Privacy Policy

1. Information you give us

When you create an account and use the Service you provide information including:

• Account details: name, email address, phone number, password, preferred language.
• Profile: date of birth, gender, marital status, location, occupation, education, family details, denomination, faith journey, goals, and other profile fields you choose to complete.
• Photos: profile photo (avatar) and additional photos you upload for your profile.
• Identity verification: a government-issued identification document submitted during onboarding so our administrators can verify that you are a real person and that you are who you claim to be.
• References: the names and contact details of people you invite to vouch for your character, and any responses they choose to share.
• Messages and posts: the content of messages, posts, prayer requests, and other content you create on the Service.
• Reports and appeals: reports you submit about other members, and any information you provide when appealing a moderation decision.
• Payments and donations: billing information for any paid features or donations (collected and processed by our payment processor).
• Communications with us: the content of support requests, feedback, and survey responses.

2. Information collected automatically

• Device and log data: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, and language settings.
• Usage data: pages and features you visit, actions you take, time stamps, and referring or exit pages.
• Approximate location: derived from your IP address or, with your permission, from your device's location services, used to compute distance to other members at the precision you choose in your privacy settings.
• Cookies and similar technologies: used to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, secure the Service, and understand how it is used.
• Push notification tokens: if you enable push notifications, the token your browser or device provides so we can deliver them.

3. Information from third parties

If you sign in or invite friends through a third-party service, that service may share limited information with us (such as your name and email address). References you provide may share their feedback about you. We do not buy member lists.

4. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Create and maintain your account, including identity and reference verification.
• Show your profile to other members in accordance with your visibility and privacy settings, and help you find compatible connections.
• Operate messaging, communities, events, programs, mentors, prayer requests, and other features you choose to use.
• Send transactional messages (verification codes, password resets, connection updates, moderation notices) by email or SMS.
• Send service announcements and, where you have opted in, news, devotionals, or marketing communications. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time.
• Protect the safety and integrity of the community, including detecting fraud, abuse, harassment, and violations of our Terms of Service.
• Provide customer support and respond to your requests.
• Understand how the Service is used, troubleshoot problems, and improve features.
• Comply with applicable laws, enforce our Terms, and protect the rights and safety of members and the public.

5. Sensitive information

Some of the information you share — including details about your religious beliefs, marital and family status, and identification documents — is considered sensitive in some jurisdictions. By providing this information you give us your explicit consent to use it for the purposes described in this Policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the relevant information or your account; doing so may limit your ability to use parts of the Service.

6. How and with whom we share information

We never sell your personal information. We share information only as described below:

• Other members. Your profile, photos, public activity, and the content of messages you send are visible to the members you choose to share them with, subject to your privacy settings.
• Service providers. Trusted vendors that help us operate the Service, including hosting, content delivery, email and SMS delivery, push notifications, identity verification, payment processing, error monitoring, and analytics. They may process your information only on our instructions and under appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.
• Administrators and moderators. Authorized staff and volunteers may access information necessary to review your profile, verify your identity, review reported content, and enforce our Terms.
• Legal and safety. Government or law-enforcement authorities, or other third parties, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect our rights or property, or protect the safety of members or the public.
• Business transfers. If Adventist Families is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or use of your information.

7. Your privacy choices

• Profile visibility. Choose whether your profile is visible to the wider community or to specific groups.
• Distance precision. Choose how precisely your distance is shown to other members.
• Online status and read receipts. Turn these on or off.
• Discoverability. Hide your profile from discovery while keeping existing connections.
• Notifications. Manage email, SMS, and push notification preferences.
• Photos and content. Edit or delete what you have posted at any time.

You can manage these from Settings → Privacy and Settings → Notifications in the app.

8. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Delete your account and the personal information associated with it.
• Export a copy of your information in a portable format.
• Object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent where we rely on it.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

You can exercise most of these rights from your account settings. For anything you cannot do in the app, contact us at support@adventistfamilies.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

9. Account deletion and retention

When you delete your account, your profile is removed from the Service and is no longer visible to other members. We delete or de-identify your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we are required or permitted to retain it:

• Limited records may be kept to prevent fraud and abuse and to enforce safety actions (for example, to prevent a removed member from creating a new account).
• Messages you sent may remain visible to the members who received them.
• Financial records, audit logs, and information required to comply with legal obligations are retained for the period required by law.
• Backups are retained for a limited period and overwritten on the normal backup cycle.

10. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and review of uploaded photos and documents by trained administrators. No system is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted over the internet. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately.

11. International transfers

Adventist Families is a global community. Your information may be stored and processed in countries other than the one in which you live, including countries that may have different data protection rules than your own. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards to protect information transferred internationally.

12. Children

The Service is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with information, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we make material changes we will give you reasonable notice (for example, by email, in-app message, or by updating the effective date above). Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

14. Contact

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy may be sent to support@adventistfamilies.com.