Pikeworks
Privacy policy
Last updated 18 September 2026.
Beer Vault is made by Pikeworks, a sole trader in Northern Ireland. This is what the app keeps, what leaves your phone, and why.
What stays on your phone
Your beers, check-ins, ratings, tasting notes, venues, photos, flavour tags, badges and settings are kept in the app's private storage on your phone. None of it is sent to me unless you turn on Vault Social, described below, and even then a photo or the name of a venue only goes when you switch that on for a particular check-in.
A backup file or a CSV export is only made when you tap to make one, and it goes wherever you choose to send it. Importing an Untappd export reads the file on your phone.
Looking things up
When you scan a barcode or search for a beer, the barcode or the words you typed are sent to Open Food Facts to find the product. When you type a brewery name, it's sent to Open Brewery DB to suggest a match. Both are free public databases. They receive what you searched for and, like any website, your IP address. Nothing else is sent with it.
Vault Social, if you turn it on
Vault Social is off until you turn it on in the app. It lets you add friends by their handle and see each other's check-ins. It doesn't ask for your name, email address or phone number. You can sign in with Google on Android or with Apple on iPhone instead of just taking a handle. If you do, the service keeps only the account number Google or Apple gives it, never your email address, your name or your picture. Once it's on, the Vault Social service, which I run on a server in the United Kingdom, holds:
- a handle, made up for you and changeable, and a display name or short bio if you add one;
- a sign-in key for each phone, stored only in a scrambled form that can't be turned back into the key, with the phone's operating system version and the date it last signed in;
- a scrambled copy of your recovery phrase, if you make one;
- for each new check-in: the beer's name, the brewery, its style, strength and how it was served, your rating, the product picture from Open Food Facts if there is one, and three things only if you switched them on for that check-in: your note, your first photo, and the name of the venue you typed;
- a photo you chose to share. Your phone shrinks it and saves it again from the picture alone before sending it, so the details cameras record, such as where and when it was taken, are not in it. Shared photos are stored with Cloudflare R2, a storage service, not on my server, and are deleted when you delete that check-in's post or your account;
- the list of beers you've rated, with your rating, so friends can compare;
- your friends, requests and blocks, and the reactions and comments you add;
- any report you make, and, if someone reports you, a copy of what was reported until it has been dealt with;
- whether you've bought Beer Vault Pro, so friends see a small ring on your picture;
- if you sign in with Google or Apple, the account number it gives the service;
- a notification address for each phone, from Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android or Apple's Push Notification service on iPhone, used only to tell you when a friend reacts, comments or adds you. It is removed when you sign out or delete the account.
Your ranking of beers and your want to try list stay on your phone.
Only the friends you accept can see your check-ins, and you can make them private in Settings at any time. There's no public profile, no directory and no search for strangers. Connections to the service go through Cloudflare, which protects it from attacks. Sign-in goes through Google or Apple if you choose it, and notifications through Google or Apple. Neither is told anything about your beers. Your IP address is used to stop abuse such as mass sign-ups, and is kept for no more than two days. There are no adverts and no analytics.
The service is only used to run Vault Social. Nothing in it is sold or shared with anyone for any other reason. Other people only see what's listed above, and only if you're friends.
Purchases
Beer Vault Pro and each of the app's looks are one-off purchases through Google Play or the App Store. RevenueCat checks the purchase. It receives an anonymous app user ID and the purchase receipt, so it can confirm what you bought and restore it on another phone. I never see your name, email address or payment details. RevenueCat's policy is at revenuecat.com/privacy.
Permissions
Beer Vault asks for the camera to scan barcodes and take photos of your beer, and only when you tap to do that. Photos stay on your phone unless you switch on sharing one with friends for a check-in. It asks to show notifications only after you turn on Vault Social. It doesn't ask for your location or contacts.
Age
Beer Vault is about alcohol and is for adults. It isn't aimed at children, and Vault Social isn't for anyone under 18.
Deleting your information
Uninstalling Beer Vault deletes everything it stored on your phone. To delete your Vault Social account, open Settings, then Friends, then Delete the account. That deletes the account and everything it held straight away, including your posts, comments, friends and the reports you made. Nightly backups of the service are kept for 14 days, so a deleted account is gone from those within 14 days. If you can't open the app any more, see deleting a Vault Social account.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of what Vault Social holds about you, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, and complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. Vault Social relies on your choice to turn it on, and on my legitimate interest in keeping the service safe.
Changes
If this policy changes, the date at the top changes and the new version replaces this one.
Contact
Email me at hello@pikeworks.co.uk.