Finding Catholic is designed to help users find Catholic Mass, Confession, Adoration, parish information, daily readings, and related personal tracking tools. We understand that information about religious interests, parish visits, prayer routines, notes, goals, and location can be personal and sensitive. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and the choices you have.
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Finding Catholic,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to [legal entity name], the operator of the Finding Catholic website and related services.
Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to Finding Catholic's website, app-like web experience, account features, parish finder, maps, Tracker, reading notes, contribution tools, and related services.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to websites, apps, or services operated by third parties, including parish websites, diocesan websites, map providers, calendar providers, scripture or reading source websites, or other external links that may appear in Finding Catholic.
Finding Catholic is not an official parish, diocese, archdiocese, or Church authority unless expressly stated otherwise. Parish schedules, clergy information, readings, and related information are provided for convenience and should be verified with the applicable parish, diocese, or official source when accuracy is important.
Information We Collect
We collect information in the following ways.
Information you provide directly
You may provide information to us when you:
- Create or sign into an account.
- Log Mass, Confession, Adoration, or other activities in Tracker.
- Create goals, reading notes, service notes, or other personal notes.
- Save parish-related activity, such as a visit or personal log.
- Submit corrections, suggestions, tags, feedback, or support requests.
- Contact us by email or another support channel.
Depending on how you use Finding Catholic, this information may include:
- Email address or sign-in information.
- Tracker logs, including service type, date, time, parish, location, schedule reference, custom activity title, goal progress, and optional notes.
- Reading notes associated with a date.
- User goals and tracker settings.
- Parish suggestions, corrections, tags, or other submitted feedback.
- Communications you send to us.
Location and search information
Finding Catholic may use location-related information to help you find nearby parishes, Masses, Confessions, Adoration times, directions, and estimated drive times.
Location-related information may include:
- A city, ZIP code, address, parish, or other location you enter.
- Approximate or precise location from your browser or device, only if you choose to grant location permission.
- Map, route, distance, and drive-time queries needed to provide location-based functionality.
You can use many parts of Finding Catholic without sharing your current location. If you allow browser or device location access, you can later change that permission in your browser or device settings.
If you save a home base, we store the location you choose so Finding Catholic can prefill searches and estimate distance or drive time. You can change or delete your saved home base at any time in Location & Home Base settings. Finding Catholic does not track your location in the background.
Your browser or device controls current-location permission. You can update or revoke that permission in your browser or device settings.
Technical and usage information
When you use Finding Catholic, we may automatically receive limited technical information, such as:
- Device type, browser type, operating system, and general usage information.
- IP address and approximate location derived from IP address.
- Pages viewed, features used, referring pages, timestamps, and error logs.
- Authentication, security, and session information.
We use this information to operate, secure, debug, and improve Finding Catholic.
Cookies and local storage
Finding Catholic may use cookies, browser storage, or similar technologies for:
- Account sign-in and session management.
- Security and fraud prevention.
- Remembering preferences.
- Saving temporary drafts or local backups, such as unsaved reading notes.
- Understanding basic product performance and usage, if analytics are enabled.
You can control cookies and browser storage through your browser settings. Some features may not work properly if these technologies are disabled.
Sensitive Information
Finding Catholic is built around Catholic schedules, parish discovery, religious services, readings, and personal tracking. We do not ask you to declare your religion or religious affiliation. However, the information you choose to save may reveal religious interests, religious practices, location patterns, or other sensitive personal information.
Examples of potentially sensitive information include:
- A log showing attendance at Mass, Confession, Adoration, or another religious activity.
- Notes associated with a parish visit, reading, goal, or religious practice.
- Location data used to find nearby parishes or calculate travel time.
- Repeated activity patterns that could suggest religious routines.
Because of this, we treat Tracker logs, reading notes, and account-level activity as private account information. We do not intentionally make your personal Tracker logs, reading notes, goals, or private notes public.
Please do not enter sacramental confession content, highly sensitive spiritual direction content, health information, financial information, information about other people, or anything you would not want stored in a web service. Finding Catholic is not designed to be a sacramental record, confessional record, medical record, or secure legal record.
How We Use Information
We use information to:
- Provide and operate Finding Catholic.
- Help you find Mass, Confession, Adoration, parishes, directions, and related information.
- Provide account-based Tracker, goals, history, reading notes, and related personal features.
- Save your preferences and improve the user experience.
- Process corrections, suggestions, and feedback.
- Maintain, debug, secure, and improve the service.
- Prevent misuse, fraud, abuse, unauthorized access, or security incidents.
- Communicate with you about support, account issues, product updates, or policy changes.
- Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms or policies.
We do not use your personal Tracker logs, reading notes, or private spiritual activity data to target advertising.
What We Do Not Do
Finding Catholic does not:
- Sell your personal information.
- Publish your private Tracker logs, reading notes, goals, or account notes.
- Use your private religious activity data for targeted advertising.
- Require you to share your current location to browse parish or schedule information.
- Ask you to enter sacramental confession content.
- Act as an official parish, diocesan, sacramental, or canonical recordkeeping system.
Your Choices and Controls
Depending on the features available in your account, you may be able to:
- View, create, edit, and delete Tracker logs.
- View, create, edit, and delete goals.
- View, create, edit, and delete reading notes.
- Export certain account or Tracker data.
- Delete your account.
- Change browser or device permissions for location.
- Clear cookies or local storage through your browser.
- Contact us to request help accessing, correcting, deleting, or exporting your information.
If you delete your account or certain account data, we will take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify the applicable information, subject to legal, security, backup, and operational limitations.
Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have privacy rights under applicable law. These may include the right to:
- Confirm whether we process your personal information.
- Access certain personal information.
- Correct inaccurate personal information.
- Delete certain personal information.
- Obtain a portable copy of certain personal information.
- Opt out of certain processing, such as targeted advertising, sale of personal information, or certain profiling, if applicable.
- Appeal a decision we make about a privacy request, if applicable.
Finding Catholic currently does not sell personal information or use private Tracker logs, reading notes, or religious activity data for targeted advertising.
To submit a privacy request, contact us at [privacy email address]. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.
Children's Privacy
Finding Catholic is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to Finding Catholic, please contact us at [privacy email address], and we will take reasonable steps to delete the information.
Parents or guardians should supervise minors' use of religious, location-based, note-taking, and account-based features.
Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide Finding Catholic, maintain your account, operate Tracker and reading notes, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, maintain security, and improve the service.
Account information, Tracker logs, reading notes, goals, and settings are generally retained until you delete them or delete your account, subject to backup, legal, security, and operational limitations.
Technical logs, cache records, analytics records, and security records may be retained for shorter or longer periods depending on operational needs.
Data Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information. These may include account authentication, access controls, database security rules, encrypted connections, and limited administrative access.
No website, app, database, or internet transmission is completely secure. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your own email account, device, browser, and sign-in links.
Third-Party Links and Sources
Finding Catholic may link to parish websites, diocesan websites, reading sources, map providers, or other third-party websites and services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or accuracy of third-party websites or services. You should review their privacy policies before using them.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to notify users, such as updating the effective date, posting notice in the app, or providing another appropriate notice.
Your continued use of Finding Catholic after an updated Privacy Policy becomes effective means you acknowledge the updated policy.
Contact Us
For privacy questions, requests, or concerns, contact us at:
Finding Catholic
[legal entity name]
[Mailing address, if applicable]
Email[privacy email address]