Privacy Policy
Lutheran Prayer Guide
This policy explains how this application handles information and how to contact us about privacy.
Information we process
Lutheran Prayer Guide stores your optional local name, journal text, dates, tags, mood, linked prayers or Scripture, prayer history, favorites, catechism bookmarks and study progress, reading progress, and reminder preferences on your iPhone. Journal reflections may reveal religious beliefs or other sensitive information you choose to write. Journal sync is off by default. If you enable it, journal entries and their dates, tags, mood and reading links are sent to the application backend. A random installation secret is stored in the iPhone Keychain; the backend stores a one-way hash to separate your journal from other installations. The local name, prayer history and other progress are not uploaded. Content checks and public website requests expose connection information such as IP address, request time, requested path and ordinary HTTP metadata to the hosting infrastructure. There are no accounts, advertising SDKs, analytics SDKs or tracking cookies.
How we use information
Local data supports prayer history, reading and study progress, reminders, search and personal reflection. Optional server storage keeps a synchronized copy of the journal for the same installation. It is not an account, a device-transfer service or a promise of recovery after the secret is lost. Public content requests deliver prayer and reading-plan updates while all essential texts remain available offline. Technical request information is used by the hosting infrastructure to deliver and operate the service. Journal content is not used for advertising or profiling.
Service providers and sharing
The backend and public privacy page are hosted by Railway. Railway processes server storage and request metadata as infrastructure provider. The application server does not write journal text, bearer secrets or routine request bodies to application logs; its logs contain startup events and non-sensitive error identifiers. Railway may maintain infrastructure and access logs under its own service practices. No other third-party SDK receives journal data from the app. The owner may access server data when necessary to operate the service or respond to a valid legal obligation. Reading-source links and the Privacy Policy link open external web pages, whose providers receive requests when you choose to visit them.
Data retention
Local records remain until you delete them or remove the app, subject to the device and operating system's backup behavior. A Keychain secret can survive an app reinstall, but it is device-bound and recovery is not guaranteed. Synced journal records remain in the service database until replaced or deleted for that installation; there is no automatic expiry. Disabling sync stops future uploads but does not remove the existing server copy. No fixed retention period is promised for Railway infrastructure logs or provider-managed backups. Deletion from the active database does not guarantee immediate removal from any existing device or provider backup, which follows the applicable backup lifecycle.
Deleting your information
You can delete an individual reflection after confirmation. With sync enabled, that deletion reaches the server at the next successful synchronization. If sync is disabled, the existing server copy remains until sync is enabled again or all personal data is deleted. Settings offers Delete all personal data to remove this installation's server journal and local journal, progress and preferences. When server data may exist, this action first requires a successful server deletion; if the network request fails, local data is kept so you can retry. Removing the app alone does not send a server deletion request. The secret itself remains securely stored for authorization; the server retains no journal rows after successful deletion. The app cannot recover or identify a lost secret through a name or email address.
Permissions and your choices
Notifications are optional and are requested only when you enable the daily prayer reminder. Reminders are scheduled locally; no push token is sent to the backend. You may disable reminders in the app or withdraw notification permission in iPhone Settings. The app does not request location, contacts, camera, microphone, photos or tracking permission. You can withdraw optional journal synchronization at any time in Settings; use Delete all personal data to remove the previously stored server copy as well.
Your privacy rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or restrict processing of personal data and to raise a concern with your local data protection authority. You can read, edit and delete journal records directly in the app. For privacy questions or rights requests, contact romolaserlby@icloud.com. This address is a public privacy contact, not an account identifier or in-app email-delivery service. Do not send the installation secret by email. Without that secret the service cannot reliably locate or authorize access to a particular anonymous journal.
Security
The app uses HTTPS for deployed API requests and Keychain protection for a cryptographically random installation secret. Each private server request is authorized by that installation secret; the server uses its hash as a separate data namespace. Local journal files use iOS file protection, server data is held in a private SQLite database on a Railway persistent volume, and requests have validation, payload and rate limits. These measures reduce risk but do not guarantee absolute security. Anyone who obtains the installation secret could access that installation's server journal. Keep your device protected and avoid recording information you do not want stored.
Children’s privacy
This devotional and journaling application is intended for an adult audience and is not designed for children under 13. The service does not request birth dates or knowingly solicit children's personal information. If you believe a child has submitted personal information, contact romolaserlby@icloud.com so the circumstances can be reviewed without asking the child to disclose additional sensitive information.
Changes to this policy
This policy may change when the application's processing or hosting practices change. The current version and effective date are published on this page and remain accessible from app Settings. Material changes to optional processing will be reflected in the application before that processing is introduced. Contact romolaserlby@icloud.com with questions about this policy.