Privacy Policy
CathChat Inc. ("CathChat," "we," "us," or "our") is a Public Benefit Corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware. We built CathChat to help Catholics grow in faith through interactive formation, an AI spiritual companion, and parish community features.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, how we protect it, and the rights you have. By using CathChat, you agree to the practices described here.
1. Information We Collect
Account Information. When you register, we collect your email address, display name (username), and a password. Passwords are stored securely and managed through our authentication provider; we never store your password in plain text.
Profile Information. Your diocese, parish affiliation, streak count, experience points (XP), achievements, and subscription tier.
Community Verification Information. If you choose to participate in parish community features (Feed, Messages, and comments), we collect your real name and mobile phone number to verify your identity by one-time passcode. Your real name is displayed to other members in community contexts. Your phone number is used only for verification and account security and is never displayed publicly, sold, or shared for marketing purposes.
Payment and Subscription Information. Subscriptions (Plus, Premium, and Family) are purchased through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and managed through our subscription infrastructure provider. We receive subscription status and entitlement information but do not receive or store your full payment card details. Donations are processed by Stripe; we do not store your card information, and donations are processed anonymously without associating amounts with your identity.
Usage Data. Lesson progress, quiz responses and scores, Guardian Angel interactions, donation history (visible only to you), and general in-app activity used to operate and improve the service.
Device and Technical Information. Device type, operating system version, app version, and diagnostic information used for technical support and to maintain service reliability.
Analytics Information. With your consent where required, we collect aggregated, privacy-preserving analytics about how features are used (for example, which screens are viewed and where users encounter difficulty) to improve the app. Analytics data is not used to identify you individually.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve the CathChat app and its features;
- Personalize your faith formation journey and track your progress;
- Process subscription entitlements through Apple, Google, and our subscription and entitlement management providers;
- Process donations through Stripe;
- Enable parish community features with verified, real-name participation;
- Send account-related and transactional communications through our transactional email delivery providers;
- Maintain the safety, security, and integrity of the service;
- Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, or violations of our Terms; and
- Comply with applicable legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone. We do not display advertisements, and we do not allow third parties to pay to promote content within the app.
3. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA/UK Users)
If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases: performance of our contract with you (to provide the service); your consent (for analytics and certain features, which you may withdraw at any time); our legitimate interests (to secure and improve the service); and compliance with legal obligations.
4. The Guardian Angel AI Feature
The Guardian Angel is an AI-powered educational companion. Your messages are processed server-side and sent to our AI service provider to generate responses grounded in Catholic teaching. We also use a text processing service to match your questions against our reference knowledge base; no personal identifiers are sent to that service for this purpose.
Conversation history is retained while your account is active so the feature can function, and is removed when you delete your account. Please do not share sensitive personal information (such as health, financial, or confessional matters) in Guardian Angel conversations. The Guardian Angel is an educational tool and is not a substitute for the sacraments, spiritual direction, or guidance from ordained clergy.
5. How We Share Information
We share information only with service providers who help us operate the app, each bound by agreements that limit their use of your data to providing services to us:
- Our database, authentication, and backend infrastructure providers — secure data storage and account management;
- Apple and Google — subscription purchases through their app stores;
- Our subscription and entitlement management providers — processing of subscription purchases and entitlements;
- Stripe — donation and payment processing;
- Our AI service providers — AI responses (conversation content only, no account identifiers);
- Our text processing providers — text embeddings for the reference knowledge base (no personal data);
- Our transactional email delivery providers — transactional email delivery;
- Analytics provider(s) — aggregated usage analytics, where applicable.
We may also disclose information if required by law, to enforce our Terms, to protect the rights, safety, or property of CathChat or others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (in which case we will notify you).
6. Community Features and Shared Content
When you participate in CathChat community features (Feed, Messages, Groups), your verified real name, role badge, and content you post are visible to other members of the community or group. Other members may be able to see your posts, comments, and messages within the groups you join. You should consider what you share and with whom, as other users who can see your content may choose to share it outside CathChat. CathChat is not responsible for how other users use information you make available through community features.
7. Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. You may delete your account at any time from the Profile screen. Account deletion permanently removes your profile, progress, community content, and Guardian Angel history, and cancels any active subscription managed through us. Deletion is processed promptly and is generally irreversible. We may retain limited information where required for legal, tax, accounting, or fraud-prevention purposes.
8. Business Transfers
If CathChat Inc. is involved in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you (via email or in-app notice) before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
9. De-identified and Aggregated Data
We may create aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized data from the personal information we collect. We may use and disclose such data for lawful business purposes, including to analyze and improve the Service, provided that such data cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
10. Automated Decision Making
We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you. The Guardian Angel AI feature generates educational responses but does not make decisions that affect your legal rights or access to services.
11. Children's Privacy
CathChat is intended for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at legal@cathchat.app and we will take steps to delete it. If you are a parent allowing a teen aged 13–17 to use CathChat, you are responsible for supervising their use, including community participation.
12. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information.
All users. You may access, correct, or delete much of your information directly within the app, or by contacting us.
California residents (CCPA/CPRA). You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information as those terms are defined under California law. You will not be discriminated against for exercising your rights.
Other U.S. state residents. Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia may have similar rights under their respective state privacy laws, including the right to access, correct, and delete personal information, and to opt out of certain data practices. To exercise these rights, contact us at legal@cathchat.app.
EEA/UK residents (GDPR). You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or object to the processing of your data, the right to data portability, and the right to withdraw consent. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at legal@cathchat.app. We will verify your request and respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.
13. Data Security
We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), secure authentication, and row-level security on our database. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal data, we will notify you as required by law.
14. International Data Transfers
CathChat is operated from the United States, and our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. If you access CathChat from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for such transfers.
15. Cookies and Web Tracking
Our website (cathchat.app) may use limited, essential cookies and similar technologies to operate the waitlist and remember basic preferences. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. The CathChat mobile app does not use web cookies.
16. Third-Party Links
CathChat may contain links to third-party websites or resources (such as Catholic partner content). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
17. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through an in-app notification. The "Last Updated" date above reflects the most recent revision. Your continued use of CathChat after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at:
CathChat Inc.
8 The Grn Ste B
Dover, DE 19901
Email: legal@cathchat.app
Web: cathchat.app
This Privacy Policy is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. It should be reviewed and finalized by qualified legal counsel before publication.