Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: 13 August 2026

This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how Mint Media D.o.o., trading as The Cocktail Universe (“The Cocktail Universe”, “we”, “us” or “our”), collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal information when you:

• visit thecocktailuniverse.com;
• create or use an account;
• purchase or access a course, membership or other digital product;
• subscribe to a newsletter or waiting list;
• contact customer support;
• participate in a survey, promotion or community feature; or
• otherwise interact with our website, platform, content or services.

This Policy is based primarily on Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), and the Slovenian Personal Data Protection Act (“ZVOP-2”).

Where applicable, we also comply with mandatory privacy and electronic marketing laws in other countries in which we offer our services.

Quick Summary: In Plain Terms

This section is a short, plain-language overview to help you find what you need quickly. It is not a substitute for the full Policy below, which remains the legally controlling text. Throughout this Policy, “personal information” and “personal data” are used interchangeably to serve readers across different jurisdictions.

• What we collect: account details, purchase and subscription information, course progress, and technical data such as your IP address and device type.
• Why we collect it: to run your account, deliver courses and certificates, process payments and subscription renewals, keep our platform secure, and, only with your consent, send marketing or show relevant advertising.
• Who we share it with: trusted service providers such as our payment processor, email platform, analytics and video-hosting providers, and, where legally required, authorities or professional advisers.
• Your choices: you can access, correct or delete your information, opt out of marketing at any time, and manage cookies through Cookie Settings.
• Where you are: this Policy is written to meet the GDPR (EU/Slovenia), UK GDPR, the Australian Privacy Act, and applicable US state privacy laws. The numbered sections below, including Sections 16–21, point you to information relevant to your location.

1. Who We Are

The controller responsible for the processing of your personal information is:

Legal company name: Mint Media D.o.o.
Trading name: The Cocktail Universe
Legal form: D.O.O.
Registered office: Košaški dol 51e, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Business address: Same as registered office
Company registration number: 9559582000
Tax number: SI98295241
VAT identification number: SI98295241
Registered with: Business Register of Slovenia
General contact: hello@thecocktailuniverse.com
Privacy contact: hello@thecocktailuniverse.com
Telephone: Not applicable

Data Protection Officer: We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer because we are not legally required to do so.

2. Scope of This Policy

This Policy applies to personal information processed in connection with:

• The Cocktail Universe website;
• our online learning platform;
• user and membership accounts;
• recorded and live courses;
• video lessons;
• downloadable learning materials;
• quizzes, badges and certificates;
• purchases and billing;
• newsletters and marketing campaigns;
• contact forms and customer support;
• community features, reviews and comments;
• analytics and advertising technologies;
• embedded videos and third-party integrations.

Third-party websites, social networks and services linked from our website are governed by their own privacy policies.

3. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you use our services.

3.1 Identity and account information

We may collect:

• first and last name;
• email address;
• username;
• account ID;
• encrypted or hashed password;
• country or region;
• preferred language;
• account settings and preferences;
• confirmation that you meet the applicable age requirement;
• profile photograph or other profile information, where voluntarily provided.

3.2 Purchase, billing and transaction information

We may collect:

• billing name and address;
• country of residence;
• postal code;
• tax or VAT information;
• company details, if purchasing as a business;
• purchased products or memberships;
• subscription plan, billing cycle and renewal date;
• auto-renewal status and renewal reminders sent to you;
• failed-payment and dunning communications;
• cancellation date and, where provided, cancellation reason;
• transaction date and amount;
• currency;
• payment status;
• invoice information;
• refund, cancellation and dispute information;
• limited payment identifiers received from our payment provider.

Payments are processed by third-party payment providers such as Stripe.

We do not normally receive or store your complete payment card number, card security code or online banking credentials.

3.3 Course, membership and learning information

We may collect:

• courses and lessons purchased;
• videos and materials accessed;
• course progress;
• completed lessons and modules;
• quiz or assessment results;
• certificates and badges;
• saved content;
• membership status;
• access start and expiry dates;
• login and access history;
• interactions with learning features.

3.4 Communications and customer support

When you contact us, we may collect:

• your name and contact details;
• the contents of your message;
• attachments or screenshots you provide;
• support request history;
• correspondence relating to payments, refunds or technical problems;
• feedback, reviews and survey responses.

3.5 Marketing information

Where you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise consent to marketing, we may collect:

• your email address;
• first and last name;
• newsletter and marketing preferences;
• the date, time and source of your consent;
• the version of the consent wording shown to you;
• email delivery information;
• email opens and link interactions, where legally permitted;
• unsubscribe and suppression records;
• participation in promotions, launches or waiting lists.

3.6 Technical and usage information

When you use our website or platform, we may collect:

• IP address;
• browser type and version;
• device type;
• operating system;
• screen resolution;
• language settings;
• approximate location based on IP address;
• referring website or campaign;
• pages, courses and videos viewed;
• dates and times of access;
• session identifiers;
• cookie and advertising identifiers;
• interactions with buttons, forms and website features;
• technical logs;
• error and diagnostic information;
• security and fraud-prevention signals.

3.7 Community and publicly submitted information

Where community features, reviews, comments or public profiles are available, information you submit may be visible to other users or the public.

Please do not publish personal information that you do not want others to see.

4. How We Collect Information

We collect personal information:

• directly from you;
• automatically when you use the website or platform;
• from payment providers;
• from analytics and advertising providers;
• from email and communication providers;
• from social media platforms when you interact with our profiles or advertisements;
• from referral or affiliate partners, where applicable;
• from publicly available sources where permitted by law.

5. Purposes and Legal Bases for Processing

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we process personal information only where we have a valid legal basis.

5.1 Performance of a contract

We process personal information where necessary to:

• create and administer your account;
• process purchases;
• manage recurring subscription billing, renewals and cancellations;
• provide access to courses or memberships;
• track course progress;
• issue certificates or badges;
• deliver digital products;
• provide customer support;
• process cancellations and refunds;
• send essential service communications.

The legal basis is the performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

5.2 Compliance with legal obligations

We may process information to:

• issue and retain invoices;
• maintain tax and accounting records;
• comply with consumer protection requirements;
• respond to lawful requests from public authorities;
• comply with data protection and financial obligations;
• establish and retain evidence of legally required consent.

The legal basis is compliance with a legal obligation.

5.3 Legitimate interests

We may process information where necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights.

These interests may include:

• protecting the security of the website and platform;
• preventing fraud and account abuse;
• enforcing account-sharing restrictions;
• diagnosing technical problems;
• improving website functionality;
• maintaining internal business records;
• defending legal claims;
• understanding the general performance of our services using privacy-conscious methods;
• communicating with existing customers about essential or closely related services where permitted by law.

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests as described in Section 14.

5.4 Consent

We rely on consent where required for:

• email marketing;
• newsletters and promotional campaigns;
• non-essential cookies;
• analytics technologies;
• advertising pixels;
• targeted advertising;
• certain embedded third-party content;
• any other processing for which applicable law requires consent.

You may withdraw your consent at any time.

Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5.5 Legal claims and protection of rights

We may process information where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or to protect the rights, safety and property of our business, users or third parties.

6. Accounts and Course Progress

We process account and learning information to provide personalised access to purchased content.

This may include keeping a record of:

• completed lessons;
• course progress;
• quiz results;
• certificates;
• access permissions;
• membership status;
• security-related login activity.

If you request deletion of your account, some transaction, consent or legal records may need to be retained after account closure.

Deleting an account may permanently delete course progress, saved content and certificates, subject to any legally required retention.

7. Payments and Stripe

Payments may be processed through Stripe or another payment provider displayed at checkout.

The payment provider may process:

• payment card information;
• billing information;
• transaction identifiers;
• IP address;
• device and fraud-prevention information;
• payment disputes and chargebacks.

Stripe may process some information as our service provider and some information for its own legally defined purposes, including payment security, fraud prevention and compliance with financial regulations.

Your use of the payment service may also be subject to the payment provider’s privacy notice and terms.

8. Newsletters and Marketing

We may use Brevo or another email service provider to manage:

• newsletters;
• waiting lists;
• course announcements;
• product launches;
• special offers;
• transactional emails;
• unsubscribe records.

Where consent is required, you will not be added to a marketing list solely because you purchased a course, created an account or contacted us.

Marketing consent must be separate from acceptance of the Terms & Conditions.

Every marketing email will provide an unsubscribe option.

You may unsubscribe by:

• selecting the unsubscribe link in an email;
• changing your account preferences, where available; or
• contacting hello@thecocktailuniverse.com.

We may retain your email address on a suppression list after you unsubscribe to ensure that we do not send further marketing messages to that address.

Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending essential communications such as:

• order confirmations;
• invoices;
• subscription renewal reminders and payment failure notices;
• password resets;
• security notices;
• account notifications;
• changes affecting purchased content;
• responses to customer support requests.

