Christianster Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 25, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Christianster ("Christianster", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Christianster mobile app, website, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to this policy.

Christianster is intended for users 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, and account registration is blocked for anyone who does not meet this age requirement.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide directly

Category	Examples
Account & profile	Username, email address, password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text), country, city/province, gender, date of birth, denomination, profile photo
Content you create	Forum posts and replies, direct messages, live group chat messages, prayer requests (which may be posted anonymously), advice questions/answers, avatar images
Live video & audio calls	Your camera and microphone stream while you are on a live video call with another user; not recorded or stored by us
AI Bible / Faith AI	Questions or prompts you submit to the in-app AI assistant and Bible chat features
Support & verification	Email verification codes, password-reset requests

1.2 Information collected automatically

Location data, if you grant permission, used to find churches near you with the Connect feature
Online/offline presence status, so other users can see when you're active
A push notification token (if you grant permission), used to deliver notifications about messages and activity to your device
Login security data: failed sign-in attempts, temporary account lockout timestamps, and session/token identifiers
Basic technical data such as IP address and device/browser type, used for security and abuse prevention
An authentication cookie/token used to keep you signed in

2. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account, and to authenticate you when you sign in
To operate core features: forums, direct messaging, live group chat, live video calling, prayer requests, advice, Bible/Faith AI, and the Connect church locator
To send transactional emails, such as email verification codes and password-reset codes
To send push notifications about new messages and activity, if you grant permission
To detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and violations of our Terms of Service
To moderate content and enforce community standards (see Section 3 below)
To personalize your experience (e.g., matching you with content relevant to your country/denomination)

3. Content Moderation & Account Enforcement

Christianster has moderators and administrators who can review reported or flagged content to keep the community safe. As part of this, the Service includes the following enforcement tools:

Automated profanity/content filtering in live group chat, including an AI-assisted filter. Repeated violations accumulate as "strikes," and reaching a strike threshold results in a temporary chat timeout.
Content removal — moderators and administrators can remove posts or messages that violate our community guidelines.
Account suspension ("ban") — administrators can temporarily or permanently suspend an account's access to the Service for violations of our Terms of Service or community guidelines.
Account deactivation — you can deactivate your own account at any time, which hides your posts and messages until you log back in.
Account deletion — administrators may delete an account in serious or repeated violation cases, and you may request deletion of your account at any time (see Section 7).

We process this information on the basis of our legitimate interest in maintaining a safe, trustworthy community and enforcing our Terms of Service.

4. AI Features and Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following service providers to operate Christianster. Each only receives the minimum data needed to perform its function:

Provider	Purpose	Data shared
Google (Gemini API)	Powers the Faith AI / AI Bible assistant and the AI-assisted group chat profanity filter	The text you submit to that feature (message/question content)
Crossway (ESV Bible API)	Provides Bible passage text and search	The Bible reference or search terms you request — not your account information
Resend	Delivers transactional emails (email verification, password reset)	Your email address and the relevant message content
LiveKit	Powers real-time video and audio for live video calls	Your live video/audio stream during the call — not recorded or stored by us
Expo (EAS)	Delivers push notifications and app updates	Your device's push notification token and platform (iOS/Android)
Railway	Hosting for our application servers and database	All data described in this policy, as our infrastructure provider

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share your content with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. How We Protect Your Information

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and are never stored or transmitted in plain text
Authentication uses signed tokens stored in secure, HTTP-only cookies
Data is transmitted over HTTPS
Repeated failed login attempts trigger a temporary account lockout

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Privacy Features Built Into the App

Prayer requests can be posted anonymously; anonymous requests fully hide the author's identity from other users
Your email address is only ever visible to you, never to other members
You control your own profile photo and displayed information

7. Your Rights and Choices

Access & correction: You can view and update most of your profile information from within the app
Deactivation: You can deactivate your account at any time from your profile settings
Deletion: You may request permanent deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting us at the email below
Depending on your location (for example, under GDPR or the CCPA/CPRA), you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, or to object to certain processing. Contact us to exercise these rights.

8. Data Retention

We retain account and content data for as long as your account is active. If you deactivate your account, your content is hidden but retained in case you reactivate. If you delete your account, we remove or anonymize your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain information to comply with legal obligations or to resolve disputes.

9. Children's Privacy

Christianster is not directed to children and is restricted to users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will delete it.

10. International Users

Christianster is used by members around the world. By using the Service, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own, including the country where our hosting provider operates its servers.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your data rights (including account deletion), contact us at:
privacy@christianster.net

For general support, bug reports, or complaints about the app or website, contact:
support@christianster.net