Privacy Policy

Last updated: [DATE]

This Privacy Policy explains how [YOUR LEGAL NAME OR COMPANY] ("Lantern," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Lantern mobile app (the "App").

Please read this carefully. Lantern lets you write personal religious reflections (a journal) and study Scripture. Some of the information you provide reveals your religious beliefs, which is treated as sensitive personal data. We describe below how we handle it.

By using the App you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

1. Who we are

The App is provided by [YOUR LEGAL NAME OR COMPANY], located at [ADDRESS, if required]. For privacy questions, contact us at [privacy@yourdomain.com].

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account information. When you create an account we collect your email address and a unique identifier from your sign-in provider (email, Sign in with Apple, or Google). You may optionally add a display name.
• Content you create. Your journal entries, reading-plan progress, and reading streaks. Journal entries are personal reflections and may reveal your religious beliefs — we treat them as sensitive data (see Section 5).
• AI Study questions. When you use the AI Study companion, the questions you type and the Bible passage you are viewing are sent to our service provider to generate a response (see Section 4).

Information collected automatically

• Usage analytics. We collect product-analytics events (for example, that the app was opened, a plan was started, or a journal entry was created) and coarse metadata, to understand engagement and improve the App. We do not send the text of your journal entries, your Scripture reading, or your Study messages to our analytics provider.
• Diagnostics / crash data. If the App crashes or errors, we collect diagnostic information (device model, OS version, app version, error details) to fix problems. We disable the collection of personal identifiers in crash reports where possible.
• Subscription status. Whether you have an active "Lantern Plus" subscription, and related transaction metadata, via our subscriptions provider. We do not receive your full payment-card details — those are handled by Apple or Google.

Information we do not collect

• We do not collect your precise location.
• We do not sell your personal information.
• The Bible text itself is bundled in the App and read on your device offline; your everyday reading does not require a network connection or get sent to us.

3. How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• Provide and operate the App and your account;
• Save and sync your journal, plans, and streaks across your sessions;
• Provide the AI Study companion;
• Process and manage your subscription;
• Send local reminder notifications you have enabled (daily verse, streak reminder) — these are scheduled on your device;
• Monitor, debug, secure, and improve the App;
• Communicate with you about the App and respond to support requests;
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

4. The AI Study companion

When you ask the AI Study companion a question, the App sends your question, the short recent conversation, and the text of the passage you are studying to our AI provider, Anthropic (Claude), through our backend, which returns a response. We use this only to generate your answer.

• We store a daily count of how many AI messages you have sent (to enforce usage limits), but we do not store the content of your Study conversations on our servers.
• Per Anthropic's API terms, data submitted through the API is not used to train their models.

The AI companion can be wrong or incomplete and is not a substitute for professional, medical, legal, or pastoral advice.

5. Sensitive personal data (your journal & beliefs)

Your journal entries, and your use of a Bible study app generally, may reveal information about your religious or philosophical beliefs, which is considered sensitive personal data under laws such as the GDPR.

• We collect and process this information only to provide the App's features to you (storing and showing you your own reflections).
• Where required by law, our legal basis is your explicit consent, which you provide by choosing to create journal entries; you can withdraw it at any time by deleting your entries or your account.
• Journal content is protected by access controls so that only your account can read it, is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by our hosting provider, and is not used for analytics, advertising, or model training.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers ("subprocessors") that help us run the App, under contracts that limit their use of it:

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or users' safety, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (you will be notified of any such change affecting your data).

7. Data retention

We keep your account information and content for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account (see Section 8), we delete your account and associated data — including journal entries, streaks, and plan progress — from our active systems. Some information may persist briefly in backups or where we are required to retain it by law, after which it is deleted.

8. Your rights and choices

• Access & deletion in the App. You can edit your display name, manage your reminders, and delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings → Delete Account.
• Privacy rights. Depending on where you live (for example, the EU/UK under GDPR, or California under the CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict processing of your personal data, and to withdraw consent. To exercise these rights, use the in-app deletion or contact us at [privacy@yourdomain.com].
• Notifications. You can turn reminders on or off in Settings, or in your device's system settings.
• We do not sell or "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as defined under California law.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.

9. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit, encryption at rest, and per-user access controls so that one user cannot read another user's data. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children's privacy

The App is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). While Lantern includes Bible content written for families to read together, accounts and journals are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. International users and data transfers

We are based in [COUNTRY] and our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. If you use the App from outside these countries, your information may be transferred to and processed in a country with different data-protection laws. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) for such transfers.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice. Your continued use of the App after an update means you accept the revised Policy.

13. Contact us

Questions or requests about this Privacy Policy:

[YOUR LEGAL NAME OR COMPANY] Email: [privacy@yourdomain.com] [ADDRESS, if applicable]