For recipients in Australia, we aim to process valid unsubscribe requests within five working days and maintain a functional unsubscribe facility in accordance with applicable Australian spam legislation.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage and similar technologies.

9.1 Strictly necessary technologies

These technologies are required to operate the website and platform.

They may be used for:

• account login and authentication;
• shopping cart functionality;
• checkout and payment processing;
• security and fraud prevention;
• load balancing;
• saving privacy preferences;
• providing content requested by the user.

Strictly necessary technologies may operate without consent where permitted by law.

9.2 Preference technologies

Preference technologies may remember:

• language;
• region;
• display settings;
• media preferences;
• previously selected website options.

Where required, these technologies are activated only after consent.

9.3 Analytics technologies

With your consent where required, we may use analytics services such as Google Analytics 4 to understand:

• how users reach the website;
• which pages and courses are viewed;
• how users navigate the website;
• whether errors occur;
• how website performance can be improved.

Analytics data may include technical, usage and approximate location information.

9.4 Advertising technologies

With your consent where required, we may use services such as Meta Pixel and Google Ads to:

• measure advertising performance;
• determine whether an advertisement resulted in a website visit or purchase;
• build or measure advertising audiences;
• limit repeated advertising;
• display more relevant advertisements on third-party platforms.

Depending on applicable law, these activities may be considered targeted advertising, cross-context behavioural advertising, a sale or sharing of personal information.

9.5 Video and embedded content

We may use Vimeo or another video provider to host course and promotional videos.

When a video is loaded, the provider may receive:

• your IP address;
• device and browser information;
• video interaction data;
• account or session identifiers;
• cookie information.

Where required, non-essential embedded technologies will not load until you provide consent.

9.6 Security and anti-spam technologies

We may use Google reCAPTCHA or another security provider to protect forms, accounts and checkout processes from spam, fraud and automated abuse.

These services may process technical and behavioural information to determine whether an interaction is made by a human user or an automated system.

We configure and use these technologies in accordance with applicable consent and data protection requirements.

9.7 Cookie preferences

You can accept, reject or customise non-essential technologies through our cookie consent tool.

You can change your preferences at any time through:

Cookie Settings: A “Cookie Settings” button in the footer of thecocktailuniverse.com (to be added).

Rejecting non-essential cookies will not prevent access to the core website or purchased content, although certain optional features may work differently.

9.8 Cookie declaration

A current list of cookies and similar technologies, including their:

• provider;
• purpose;
• category;
• duration; and
• domain

is available at any time directly within our cookie consent tool, accessible through Cookie Settings (Section 9.7).

The cookie declaration may be updated when technologies or providers change.

10. Service Providers and Recipients

We may share personal information with service providers that help us operate our services.

These may include:

Payment providers

For example Stripe, for payment processing, billing, fraud prevention, refunds and payment disputes.

Email and communication providers

For example Brevo, for newsletters, transactional emails, waiting lists and communication records.

Analytics providers

For example Google Analytics 4, where consent has been provided when required.

Advertising providers

For example Meta and Google, where consent has been provided when required.

Video hosting providers

For example Vimeo, for hosting and delivering videos.

Security providers

For example Google reCAPTCHA, security monitoring and fraud-prevention providers.

Hosting and infrastructure providers

This may include:

• website hosting;
• cloud storage;
• databases;
• content delivery networks;
• backup services;
• learning management systems;
• website development and technical support.

Professional advisers

We may share information with:

• accountants;
• tax advisers;
• lawyers;
• auditors;
• insurers;
• other professional advisers.

Public authorities and legal recipients

We may disclose information where required by:

• applicable law;
• a court order;
• a regulatory authority;
• a valid governmental request;
• the establishment or defence of legal claims.

Business transfers

If our business or assets are sold, merged, reorganised or transferred, personal information may be disclosed to advisers and potential or actual purchasers, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal safeguards.

We require service providers to process personal information only for authorised purposes and to apply appropriate security and confidentiality measures.

11. International Data Transfers

We are established in Slovenia, within the European Economic Area.

Some service providers may process personal information outside Slovenia or outside the European Economic Area, including, but not limited to:

• other countries within the European Economic Area;
• the United States;
• Brazil;
• Canada;
• the United Kingdom;

Where required, international transfers are protected through an appropriate legal mechanism, which may include:

• an adequacy decision;
• European Commission Standard Contractual Clauses;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum;
• binding contractual, technical and organisational safeguards;
• another legally recognised transfer mechanism.

You may contact us at hello@thecocktailuniverse.com for additional information about safeguards relevant to your personal information.

12. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy.

