Churchory ("we", "us") provides a church community management platform that helps churches organize small groups, track attendance, plan events, and care for their members. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to this website, to the Churchory web application at app.churchory.com, to the Churchory Mobile apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play, to every church-branded ("white-labeled") mobile app built on the Churchory platform and published under an individual church's own name, and to related services. Whatever name and icon are on the app you installed, Churchory operates the service behind it and this policy governs it.
1. Information We Collect
We only ask for personal information when we truly need it to provide a service to you. We collect it by fair and lawful means, with your knowledge and consent, and we tell you why we are collecting it.
- Account information. When you sign in, we collect your name and email address. If you sign in with Google, we receive your basic Google profile information (name, email address, and profile picture) via Google Sign-In.
- Profile and church information. Information you or your church provide, such as phone number, address, family or household members, group membership, attendance, event registrations, and prayer or care requests.
- Usage information. Basic technical data such as log information and device type, used to operate and secure the service.
- Mobile app information. If you use one of our mobile apps — Churchory Mobile or a church-branded app — we process a push notification token when you allow notifications, along with app analytics and crash and performance diagnostics that tell us which screens are used and where the app is failing. Our apps do not collect advertising identifiers on either platform. There is no advertising anywhere in our apps: we do not sell this data, we do not use it to target ads to you, and we do not share it with advertising networks or data brokers.
- Device permissions you grant. A few features ask your permission first, and each one is optional and used only for the feature that asked. The camera and photo library are used to attach photos and videos to messages and to scan check-in codes; the microphone is used when you record a video message; notifications are used to deliver your church's announcements and reminders; and where the feature is offered, your location is used to show small groups meeting near you — it is not shared with your church or with other members. You can decline any of these, or change your mind later in your device settings, and the rest of the app keeps working.
2. Church-Branded ("White-Labeled") Apps
Churches that use Churchory can publish their own mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play under their own name, icon, and colors rather than under ours, usually from the church's own developer accounts. Every one of those apps links to this Privacy Policy, because this is the privacy policy for all of them.
Whatever name is on the app, the software is Churchory. A church-branded app is the same Churchory platform with a church's branding applied, running on the same infrastructure, handled by the same people, and governed by this policy. There is no separate app, separate database, or separate data practice behind a branded listing, and branding never changes what is collected or who can see it.
- Who is responsible for what. Your church decides what information to collect from its members, who inside the church may see it, and how long to keep it. Churchory stores and processes that information on your church's behalf and on its instructions. If your church publishes its own privacy notice, that notice covers what your church does with the information; this policy covers what Churchory does with it.
- One church's data stays with that church. Each church's records are isolated from every other church's. Installing a branded app does not give that church access to anything outside its own workspace, and does not give Churchory any additional access to your device.
- Guest mode. Branded apps can let a visitor browse public content — service times, sermons, announcements, events — without creating an account. In guest mode we do not collect a name, email address, or profile; we process only the basic technical data needed to deliver that content and keep the app working.
- Push notifications. If you allow notifications, the app registers a device token so your church can send announcements, reminders, and messages. The token identifies a device for delivery purposes only, and you can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings.
- App analytics. We collect usage data — which screens get opened, whether a notification led to an open — to operate and improve the apps and to show a church what its members actually use. It is not sold, it is not used to target advertising, and it carries no advertising identifier.
- Deleting your account. Account deletion works the same way in every Churchory app, branded or not. See section 7 below.
We do not use information from a church-branded app for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not combine one church's data with another church's.
3. How We Use Google User Data
If you choose to sign in with Google, we access only your basic profile information (name, email address, and profile picture). We use this information solely to create and authenticate your Churchory account and to display your identity within your church's workspace. We do not use Google user data for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not share it with third parties except as required to operate the service (for example, secure cloud hosting). Churchory's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
4. How We Use Your Information
- To provide, maintain, and improve the Churchory service.
- To enable church administrators and group leaders to manage groups, attendance, events, and member care.
- To send service communications you or your church have requested, such as event reminders and sign-in links.
- To understand and analyze how the service is used, so we can improve it.
- To protect the security and integrity of the service.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
5. How We Share Information
Your profile information is visible to authorized members of your church's Churchory workspace (such as administrators and group leaders) according to their roles. We share data with service providers that host and operate our infrastructure — such as Google Cloud and Firebase, which also provide our analytics, crash reporting, and push notification delivery — under appropriate safeguards, and we may disclose information if required by law.
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties. This does not include hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating the service, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential.
6. Cookies
We use cookies to keep you signed in, to save your preferences for future visits, and to compile aggregate data about site traffic and interaction so that we can improve the service. We do not use cookies for third-party advertising.
7. Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service to your church. You may delete your account from the account settings screen of any Churchory app — the web app, Churchory Mobile, or your church's own branded app — or request deletion of your data by contacting us or your church administrator. When an account is deleted, associated personal data is removed from active systems. To start that process, see the account deletion page.
8. Data Security
We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit, role-based access controls, and secure cloud infrastructure.
For a detailed, plain-language description of how the service is built and secured — including where your data is stored and how churches are kept separate from one another — see our security page.
9. Children's Information
Churchory accounts are created by adults. Information about children (for example, household members listed by a parent) is provided by the parent or guardian and is used only to support the church's ministry activities.
10. Your Consent
By using our website and services, you consent to this Privacy Policy.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date, and we encourage you to review it periodically.
12. Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us at [email protected], no matter which app you installed or whose name is on it. For questions about your own data or your church's workspace, you can also reach us at [email protected].