This Privacy Policy explains how the abide (in Christ) mobile application (“abide”, “the app”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, and protects your information. abide is a Christian devotional app offering daily verses, devotions, a Bible reader, songs, a community prayer wall, church live-stream links, and short devotional videos.
By using abide, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.
1. Who we are
abide is operated by the app publisher (“we”). For any privacy questions or requests, contact us at:
Email: churchservicesconnect@gmail.com
2. Information we collect
We collect only what is needed to provide the app’s features. abide does not use advertising, ad networks, third-party analytics, or precise device-location (GPS) tracking.
a) Information you provide
Account information — When you sign in with Google or with an email and password, we receive your email address and, if available, your display name. Sign-in is optional; you can browse most content without an account, but some features (saving content, posting prayers, selecting your church) require sign-in.
Profile information — Your city and church denomination/tradition, which you select yourself during onboarding or in your profile. These personalise content and community features. This is self-selected text — we do not collect GPS or precise location.
Language preference — Your chosen app language (Gujarati or English).
Prayer requests — The text of any prayer request you post to the community Prayer Wall, and whether you chose to post it anonymously. Prayer requests are visible to other users of the app. If you post anonymously, your name is hidden from other users (but the request is still linked to your account so you can edit or delete it).
Saved items — Videos, verses, devotions, songs, and churches you choose to save or favourite.
b) Information collected automatically
Notification token — If you enable notifications, we store a push-notification token (from Firebase Cloud Messaging) so we can send daily verse/devotion reminders and prayer-related notifications. You can disable notifications at any time in your device settings.
Basic technical data — Standard information required for the app to function (e.g. connection status). We do not run third-party analytics or crash-reporting SDKs.
c) Information we do not collect
We do not collect your precise location (GPS).
We do not access your contacts, photos, camera, microphone, or files.
We do not use advertising identifiers or serve ads.
We do not sell your personal data to anyone.
3. How we use your information
Create and manage your account and keep you signed in.
Show you personalised content (e.g. relevant to your city, church, and language).
Let you save and sync verses, devotions, videos, songs, and churches across your devices.
Operate the community Prayer Wall (post, edit, delete, and interact with prayers).
Send notifications you have opted into (daily verse/devotion reminders, prayer reminders).
Maintain the security and integrity of the app.
We do not use your information for advertising or marketing profiling.
4. How your information is stored and processed
abide uses Google Firebase (a Google Cloud service) for its backend:
Firebase Authentication — manages sign-in (Google and email/password).
Cloud Firestore — stores your profile (email, city, denomination, language), saved items, and prayer requests.
Firebase Cloud Messaging — delivers notifications you opt into.
We also use the YouTube player to show church live streams and devotional videos. When a video plays, YouTube may collect data as described in the Google/YouTube Privacy Policy.
5. Sharing of information
We do not sell or rent your personal data. Information is shared only:
With other users — content you choose to make public, specifically prayer requests you post to the Prayer Wall (with your name hidden if you post anonymously).
With service providers — Google Firebase and YouTube, as described above, solely to operate the app.
When required by law — to comply with a valid legal request.
6. Your choices and rights
Access / edit your data — view and change your city, denomination, language, and prayers within the app.
Delete your prayers — delete any prayer request you posted, at any time.
Delete your account — in the app’s Profile tab, tap the menu (⋮) in the top-right and choose “Delete account”, or email us; we will delete your account data.
Notifications — turn notifications on or off in your device settings.
Sign out — sign out any time; much of the app works without an account.
To exercise any right, contact churchservicesconnect@gmail.com.
7. Children’s privacy
abide is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
8. Data retention
We keep your account information for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account (or ask us to), we delete your profile, saved items, and prayer requests from our active systems. Some data may remain in backups for a limited period before being overwritten.
9. Security
We use industry-standard measures provided by Google Firebase to protect your information (encryption in transit, access rules). No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we take reasonable steps to safeguard your data.
10. 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. Significant changes may be communicated in the app. Continued use of abide after changes means you accept the updated policy.