Unless a longer period is required by law or for legal claims, our indicative retention periods are:

Account information: while the account remains active and for one (1) year after account closure.

Course progress and learning records: for the duration of course access and for one (1) year afterwards.

Invoices, transactions and accounting records: for the period required by Slovenian and applicable tax, accounting and financial laws.

Subscription and billing history: for one (1) year after cancellation or non-renewal, to manage renewals, resolve billing disputes and meet accounting obligations.

Customer support correspondence: for one (1) year after the matter is resolved.

Newsletter consent records: while you remain subscribed and for one (1) year after withdrawal of consent, where necessary to demonstrate compliance.

Marketing suppression records: for as long as necessary to respect your unsubscribe request.

Cookie consent records: for one (1) year or as configured in the consent management platform.

Security and technical logs: generally for one (1) year, unless longer retention is necessary to investigate a security incident, fraud or misuse.

Refund and payment dispute records: for one (1) year after resolution or for the legally required retention period.

Information may be retained longer where necessary for:

• tax or accounting obligations;
• consumer disputes;
• fraud prevention;
• legal proceedings;
• regulatory investigations;
• enforcement of agreements.

At the end of the applicable retention period, information is deleted, anonymised or securely archived where continued storage is legally required.

13. Information Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• accidental loss;
• misuse;
• alteration;
• destruction;
• unlawful disclosure.

Measures may include:

• encrypted communications;
• access controls;
• password hashing;
• role-based permissions;
• backups;
• security monitoring;
• software updates;
• confidentiality obligations;
• service-provider assessments.

No internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You are responsible for:

• using a secure password;
• keeping login details confidential;
• logging out from shared devices;
• notifying us of suspected unauthorised account use.

Where required by law, we will notify the competent authority and affected individuals of a personal data breach.

14. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• receive information about how your data is processed;
• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• restrict certain processing;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• object to direct marketing;
• withdraw consent at any time;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• request that information be transferred to another controller where technically feasible;
• opt out of targeted advertising;
• opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information where applicable;
• request review of certain automated decisions;
• appeal a refusal to act on a privacy request where applicable;
• lodge a complaint with a privacy or data protection authority;
• not be discriminated against for exercising applicable privacy rights.

These rights are not absolute.

We may retain or continue processing certain information where necessary to:

• comply with law;
• perform a contract;
• establish or defend legal claims;
• protect the rights of others;
• exercise freedom of expression;
• perform another legally permitted activity.

15. Exercising Your Rights

To submit a privacy request, contact:

Email: hello@thecocktailuniverse.com

Please provide enough information for us to understand and respond to your request.

We may need to verify your identity before completing the request.

Where permitted by law, an authorised representative may submit a request on your behalf. We may request evidence of that authority.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

Requests are normally handled without charge. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request where permitted by law, including where a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive.

16. European Economic Area Users

If you are located in the European Economic Area, you may lodge a complaint with:

Information Commissioner of the Republic of Slovenia
Phone: +386 1 230 97 30
Email: gp.ip@ip-rs.si
Website: www.ip-rs.si
Dunajska cesta 22
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

You may also lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in the country where you:

• live;
• work; or
• believe an infringement occurred.

We encourage you to contact us first so that we can attempt to resolve your concern.

17. United Kingdom Users

Where the UK GDPR applies to our activities, users in the United Kingdom may have rights corresponding to those described in Section 14.

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
United Kingdom
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk

UK representative: Not yet appointed. We intend to designate a UK-based representative under Article 27 of the UK GDPR once a suitable UK-based individual, contractor or service is engaged.

Under Article 27 of the UK GDPR, this requirement does not apply where processing is occasional, does not involve special category data on a large scale, and is unlikely to result in a risk to individuals. Because we process UK users’ personal data on an ongoing basis as part of a recurring subscription service rather than on an occasional basis, this exemption is unlikely to apply to us.

We will appoint a UK-based representative once available and update this section accordingly.

18. Australian Privacy Information

Where the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles apply to our activities, we will handle personal information in accordance with those requirements.

Personal information collected from Australian users may be processed outside Australia, including in Slovenia, other countries in the European Economic Area, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries in which our service providers operate.

Where reasonably practicable, the countries in which overseas recipients are likely to be located are identified in Section 11.

Australian users may submit a privacy question or complaint by contacting:

hello@thecocktailuniverse.com

Please provide enough information for us to investigate the matter.

We will acknowledge and investigate the complaint within a reasonable period.

