What we keep, and who can see it
People write down hard things here — an illness, a marriage under strain, a child they are frightened for. This says exactly what happens to that, in plain language, because you should not have to take it on trust.
Last updated 2 September 2026
The short version
- A prayer is seen only where you chose to send it — the parish, a circle, or nowhere.
- We do not sell anything about you, show advertising, or train AI models on what you write.
- You can delete any prayer, and your whole account, from inside the app.
- Parishes pay. Parishioners never do.
What we hold
Your account
An email address and a password, held by Amazon Cognito — we never see the password. A display name, which is whatever you choose to be called, and which parishes you follow. We do not ask for your real name, address, age, or phone number.
What you write
Prayer requests, and where you asked us to share them. An intention is visible only where you sent it. Shared with one circle, only that circle can read it. Shared with nobody, nobody can. If you post anonymously, your name is not attached anywhere another person can reach — including for the people who pray for it.
Prayers you offer
We record that you prayed, so the person who asked can be told somebody is holding it with them, and so you can see who you have prayed for. Leave the circle a prayer was shared with and it leaves your list too — having prayed for something is not a permanent right to keep reading it.
Questions you ask
Questions put to a parish, in the app or by telephone, are kept with their answers so we can tell when the system answered badly and fix it. A telephone caller is recorded as a call, not as a person — we do not know who dialled.
Where you are
If you ask what churches are near you, your phone’s location is sent once, used for that search, and never stored. We keep no history of where you have been, and you can refuse the permission and search by name.
What we never do
- We do not sell or share your information with advertisers or data brokers.
- We do not train AI models on what you write. Prayers and questions go to Amazon Bedrock to produce an answer and are not used to improve any model.
- We show no advertising, and there is nothing to buy in the app.
- Parish staff cannot see who asked for what. They manage what the parish publishes, and nothing else.
How long we keep it
- Your account and profile
- Until you delete it
- Prayer requests
- Until you delete them
- A chat conversation’s memory
- 12 hours
- Questions and their answers
- 400 days
- Your location
- Not kept at all
Deleting your account
In the app, on the You screen: Delete my account. It removes your profile, every prayer you asked for, every prayer you offered, your circle memberships, your parish follows, your notification tokens, and your sign-in. It cannot be undone and we cannot recover it.
A parish you created stays, because other people may follow it and pray in its circle — but you are removed from it.
Who else touches it
- Amazon Web Services — where everything is stored and answers are generated, all in the United States.
- Twilio — the telephone lines. They handle the call; they carry no prayer requests.
- Expo — delivers push notifications.
None may use what passes through for their own purposes.
If you are in crisis
If what you write or say suggests you may be in danger, we show you crisis resources and encourage you to speak to a person. We do not contact anyone on your behalf — not your parish, not your family, not emergency services — and nothing about it is shared with your parish. In the United States you can call or text 988 at any hour.
Children
This is not built for children and we do not knowingly hold information about anyone under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, write to us and we will remove it.
Changes
If this changes in a way that affects what happens to what you have written, we will say so in the app rather than quietly updating this page.
Questions, or something you want removed: hello@archaiparish.com