PreachPal

Legal

PreachPal Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

PreachPal (“we,” “our,” “the App”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what data PreachPal does and does not collect, how your sermon data is stored, and which third-party services are involved in delivering the App’s features.

1. Plain-Language Summary

PreachPal collects no personal information about you. There is no account to create, no login, and no tracking. Your sermon data stays on your device and in your own private iCloud container, which we cannot access. Cloud features (Deepgram transcription, OpenAI analysis) are opt-out — on by default for best quality, turn off anytime in Preferences. No data is sold. Ever. No data is used to train AI.

2. Information We Collect

We collect no personal information. PreachPal has no user accounts, no login, no email capture, no phone number capture, no location tracking, and no advertising identifiers.

2.1 Data stored on your device

The following data is stored locally on your device in a database protected by iOS file-level encryption:

  • Sermon transcripts (text)
  • Detected Bible verse references
  • Sermon highlights and quotes
  • Your personal notes
  • Sermon metadata (title, date, optional preacher name, optional topic)
  • Subscription state cached from Apple StoreKit

2.2 Data synced to your private iCloud container

If you are signed into iCloud and have iCloud Drive enabled for PreachPal, the same data above is automatically synced to your own private CloudKit container. Apple manages this sync. The developer cannot access your private CloudKit data.

3. How We Use Your Data

We do not use your data for any purpose beyond delivering the App’s features on your device. We do not read, analyze, aggregate, sell, share, or store your sermon content on any developer-owned infrastructure.

4. Third-Party Service Providers (Subprocessors)

To deliver PreachPal’s features, we use the following third-party services. You can turn off all cloud-dependent services at any time in Preferences → Cloud Enhancement.

4.1 Deepgram (cloud transcription)

  • What is sent: Real-time audio frames from your microphone during an active sermon
  • What is NOT sent: Your identity, device ID, location, or any metadata beyond the audio stream
  • Retention: Deepgram processes audio in real time and deletes it immediately: zero retention. PreachPal configures the zero-retention flag on every request.
  • Training: PreachPal does NOT participate in Deepgram’s Model Improvement Partnership Program. Your audio is never used to train Deepgram’s models.
  • Jurisdiction: United States
  • When active: Cloud enhancement is on by default after you consent during onboarding, and stays active whenever you have available cloud quota. Turn it off anytime in Preferences → Cloud Enhancement.
  • Opt out: Settings → Cloud Enhancement → turn off the master toggle
  • Terms: deepgram.com/terms · deepgram.com/privacy

4.2 OpenAI (transcript text analysis)

  • What is sent: Finalized text transcripts of your sermon (segments) for journal synthesis, quote extraction, and Bible verse citation detection
  • What is NOT sent: Raw audio, your identity, device ID, or location
  • Training: OpenAI’s API data is NOT used to train OpenAI models (OpenAI API Data Usage Policy, effective since March 2023).
  • Retention: OpenAI retains API request content for up to 30 days solely for abuse monitoring, after which it is automatically deleted. This retention does not apply to training.
  • Zero Data Retention (ZDR): PreachPal may pursue OpenAI’s optional Zero Data Retention arrangement. If granted, this disclosure will be updated.
  • Jurisdiction: United States
  • Opt out: Settings → Cloud Enhancement → turn off the master toggle
  • Terms: openai.com/policies/api-data-usage-policies

4.3 API.Bible (additional Bible translations for Premium users)

  • What is sent: Bible version ID + book + chapter + verse identifiers only
  • What is NOT sent: Sermon content, audio, your identity, device ID, or any user-generated text
  • Retention: Subject to API.Bible terms; no user content is transmitted
  • When enabled: Only with PreachPal Premium and an API.Bible-backed translation selected
  • Attribution: Credited in Settings → Privacy & Legal → Bible Translation Licenses and on our Bible Licenses page
  • Terms: api.bible/terms-and-conditions

4.4 Sentry (crash reporting & diagnostics)

PreachPal uses Sentry (Functional Software Inc., San Francisco, CA) to automatically capture crash reports and non-fatal diagnostic events to improve app stability.

