My Pew Pal — Privacy Policy

Updated September 13, 2026 · My Pew Pal 2.0

My Pew Pal offers Bible retellings, games, prayers and optional church messages for children and families. This policy explains the information used by this version of the app.

Information on your device

The optional name you enter, reading positions, story stars, games played, Bible School stamps, Prayer Garden visits and saved verses stay in the app’s local storage. Your selected story voice, active church code, previously connected churches, blocked churches and last saved church pack are also stored on your device. The app does not upload the name, progress or saved church list to our servers. Device backups may include app data according to your device settings.

Church messages and internet requests

Connecting to a church sends the church code to our service on Google Firebase to find the church and read its published messages. Internet requests also carry connection information, such as an IP address, which service providers may process to operate and protect the service. These requests do not include the child’s name or progress. The app does not create a child or parent account and does not write child progress to Firebase.

Our Firebase church service keeps operational request logs. These can include the church code in the request address, IP address, device or browser information, request time and response details. The default log storage is configured for 30 days. We use these logs to operate, troubleshoot and protect the service. They do not include children’s saved names or progress.

The starter reading, prayers and activities are bundled and work offline. The last published church pack is saved on your device for offline reading. Refreshing while online checks for a newer publication and whether a church is still available. A saved offline pack cannot receive a remote withdrawal until the app connects again. A local block removes that pack immediately.

Content reports and moderation

Beginning with iOS build 12 and Android build 9, a grown-up can select Report or block from a church message. A report sends the church code and permanent church ID, message ID, optional publication revision and one selected concern to our private Firebase queue. It contains no child name, answers, progress, email address or free-text entry. Reports have a content reference so we can investigate the right message; they do not identify a child or installation. Connection information may appear in operational logs described above.

We review the queue daily during launch and can withdraw a church’s entire Pew Pal feed while investigating. Report records become eligible for deletion after 90 days and a daily cleanup removes expired records. Private moderation audit records become eligible after one year; daily abuse-limit counters after seven days. The cleanup schedule can be delayed by an outage. Grown-ups who want a reply or need to provide details can email support below. Please do not include a child’s personal information.

Blocking is local to your device. It saves the church code and ID to prevent access through a changed code, disconnects the blocked church and removes its saved pack. It does not submit a report by itself. A grown-up can remove a block in Your churches. Blocks survive Start over.

App updates: new and earlier builds

Beginning with iOS build 12 and Android build 9, Expo over-the-air updates are disabled. Those builds run the app included in the store download and do not contact Expo’s update service when opening. App updates come through the App Store or Google Play. Firebase Church messages remain available.

Earlier builds: the following Expo behavior still applies until an older installed build is replaced.

Earlier builds check for updates through Expo Application Services when it opens. Requests include app version, platform, normal connection information and a randomly generated identifier for this installation of the app. The identifier helps Expo recognize update downloads from the same installation, measure update use and account for the update service’s usage. These identifiers and related diagnostics can be associated with the same installation. If an earlier update failed, the update service can also send a short error report to help with recovery. My Pew Pal does not attach your saved name, prayer history or progress to these requests.

Expo’s handling of service information is described in its privacy policy. We have not established a project-specific deletion deadline for Expo update records.

Reading and listening

Stories, games, Bible School, Prayer Garden and bedtime sounds are bundled with the app. In the new network-narration release, Marin is the default narrator and grown-ups may choose Cedar. Reading text and bundled bedtime sounds remain available offline; narration requires an internet connection.

Choosing to listen sends the displayed public text and chosen voice to our Firebase narration service. Church narration may also include the church code and published message ID so the service can check access. These requests do not include a child's name, answers, progress or saved church list. Normal connection information may appear in operational logs described above.

Our server uses OpenAI to create AI-generated speech from approved public text and caches the resulting audio for reuse. OpenAI receives that text and voice setting from our server; it does not receive the child's connection address, name or progress from the app. Cached public narration and its text-based cache records are retained for reuse, without a child or installation identifier. OpenAI's handling of API data is described in its API data documentation.

Earlier builds use bundled Marin/Cedar recordings and device speech. The network-narration release has no Device voice option. My Pew Pal does not record or listen through your microphone and does not request microphone, camera, location, contacts or photo access.

Children, advertising and service providers

This version has no ads, purchases, chat, sign-in or advertising trackers. It does not include Firebase Analytics or Crashlytics. Google Firebase provides church content, narration, the private reporting queue and operational hosting. OpenAI creates speech from approved public text as described above. Earlier builds use Expo for app updates as described above.

Your choices

Grown-ups can disconnect a church without erasing progress or the saved church list; disconnecting removes the saved church pack. In Your churches, Remove forgets a previous code. Disconnect the current church before removing its saved code.

Start over clears stars, reading positions, games, school stamps, prayer history, saved verses, the church code, saved churches and the saved church pack after confirmation. It keeps the optional name, story voice and blocked churches. You can change or clear the name on Me. Deleting the app removes its local data, subject to your device’s backup and restore settings.

Request deletion of service data

A grown-up can email support@sermonsidekick.org with the subject “My Pew Pal data deletion.” For a content report, include its receipt reference so we can locate the record. Do not send a child’s name, prayer history or other personal details. If you no longer have the reference, describe the request without including a child’s information; we will explain what we can locate.

We can remove a located content-report record on request. Operational request logs are retained for the configured 30 days, and private moderation audit records for up to one year for safety and accountability, subject to the scheduled cleanup and outage limits above. Earlier Expo update records are controlled by Expo; their project-specific deletion process and deadline remain unconfirmed. We will explain those limits rather than promise deletion we cannot verify.

This request process does not erase local app data or device backups. Use the on-device choices above for local progress, church connections and names. Your email request itself is received in our support mailbox; ask us to remove that correspondence after handling the request if desired, subject to any necessary record of the request and its resolution.

Contact

Grown-ups can email support@sermonsidekick.org with privacy questions or requests. If you email us, we receive the information you choose to send. The app does not attach a child’s name or progress.

Changes to this policy

We will post policy changes at this address and update the date above.