to deliver, monitor, and improve the American Whiskey Scholar curriculum and user experience. Specifically, we use your data to:

• Create, manage, and authenticate your student profile natively on Thinkific.
• Provide you with course access, track your milestone progression, and enforce sequential module requirements.
• Administer quizzes and evaluate the Certification final examinations.
• Issue digital certificates and credentials upon successful completion of the course path.
• Process logistics for physical achievements, specifically preparing and shipping your official lapel pins and rewards to your designated shipping address.
• Send essential transactional notifications, including Thinkific site welcome emails, account credentials, receipt confirmations, and progress updates.
• Address technical support inquiries and optimize platform functionality.

3. Sharing and Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data to third parties. We share your information only with trusted service providers necessary to operate the platform and deliver your student materials:

• Thinkific: Our core learning management system and e-commerce provider that hosts the curriculum database, processes payments, tracks student metrics, and runs backend educational tools.
• Fulfillment & Shipping Services: Third-party couriers or fulfillment partners tasked with picking, packing, and dispatching physical assets like lapel pins or sensory kit materials.
• Legal Compliance: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or government regulation, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of our users or the public.

4. Data Security

The security of your information is paramount. Because your credentials, payment processing, and progression are housed natively within Thinkific, your data benefits from industry-standard technical safeguards, including Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption for data in transit and secure firewalled server architecture.

Please note that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we work diligently alongside our platform provider to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. It is your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of your Thinkific login credentials and password.

5. Your Rights and Data Retention

Depending on your geographic location, you may possess specific statutory rights regarding your personal information, including the right to access, correct, update, or request the deletion of the data we hold.

We retain your personal data and academic transcripts for as long as your student account is active or as necessary to maintain verification records of your official certification status. If you wish to close your account, update your registration email, or request that we permanently delete your records, please contact us using the details below. (Note: Deleting your student account will permanently wipe your verified testing records and certificate history.)

6. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our platform may reference external resources or recommended reading materials. This Privacy Policy applies solely to data managed under the American Whiskey Scholar platform track. We are not responsible for the independent privacy practices or content guidelines of external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of any third-party links you choose to visit.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect operational modifications, platform updates, or regulatory shifts. Any updates will be posted directly to this page with an adjusted "Effective Date." We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed of how we safeguard your personal information.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to exercise your data privacy rights, please contact the American Whiskey Scholar team at:

Email: [email protected]

Please include your registered account email and a clear summary of your request so that our support staff can assist you promptly.