Privacy Policy

Effective: August 24, 2026 · Last updated: September 7, 2026

The Listening Room: Public podcast and worship recommendations are curated by church editors. If you use Listen later, we store your saved item IDs and save dates privately with your account. Private suggestions, source links, concerns and editor replies are visible to you and authorized content editors; they are not automatically published to the community. You can remove saves and delete suggestions in the Listening Room. Account deletion removes these records from the active database; backups follow the retention practices below. Search filters are sent to our database to find matching recommendations but are not stored as listening history. We do not record playback history. Supported YouTube and Apple Podcasts picks offer an in-app player. No player connects automatically: choosing Load player contacts that provider, which, along with the recording host, may receive your IP address, device/browser information and playback activity and use cookies under its own privacy rules. Church-hosted audio uses our hosting provider, whose ordinary access logs may record file requests. These streams are not saved as a church-account listening history. Spotify, Apple Music and other unsupported sources open externally. Provider account requirements, advertisements, regional restrictions and data charges may apply. These records are access-controlled, not end-to-end encrypted.

This Privacy Policy explains how Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Bowie, Maryland (“MFM Bowie,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information through the MFM Bowie app and website (the “Services”).

1. Information we collect

• Account and profile information: name, display name, email, phone number, password credentials handled by our authentication provider, ministry interests, profile photo, profile visibility, birthday or celebration details you choose to provide.
• Church and community content: prayer requests, testimonies, comments, reactions, event responses, photos, videos, and other content you submit.
• Giving information: donor name and contact details, amount, designation, transaction status, payment method summary, receipts, and related stewardship records. We do not store full payment-card numbers in the app.
• Engagement and device information: points, streaks, missions, quiz results, reminders, notification preferences, push-notification tokens, app interactions, browser or device type, IP address, and security logs.
• Administrative information: membership status, roles, permissions, moderation decisions, and audit records.

Some information may reveal religious beliefs or church involvement and may be considered sensitive under applicable law. We use it only for the church and Service purposes described here and apply access controls appropriate to its sensitivity.

2. How we collect and use information

We collect information directly from you, automatically when you use the Services, and from service providers that complete actions you request. We use it to create and secure accounts; process and reconcile gifts; issue receipts; provide events, reminders, points, profiles, prayer and testimony features; moderate content; communicate church news and alerts; support pastoral or administrative follow-up; prevent fraud and abuse; comply with law; and improve the Services.

3. Public and member-visible content

Content marked for sharing—such as an approved testimony, photo, video, comment, prayer request, celebration, or visible member profile—may be shown to other members or the public, depending on the feature and your visibility choice. Do not include confidential information you do not want others to see. Profile visibility can be changed between Visible to Members and Private; changing it does not remove content you separately submitted for publication.

Private library and sermon notes: If you choose to use My Library, we store your saved resource titles and private note text with your account so you can access them on another signed-in device. These items are not published to the community, member directory, or member-facing admin dashboard. You can edit or remove notes and saved items in My Library. They are removed from the active database when your account is deleted. This is access-controlled storage, not end-to-end encryption; authorized infrastructure operators and service providers may have access for operation and support. Backups may remain under the retention practices described below. Search terms in the library are processed on your device and are not sent to a search service.

Blessing Exchange: Listing an item is optional. We store its title, description, condition, category, optional photo, church-pickup plan and publication consent with your account. Only approved listings appear publicly; your account identity is not part of the public listing. If you request an item, the name and message you choose to provide are shown to its giver and authorized church coordinators, not to other browsers. Reports go to church moderators; hidden-giver choices stay linked to your own account. Do not put contact details or home addresses in listings or requests. You can edit or delete your listings, cancel requests and restore hidden givers in Blessing Exchange. Deleting a listing removes its associated photo, requests and reports from the active database. These exchange records are also removed when the associated account is deleted; backup retention is described below.

Next Wave — Youths and Gen Z: Joining either group is optional. We store your group membership, chosen display name, optional interests and consent with your account. Membership and interests are visible only to you and authorized church coordinators; there is no public member roster. Weekly poll choices are account-linked to prevent duplicate votes, but members see only aggregate results. Self-reported challenge progress is saved with your account and is not a public individual leaderboard. Approved posts, replies and optional creative photos are visible to the group’s members. Pending and hidden posts remain accessible to their author and authorized moderators. Choosing to hide your display name on a question does not hide your identity from moderators. Reports are private to church moderation; hidden-contributor choices belong to your account. There are no direct messages. You can edit or delete your own contributions, change interests, restore hidden contributors or leave either group. Leaving removes your membership and interests but keeps votes, progress and contributions; your own posts remain removable through My contributions. Account deletion removes these group records from the active database, including associated photos and replies on deleted posts. Backup retention is described below. Pocket Pause runs on your device and saves no participation record. The children’s account rules below still apply.

Next Wave Arena — Crown Challenge: We save your chosen Arena display name, privacy consent, account-linked quiz attempts, answers, results and points. This is separate from the groups’ self-reported activities. Ranked participation is optional: if you opt in, signed-in members can see your display name, score, all-time Hall of Fame ranking and weekly champion archive. A photo is included only with your separate Arena photo consent and a member-visible main profile. You can withdraw these choices through My entry & photo; earlier winning results can remain anonymous. All-time totals use verified Arena points, including the current week; historical weekly ranks stay frozen, with tied winners sharing the crown. Authorized church coordinators can review eligibility and record a reason. Earned church points remain on your account when you sign out or stop participating; their inclusion in the separate church leaderboard follows your existing church-leaderboard visibility setting. Account deletion removes your Arena entry, attempts and scores.

