Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

BeRean Wall is an interactive, focused online workspace dedicated to timed biblical study, scripture examination, and community exegesis inspired by the believers of Acts 17:11.

We are committed to operating transparently and respecting the privacy of everyone who uses our platform. If you have questions about how your information is handled, you can reach us directly at:

contact@bereanwall.com

2. What We Collect

We adhere to the principle of data minimization and collect only the information necessary to provide, secure, and operate BeRean Wall:

• Account & Login Information: When you register an account, we collect your email address and an encrypted password. If you choose to register or sign in with Google, we receive your Google account email address, a verified account identifier, and your public Google profile picture.
• Profile Information: Your chosen public username, your selected avatar source, and an optional profile picture that you upload.
• Study Activity & Progress: Records of your completed study sessions, session timestamps, daily study streak count, earned milestone honors, votes cast on Wall essays, and study topics you propose.
• Written Community Contributions: Comprehension essays you write and post to The Wall, and peer challenges you submit on other scholars' essays.
• Safety & Moderation Information: Records confirming your acceptance of the BeRean Community Guidelines, moderation reports you submit or receive, and any administrative notices or review actions.
• Technical Operational Data: Standard network information (such as your IP address and browser type) transmitted automatically by your browser during web requests, used by our hosting infrastructure solely for network routing, site performance, and security protection.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect strictly for the following purposes:

• Providing and managing your user account and authentication session;
• Operating interactive study sessions and the 15-minute search timer;
• Calculating study streaks, milestone honors, and progress statistics;
• Publishing and formatting community contributions on The Wall;
• Upholding community decorum, reviewing user reports, and maintaining platform safety;
• Protecting the platform against spam, abusive behavior, and security incidents;
• Responding to your inquiries or support requests sent to our contact email.

4. What Is Public vs. What Is Private

We believe in clear boundaries between public contributions and private account details:

Public Information: Your chosen username, your public avatar, your published Wall essays, your published peer challenges, the net score of votes on your essays, and your public profile card (which displays your active date, milestone honors earned, and your latest published essay) can be viewed by anyone visiting BeRean Wall.

Private Information: Your email address, password credentials, private study session notes, individual voting history, pending topic proposals, and moderation reports are kept private and are never displayed publicly to other users.

Important Reminder: Because contributions to The Wall are public, please do not include private personal details—such as real full names, contact information, or sensitive private matters—in your essays or challenges.

5. Cookies and Local Browser Storage

BeRean Wall currently uses no advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or marketing beacons. We do not engage in behavioral advertising, third-party user profiling, or commercial data brokering.

We use essential browser local storage (localStorage) solely for functional technical operations:

• Authentication Session: A secure token is stored locally in your browser so you remain logged in across page visits without having to re-enter your password on every page.
• Display Theme: A small setting stores your theme preference (Light, Dark, or System mode) to provide consistent rendering across visits.

6. Third-Party Service Providers

To provide a reliable, fast, and secure service, BeRean Wall works with trusted third-party technology providers who process data solely to support platform functionality:

• Website Hosting & Content Delivery: Vercel Inc. hosts our web application and provides global content delivery network (CDN) distribution to serve pages quickly and reliably.
• Cloud Infrastructure & Authentication: Supabase Inc. provides cloud database hosting, user authentication infrastructure, and secure media storage for uploaded profile pictures.
• Identity & Typography Services: Google LLC provides optional Google Sign-In authentication (for scholars who choose that sign-in method) and serves web typography (Google Fonts).
• Scripture Lookup API: bible-api.com is an external public API used to fetch public-domain Scripture passages when you search or study texts in your workspace. When you look up a passage, your browser requests the passage text directly from this service.
• Library Content Delivery: jsDelivr and public content delivery networks provide secure distribution of open-source client-side software libraries required for interface operation.

7. Children and Younger Users

BeRean Wall is designed as an open, all-ages environment for anyone who wishes to study the Bible with seriousness and care.

To protect privacy, BeRean Wall does not require real names. We strongly advise younger users and families to follow these practices:

• Choose a creative scholar handle rather than your real first and last name;
• Do not post personal contact details, school names, or private information in public study essays;
• We encourage parents and guardians to discuss online safety with younger scholars and explore the platform together.

There is no private direct messaging on BeRean Wall; all study interactions take place in public, visible forums subject to our Community Guidelines. Parents or guardians with questions regarding their child's participation or account data may contact us at contact@bereanwall.com.

8. Data Retention and Account Deletion

We retain your personal account information for as long as your account remains active.

You may permanently delete your account at any time directly through your account dashboard. When your account is deleted:

• Your profile information, login credentials, private notes, votes, and uploaded avatar images are permanently deleted;
• Your public essays on The Wall and public peer challenges are retained to maintain the historical context of communal discussions, but are permanently anonymized under the author name Deleted Scholar with all ties to your former account severed;
• Safety and moderation records are retained in an unlinked state where reasonably necessary for platform protection and accountability.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and the applicable legal jurisdiction, you may have certain rights regarding personal information associated with your account. Subject to local laws and practical circumstances, these may include:

• Access: The right to request information about the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of that information.
• Correction & Rectification: The right to request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information. You can also update your username and avatar directly within your account settings at any time.
• Deletion & Erasure: The right to request deletion of your personal account data. You can also initiate permanent account deletion directly through your account dashboard at any time.
• Restriction of Processing: The right to request that we temporarily or permanently restrict the processing of certain personal data under applicable circumstances.
• Objection to Processing: The right to object to the processing of your personal information where processing is based on legitimate interests.
• Data Portability: The right, where applicable and technically feasible, to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used format.

BeRean Wall does not currently provide an automated self-service data export download tool. If you wish to exercise any of the above privacy rights, request a copy of your personal data, or seek assistance with account information, please contact us at contact@bereanwall.com.

We review and handle privacy requests manually. We may ask for reasonable information to verify your identity before responding to a privacy request.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as BeRean Wall evolves. Any updates will be posted directly on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we safeguard your information.

11. Contacting Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled on BeRean Wall, please contact:

contact@bereanwall.com