  • What is sent: Device model, iOS version, and an anonymous per-app installation identifier
  • What is NOT sent: Email, name, advertising identifier (IDFA), device-unique identifier (IDFV), or any sermon content
  • Retention: Crash data is retained for 30 days, then permanently deleted
  • Role: Sentry processes this data under our instructions as a data processor
  • Opt out: Settings → Privacy & Legal → Help Improve PreachPal

4.5 Apple Services

  • CloudKit (private database) — Your sermon data syncs to your own iCloud container. Apple manages the data. The developer cannot access it.
  • StoreKit — Subscription purchase and verification. The developer sees subscription status only, not payment details.
  • Speech Recognition (on-device) — Audio is processed locally on your device using Apple’s Speech framework. Nothing is sent to Apple.
  • Translation (on-device) — Text is translated locally on your device using Apple’s Translation framework. Nothing is sent to Apple.

Apple’s use of your data is governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy.

4.6 Analytics

PreachPal relies on App Store Connect analytics for product metrics; no third-party analytics SDKs (Firebase, Mixpanel, etc.) are included beyond the crash reporting described above. You may opt out of anonymous usage and crash reporting in Settings → Privacy & Legal → Help Improve PreachPal.

5. How We Protect Your Data

  • iOS file-level encryption — All on-device sermon data is encrypted at rest.
  • Keychain-stored API keys — Third-party API keys are rotated into the iOS Keychain at first launch.
  • Optional biometric app lock — Face ID / Touch ID can be required to open PreachPal.
  • App backgrounding privacy curtain — Sermon content is automatically blurred in the iOS app switcher.
  • HTTPS/TLS for all network traffic — Enforced by iOS App Transport Security.

6. Your Rights

Because PreachPal collects no personal information, most traditional privacy rights are fulfilled by default. You can:

  • Access your data: All data is on your device in the App itself.
  • Export your data: Use the export feature in Sermon Detail → Full Sermon Notes → Share.
  • Delete your data: Settings → Privacy & Legal → Clear Local Data. This deletes all sermons from your device and syncs the deletion to your iCloud.
  • Turn off cloud features: Settings → Cloud Enhancement → master toggle off.

7. Data Retention

  • On-device data — Retained until you delete it via Clear Local Data or by uninstalling the App.
  • iCloud (CloudKit) data — Retained in your private iCloud container until you delete it from any device.
  • Subprocessor data — Deepgram: zero retention. OpenAI: up to 30 days for abuse monitoring. API.Bible: no user content transmitted. Sentry: crash data deleted after 30 days.

8. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information is collected (answer: none), delete it (trivially, because none is held), opt out of sale or sharing (nothing is sold or shared), and non-discrimination. To exercise these rights, contact support@preachpal.app.

9. European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the rights granted by the General Data Protection Regulation: access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection. Because PreachPal processes no personal data on any developer-controlled infrastructure, these rights are trivially satisfied, because all your data is under your own control.

Our legal basis for processing crash and diagnostic data is legitimate interest in maintaining app stability and quality (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). Sentry participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. You may opt out of crash reporting at any time in Settings, or request deletion of any diagnostic data by contacting support@preachpal.app.

10. Children’s Privacy

PreachPal is intended for users 13 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from users under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information (not possible via PreachPal, as we collect none), please contact support@preachpal.app.

11. International Data Transfers

Because PreachPal uses subprocessors located in the United States (Deepgram, OpenAI, API.Bible, Sentry), audio, transcript, and diagnostic data sent to these services is transferred to and processed in the United States. By using cloud features, you consent to this transfer.

12. This Website

This website (preachpal.app) sets no cookies, uses no analytics, stores nothing in your browser, and makes no third-party requests — fonts and imagery are served from our own domain. What you read here stays between you and your browser.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top. Material changes will be communicated through an in-app notice.

14. Contact

For privacy questions, data rights requests, or any concerns, contact: support@preachpal.app

We designed PreachPal around a simple principle: your spiritual journey is yours. We don’t want your data, we don’t collect your data, and we don’t need your data to help you listen better.