The Common Room — hosted by Youths and Gen Z: Every registered MFM Bowie user may participate in new conversations. New posts, edits and replies are shared immediately with their stated audience, without waiting for approval; older group-only posts and their replies/reposts keep their original audience. Your chosen room display name, message, optional feeling, approved sticker and optional photo are shown with your post. Feeling tags are not used to create wellbeing scores. Like, Dislike and emoji reactions are account-linked to prevent duplicates; members see totals and their own choice, not other voters’ identities. Only one reaction per account per post or reply is counted; you may change or remove it. Saved conversations and notification-read history are private to your account. Reposts credit their source and never export private posts to external social networks. Hidden/deleted or blocked sources are not exposed through reposts. Deleting an original removes dependent replies/reposts from the active database.

Community safety and youth leaders: Posts must be edifying, encouraging and Godly. Reports are private to authorized church moderators and appointed youth leaders. A flag does not automatically cause punishment. After reviewing the evidence, moderators can hide content, apply a 1-hour, 24-hour or 7-day timeout, or impose a posting ban for severe violations. Restrictions apply in the wall and both groups, not to your church account, giving or private records. Reasons are shown to the affected person; contact the church to request review. Moderation decisions and leader appointments are access-controlled audit records. Only administrators with role-management permission can appoint or remove youth moderators. Leaders receive no access to giving, member CRM or wider administrative roles through this appointment. You can still report concerns and delete your own posts while posting is restricted.

Room activity notifications: Members of Youths or Gen Z at the time of first publication receive an in-app notification for each newly published post and reply. Private read markers track what you opened. Optional iOS/Android push uses the existing Church news category and your account’s room-alert preference; current sign-in, group membership, source visibility, blocks, device permission, quiet hours and notification frequency are respected. Lock-screen payloads contain generic activity text and a conversation link, not message text, photos, mood tags, names or reports. Pending posts, edits and reactions do not generate another alert. Leaving the groups, signing out or muting room push prevents future eligible delivery; an already delivered notification may remain on the device. Browser push is not used for private room activity. No DMs, online-presence lists, live-location sharing or external sticker tracking are added. Account deletion removes associated records from the active database; backup retention is described below. Access-controlled storage is not end-to-end encryption.

4. Upload and publication consent

Before submitting a photo, video, testimony, or other content for publication, you must confirm that you created it or have all necessary permission to use and publish it. If another identifiable person appears or is discussed, you must have that person’s permission. For a minor, you must have permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian. We record the date and version of this consent. You may request removal, although copies may remain where retention is required by law, security, backup, or legitimate church recordkeeping.

5. Payments and service providers

Payments are processed by Stripe. Authentication, database, and file storage services are provided by Supabase. We may also use Hostinger for hosting, browser or platform push-notification services, YouTube for embedded video, and email-delivery providers. These providers process information only as needed to provide their services to us and under their own privacy terms. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect people or the Services, in a church reorganization, or with your direction or consent.

We do not sell personal information and do not use personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

6. Notifications, cookies, and local storage

If you enable notifications, we use a device or browser push token to deliver church alerts and reminders. You can turn notifications off in the app or device settings. The Services use cookies or local storage for sign-in, preferences, dismissed alerts, app state, security, and performance—not third-party advertising.

In supported store versions, phone notifications use Apple Push Notification service on iOS and Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android. We keep the registration token and your notification choices in access-controlled backend storage. A random installation identifier and verification secret stay on your device; they are not used for advertising. When you are signed in, the registration can be linked to your current session to deliver reminders for church events you choose to attend. Signing out stops future personal event reminders, but does not automatically turn off public church updates you enabled on that phone. Turn off notifications on a shared phone if you do not want those updates. Notification text can appear on the lock screen; manage previews and quiet hours in your phone settings and in the app.

7. Retention and security

We retain information for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes above, while your account is active, and as required for financial, tax, fraud-prevention, dispute, safety, or legal obligations. Donation and receipt records may remain after account deletion. We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including authenticated access and server-side controls, but no system or transmission can be guaranteed completely secure.

8. Your choices and privacy rights

You can edit your profile, change profile visibility, manage notifications, edit or delete eligible submitted content, or permanently delete your account from Profile → Delete my account. You may also ask us to access, correct, delete, or provide a copy of personal information, or object to or restrict certain processing where applicable. Maryland residents may have rights to confirm processing, access, correct, delete, obtain portability, and opt out of sale, targeted advertising, or certain profiling. Because we do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, those opt-outs do not ordinarily apply to our current practices. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right.

Send a request to bowiemfm@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information where an exception applies. If applicable law provides an appeal right, reply to our decision with “Privacy Appeal.”

9. Children

The Services are not directed to children under 13, and children under 13 may not create their own accounts. A parent or guardian should contact the church before a younger child uses an account-based feature. Do not upload content identifying a minor unless you have permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian. If you believe we collected a child’s information without appropriate permission, contact us so we can investigate and delete it where required.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Services or law changes. We will post the revised date and, when a change is material, provide an appropriate in-app notice or request renewed consent where required.

11. Contact us