Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Gospel Genius ("we", "us", or "our") operates the website gospelgenius.ng and related services. We are committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who uses our platform. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, and what rights you have in relation to that information.

By creating an account or using Gospel Genius, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our platform.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

• Your name and email address when you register
• Your password (stored as a one-way hash — we cannot read it)
• Profile information such as your country, denomination, and language preference
• Contact form submissions, including your name, email, and message
• Payment information when purchasing a subscription (processed securely by Paystack — we do not store card numbers)
• Ministry profile details if you register a church or ministry on the platform

Information collected automatically:

• Your IP address and approximate geographic location (country level)
• Browser type, operating system, and device information
• Pages visited, quiz sessions completed, questions answered, and time spent
• Referring URL and search terms that led you to our site
• Session cookies and local storage data needed to keep you logged in

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and maintain your account, track your quiz progress, streaks, and points
• Send transactional emails such as email verification, password reset, and subscription receipts
• Send periodic newsletters or platform updates, where you have consented to receive them
• Provide Bread from Heaven notifications and reading plan reminders (opt-in only)
• Facilitate ministry features, including leaderboards and member progress tracking
• Detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive activity on the platform
• Improve our service by analysing aggregated, anonymised usage patterns
• Comply with legal obligations where applicable

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for targeted advertising outside of our platform.

4. Cookies

Gospel Genius uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to operate the platform. We use:

• Session cookies: Essential for keeping you logged in during a session. These expire when you close your browser or log out.
• Persistent cookies: Used to remember your preferences and keep you logged in across visits (if you choose "stay signed in").
• Third-party analytics cookies: We use Google Analytics to understand how our platform is used in aggregate. Google Analytics sets cookies under the domain google-analytics.com. You can opt out via your browser settings or the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
• Advertising cookies: We participate in the Google AdSense program. Google and its partners may use cookies to show ads based on your prior visits to our site and other sites. You can manage ad personalisation preferences via Google Ad Settings.

Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. Disabling essential cookies may impair the functionality of Gospel Genius.

5. Google AdSense Disclosure

Gospel Genius displays advertisements through the Google AdSense program. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our platform and other websites on the internet. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the internet.

Free-tier users will see advertisements within the platform. Users with paid subscriptions (Basic or Ministry tier) receive an ad-free experience. To learn more about how Google uses data when you use partners' sites or apps, visit policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

6. Third-Party Services

We integrate with the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:

• Paystack — payment processing for subscriptions
• Google OAuth — optional sign-in with your Google account
• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) — transactional email delivery
• Google Analytics — aggregated usage analytics
• Google AdSense — advertisement serving

When you use an OAuth login, we receive only the information the provider shares with us — typically your name, email address, and profile photo — and only with your explicit consent during the authorisation flow.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. If you delete your account, we will remove your personally identifiable information from our active databases within 30 days. Anonymised aggregate data (such as quiz completion statistics) may be retained indefinitely for research and improvement purposes. Certain information may be retained longer where required by law.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• TLS/HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Passwords stored using Argon2id — an industry-leading password hashing algorithm
• Sensitive configuration values encrypted at rest using AES-256
• Rate limiting on login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks
• CSRF token protection on all forms

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and we encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account.

9. Children's Privacy

Gospel Genius is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately and we will delete that information.

10. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Deletion: Request that we delete your account and associated personal data
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-out of marketing: Unsubscribe from newsletters or notifications at any time via your account settings or via the unsubscribe link in any email we send

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@gospelgenius.ng. We will respond within 30 days.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of Gospel Genius after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please contact us: