Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

• Our website address is: https://i-catholic.org
• Data Controller: Catholic Information ([email protected]). We are responsible for the processing of your personal data on this website.

2. Comments

• When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection and maintain website security.  
• An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.  
• Legal Basis: We process this data based on our legitimate interest in preventing spam and ensuring website integrity.

3. Media

• If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.  
• Caution: Please be aware that uploading images with embedded location data poses a privacy risk. Remove this data before uploading.

4. Cookies

• If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
• If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
• When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.  
• If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.  
• Further Cookie Information: This site may also use cookies for website analytics (e.g., Google Analytics). These cookies help us understand user behavior and improve our services. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
• Types of Cookies: We use essential cookies, functionality cookies and analytics cookies.

5. Embedded Content from Other Websites

• Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
• These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.  
• Disclaimer: We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external websites. Please review their privacy policies.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

• If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
• Third-Party Sharing: We may share data with Google Firebase for Analytics and Auth service.
• We do not share your location data with third parties for marketing or other commercial purposes.

7. How Long We Retain Your Data

• If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
• For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

8. What Rights You Have Over Your Data

• If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.  
• Your Rights: You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, and object to the processing of your personal data. To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected].  

9. Where Your Data Is Sent

• Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

10. Location Services Policy

• Purpose: This policy outlines how https://i-catholic.org uses location services to enhance the user experience, specifically for finding nearby churches.
• Data Collection:
  • Location Data: When you use the “Find Nearby Churches” feature, we may request access to your device’s location. This information is used to determine your current location and provide a list of churches in your vicinity.
  • Data Storage: Your location data is not stored permanently on our servers. It is used temporarily to process your request and provide the relevant information.
• Data Usage:
  • Finding Nearby Churches: The primary purpose of collecting your location data is to provide you with a list of churches near your current location. This helps you easily find places of worship in your area.
  • Improving Services: We may use aggregated and anonymized location data to improve our services, such as optimizing search results and identifying areas with high demand for church information.
• User Control:
  • Location Permissions: You have full control over whether to share your location with us. You can enable or disable location services at any time through your device’s settings.
  • Data Accuracy: The accuracy of the location data provided by your device may vary depending on factors such as GPS signal strength and environmental conditions.
• Security:
  • We take appropriate measures to protect the security of your location data.
  • We do not share your location data with third parties for marketing or other commercial purposes.
• Transparency:
  • We are transparent about our use of location services. This policy provides clear information about how we collect, use, and protect your location data.
• Changes to this Policy:
  • We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting a notice on our website or by other means.
• Legal Compliance: This website is compliant with relevant data protection regulations.