If you are not satisfied with our response and the Australian Privacy Act applies, you may have the right to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

19. United States Privacy Rights

Residents of California and certain other US states may have additional privacy rights where the relevant law applies to our business and processing activities.

Depending on applicable law, these rights may include the right to:

• confirm whether we process personal information;
• access personal information;
• correct inaccuracies;
• request deletion;
• obtain a portable copy;
• opt out of targeted advertising;
• opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information;
• limit certain uses of sensitive personal information;
• appeal a decision concerning a privacy request.

We do not sell personal information in exchange for money.

However, the use of advertising cookies or pixels may be considered a “sale”, “sharing” or targeted advertising under certain US privacy laws.

Where applicable, you can exercise an opt-out by:

• rejecting advertising cookies;
• changing your Cookie Settings;
• using the “Your Privacy Choices” button in the footer of thecocktailuniverse.com (to be added);
• sending a request to hello@thecocktailuniverse.com;
• enabling a legally recognised browser-based opt-out preference signal, where supported and required.

We do not knowingly use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that require a separate right to limit its use.

20. Canadian Privacy Rights (PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25)

Where the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) applies to our activities, users in Canada may have rights corresponding to those described in Section 14, including the right to access your personal information and request that we correct it.

You may direct a PIPEDA-related privacy question or complaint to hello@thecocktailuniverse.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Canada

Quebec residents

If you are located in Quebec, additional requirements under Quebec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, as amended by Law 25, may apply. Where required, we will:

• publish the name and contact details of the person responsible for the protection of personal information. The privacy contact in Section 1 is a general company contact, not a named individual, so it does not on its own satisfy this requirement. Absent a more specific designation, the person with the highest authority at Mint Media D.o.o. is deemed to hold this role by operation of Law 25;
• obtain opt-in consent before using cookies or similar tracking technologies that are not strictly necessary, as described in Section 9;
• carry out a privacy impact assessment where required before certain projects involving personal information; and
• notify the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (CAI) and affected individuals of a confidentiality incident presenting a risk of serious injury, as required by law.

Quebec residents may lodge a complaint with the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec.

21. Brazilian Privacy Rights (LGPD)

Where the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (Law No. 13,709/2018, “LGPD”) applies to our activities where we offer courses, memberships or other services to individuals located in Brazil. Where it applies, we process personal data in accordance with the LGPD’s legal bases and principles.

Depending on applicable law, individuals in Brazil may have the right to:

• confirm the existence of processing;
• access their personal data;
• correct incomplete, inaccurate or outdated data;
• request anonymisation, blocking or deletion of unnecessary or excessive data;
• request portability of data to another provider, subject to trade and industrial secrecy;
• request deletion of personal data processed with their consent;
• obtain information about the public and private entities with which we have shared their data;
• be informed of the possibility of refusing consent and the consequences of doing so; and
• request review of decisions made solely by automated processing that affect their interests, as described in Section 22.

These rights correspond to those described more generally in Section 14.

Data Protection Officer (Encarregado): Not yet appointed. We intend to designate an Encarregado under Article 41 of the LGPD once a suitable individual, contractor or service is engaged. In the meantime, data subjects in Brazil may contact us using the privacy contact listed in Section 1.

Individuals in Brazil may submit a privacy request to hello@thecocktailuniverse.com or lodge a complaint with the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD).

22. Automated Decision-Making

We do not currently make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing.

We may use automated tools for:

• fraud detection;
• spam prevention;
• account security;
• website personalisation;
• marketing measurement.

These tools do not normally make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects.

If this changes, we will update this Policy and provide any legally required information and choices.

23. Children and Age Restrictions

Our services are not directed at children.

Because our content concerns cocktails, alcoholic beverages and bartending, users must be:

• at least 18 years old; and
• at least the legal age required to access alcohol-related content or purchase relevant services in their jurisdiction, where a higher age applies.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below the applicable minimum age.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us, contact hello@thecocktailuniverse.com.

24. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, social networks, products or services.

We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy, security or content practices of third parties.

You should review the privacy information of a third-party service before providing personal information to it.

25. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect:

• changes in our services;
• changes in technology;
• changes in service providers;
• legal or regulatory developments;
• changes in our processing activities.

The current version will be published on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

Where required, we will provide additional notice or request renewed consent.

26. Contact Us

Questions, complaints and privacy requests may be sent to:

Mint Media D.o.o.
Trading as The Cocktail Universe
Košaški dol 51e, 2000 Maribor
Slovenia

Email: hello@thecocktailuniverse.com
Telephone: Not applicable
Website: thecocktailuniverse.com