Privacy Policy

This page describes what Wine Tours in BC actually collects and does with it. It is written from the site's own code and database rather than from a template, so if something here is wrong, it's a bug — please tell us.

What we collect

If you just browse

• A session cookie (PHPSESSID) so the site can remember you between page loads. It is HttpOnly, Secure and SameSite=Strict, and it is deleted when you log out.
• Analytics — we use Google Analytics 4 through Google Tag Manager. This records page views, approximate location (country/region level), device and browser type, and a randomly generated client identifier stored in a cookie. We do not send your name or email address to Google.
• Your tour, in your browser — the tour builder keeps your selected wineries in your browser's localStorage (wtbc_tour_v1). That never leaves your device unless you choose to save the tour to an account.

If you contact us or submit something

We store what you type, so we can reply and act on it:

• Custom tour request — name, email, phone, party size, preferred date, region, budget and your message.
• Contact form — name, email and message.
• Submit a winery — the business details you enter, plus your email if you provide it.
• Report a closure — which listing, and your note.
• List your tours (operators) — business name, contact name, email, phone, website, regions served and description.

If you create an account

• Your email address and name, and a hashed password (bcrypt — we never store or see the password itself).
• Saved tours you create, and any tour you choose to publish publicly, along with a display name shown on that tour.
• If you review a community tour: your rating, your review text, and the IP address the review was submitted from, to deter abuse.
• Your last login time.

Security and anti-abuse

We record IP addresses and timestamps for failed login attempts and for public form submissions, purely to rate-limit brute force and spam. These records are automatically deleted after two days.

Who else sees it

We do not sell your information and we do not share it with advertisers. Some third parties necessarily receive data because their code runs on the page or serves its assets:

• Google — Analytics and Tag Manager (usage measurement), Google Fonts (typefaces), and Google's favicon service (small winery logos derived from each winery's own domain).
• OpenStreetMap — map tiles on the map and tour pages. Your browser requests tiles directly from their servers, so they see your IP address.
• Our web host, which stores the database and server logs.

These providers operate outside Canada, so data handled by them may be processed in other countries, including the United States.

Email

We send email for things you ask for: password resets, one-click login links, confirmations of an inquiry you submitted, and replies. If we ever send a commercial message, it will identify us, include our mailing address, and include a working unsubscribe link.

Your choices

• See, correct or delete your data — email info@winetoursinbc.com and we will action it.
• Delete your account — ask us and we will remove the account and the tours attached to it.
• Opt out of analytics — use your browser's tracking protection or Google's opt-out add-on; the site works fine without it.
• Business listings — if you run a business listed here and want the listing corrected or removed, see About this directory.

Children

This site is about alcohol and is intended for adults of legal drinking age in British Columbia. It is not directed at children.

Last updated July 31, 2026. This page describes how the site actually works today and is written in plain language; it is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by a lawyer.