Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This site is the official online platform for the Virgin Mary & St. John Youth Meeting (the "Youth Meeting"). It is intended to support our Coptic Orthodox youth community by providing information about events, services, and media, and by helping our teams coordinate ministry and pastoral care.

2. Who this site is for

This platform is intended for individuals who are at least 15 years old. We do not knowingly allow people younger than 15 to create an account or submit personal information as a registered member. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 15, we may delete or disable that account and remove associated personal information where appropriate.

3. Information we collect

We collect information in three main ways: information you provide directly, information generated through your use of the site, and information stored or processed by our service providers.

• Account and profile information: When you create an account or complete your profile, we collect information such as your name, email address, phone number, and date of birth. We also assign you a unique member number for attendance and ministry purposes.
• Authentication information: Our authentication is powered by Supabase. Supabase stores identifiers, login history, and, where applicable, OAuth provider details (for example, if you sign in with Google).
• Attendance and participation data: When you check in to events or use the kiosk, we record your attendance and associate it with your member profile. This helps the Youth Meeting understand participation, follow up with members, and plan future ministry.
• Service requests and pastoral care: If you submit a service request (such as Bible Study, job assistance, rehab and visitations, or other support), we collect the information you provide in that request. This may include sensitive or pastoral information that you choose to share. We store this securely and restrict access to appropriate teams and clergy.
• Team notes and internal follow-up: Ministry teams may add internal notes related to your service requests or follow-up conversations. These notes are used to coordinate care and are not visible to the public.
• Media and gallery content: Photos and media from Youth Meeting events may be uploaded to our gallery or media sections. These may include images in which you appear, depending on how events are photographed. Where practical, we honor reasonable requests to remove or obscure specific images.
• Audit logs and security data: We maintain audit logs for important actions taken in the system (for example, role changes, administrative actions, or certain updates). These logs may include your user ID, details about the action, and technical information such as IP addresses and timestamps. This helps us maintain security, accountability, and appropriate oversight.
• Communications: We may send transactional emails (such as welcome emails or confirmations) using a trusted third-party email service provider. That provider will process your email address and basic message content in order to deliver messages.

4. How we use your information

We use the information we collect only for Youth Meeting purposes and to operate this platform. This includes:

• Creating and managing your account and profile.
• Recording attendance and participation at events.
• Responding to service requests and coordinating pastoral care and follow-up.
• Managing roles and permissions for team members and administrators.
• Sending you necessary communications such as welcome emails or important updates related to your account or requests.
• Maintaining the security, integrity, and reliability of the site, including abuse prevention and auditing of administrative actions.
• Understanding how the platform is used so we can improve it and better serve the Youth Meeting community.

5. Legal bases and consent

By using this site and creating an account, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described in this policy to support the Youth Meeting and its ministry. In some cases, our use of your information may also be based on legitimate interests, such as keeping the community safe, preventing abuse, and operating a secure online platform for church activities.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. Information is shared only in the following limited ways:

• Within the Youth Meeting and church leadership: Appropriate clergy, ministry leaders, and team members may access relevant information (for example, attendance history, service requests, or team notes) as needed to support you and operate the Youth Meeting.
• Service providers and infrastructure: We use trusted third-party providers such as Supabase (for database, authentication, and storage) and separate email delivery services for transactional emails. These providers process data on our behalf in order to operate the platform. They are not permitted to use your information for their own marketing.
• Legal, safety, and abuse prevention: We may disclose information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, protect the safety of individuals, or prevent abuse or misuse of this platform.

7. Data retention

We retain your information for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this policy and to support the Youth Meeting's ministry, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Attendance records, service requests, and audit logs may be kept for historical, pastoral, and security reasons, even if an account becomes inactive.

If you would like us to deactivate your account or request that we delete certain information, please contact the Youth Meeting leadership using the usual church communication channels. We will consider your request in light of our pastoral responsibilities and any legal or record-keeping obligations.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including role-based access controls, secure storage, and audit logging of sensitive actions. However, no online service can guarantee perfect security. You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and for notifying us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

9. Children and minors

This platform is not intended for people younger than 15. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 15 through account registration. If you are a parent, guardian, or clergy member and believe that someone under 15 has created an account or shared personal information on this site, please contact the Youth Meeting leadership so we can review and, if appropriate, remove that information.

10. Third-party links and content

This site may contain links to third-party sites or resources (such as the Youth Meeting's Facebook group). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies separately.

11. Your choices and rights

Depending on your local laws, you may have rights regarding your personal information, such as the right to access, correct, or request deletion of certain data. While this platform is primarily a ministry tool rather than a commercial service, we aim to handle your information respectfully and transparently.

If you have questions about your information or would like to request access or updates, please reach out to Youth Meeting leadership through the usual church communication channels.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the platform, our practices, or applicable laws. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the bottom of the page. In some cases, we may also provide additional notice (such as an in-app message).

Last updated: March 11, 2026

13. How to contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, you can contact the Virgin Mary & St. John Youth Meeting at:

• Text (only): 848-209-6534
• Email: info@vmbayonneyouth.com