Privacy Policy | Prayerhood

1. Who we are

Prayerhood is a digital Christian magazine based in Ghana, publishing articles, daily devotionals, newsletters, events and live worship at prayerhood.com. In this policy, "Prayerhood", "we", "us" and "our" mean Prayerhood, the data controller for personal data collected through this website.

2. Introduction

This policy explains what personal data we collect, how and why we use it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. It applies to our website, our newsletters and any emails we send you. We process personal data in line with Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843).

If you have any questions, email hello@prayerhood.com.

3. The personal data we collect

Information you give us

Newsletter sign-up: your email address, the newsletters you choose (for example, Daily Verse + Prayer or the Weekly Newsletter) and, if you choose to give it, your first name. We also record when you subscribed and when you unsubscribed, so we have a record of your consent.
Your account: your name and email address. Your password is stored in encrypted (hashed) form by our sign-in service; we never see it. If you choose to sign in with an existing account from another service, we receive the basic profile details that service shares (usually your name, email address and profile picture).
Event submissions: when you submit an event for our Events page, the event details and flyer you send (which become public if we list the event), plus your name, email address and, if you give them, your phone number and a message to us. Your contact details are never published; only our team sees them.
Messages to us: whatever you choose to include when you email us.

Information collected automatically

Technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device and the pages you visit, recorded in server logs to keep the site secure and working.
Anti-spam checks: when you sign up for a newsletter or submit an event, we check that the request comes from a real person and not an automated program. To do this we look at signals from your browser and keep a scrambled (one-way hashed) version of your IP address for up to 24 hours, so we can limit repeated submissions. The original IP address is not stored.
Cookies, described in section 4.

We do not ask for, and ask you not to send us, sensitive information such as health or financial details.

4. Cookies on our website

Cookies are small files stored on your device. We keep them to a minimum:

Type	Why we use them	How long they last
Strictly necessary	Keep you signed in and protect your account and our forms from abuse	Your session, or until you sign out
Embedded video	Set by the video platform when you play a Live TV broadcast or a video in an article	Set by the video platform
Advertising	Set by Google to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure how ads perform and, where you allow it, show ads based on your interests	Up to 13 months, set by Google

Advertising. We show ads from Google AdSense to help fund Prayerhood. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads, including ads based on your previous visits to this and other websites. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we ask for your consent before these cookies are used, and you can change your choice at any time. Anyone can turn off personalised ads in Google's Ad Settings, and you can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

We do not use analytics cookies. We count how many times each article is read, but that count stores nothing about you. Videos are embedded in privacy-enhanced mode, so the video platform should not set cookies until you press play.

Strictly necessary cookies can't be switched off without breaking sign-in. You can still block or delete cookies in your browser settings; if you do, some parts of the site may not work.

5. Lawful basis for using your data

We only use your personal data where we have a lawful reason to:

Consent: for sending you the newsletters you ask for. You can withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing.
Providing a service you asked for: for creating and running your account.
Legitimate interests: for keeping the website secure, preventing spam and abuse, fixing problems and understanding in general terms how the site is used. We only rely on this where it does not override your rights.
Legal obligation: where the law requires us to keep or disclose information.

6. Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act, 2012 you have the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy;
ask us to correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
ask us to delete data that is irrelevant, out of date, excessive or no longer needed;
object to us using your data, including for direct marketing;
withdraw your consent at any time, for example by using the unsubscribe link in any newsletter; and
not be subject to decisions made solely by automated processing that significantly affect you.

To use any of these rights, email hello@prayerhood.com. We may need to confirm your identity first. We aim to respond within 21 days.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to Ghana's Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.org.gh). We would appreciate the chance to put things right first, so please contact us before you do.

7. How we use your personal data

We use your data to:

send the daily and weekly newsletters you signed up for, and a welcome email confirming your subscription;
create and manage your account and let you sign in;
review events you submit, and contact you if we have questions about them;
reply to messages you send us;
protect the website and our forms from spam, fake sign-ups and abuse; and
keep the site working and improve it.

We do not sell your personal data or rent it out. Ads on the site are provided by Google, as described in section 4.

8. How long we keep your personal data

We keep personal data only as long as we need it:

Newsletter data: while you are subscribed. After you unsubscribe we keep your email address and the date you left, so we don't email you again by mistake. Ask us and we will delete it completely.
Account data: until you delete your account or ask us to delete it.
Event submissions: your contact details for as long as the event is under review or listed, and up to 12 months after it ends, then deleted. Ask us and we will delete them sooner.
Messages to us: as long as needed to deal with your enquiry, then deleted.
Anti-spam records: up to 24 hours.
Server logs: for a short period, for security purposes.

9. Who we share your personal data with

We use a small number of carefully chosen service providers to run Prayerhood: website hosting, database storage, account sign-in, email delivery, image delivery and spam protection. They process data only on our instructions, only for the purposes in this policy, and are required to keep it secure. They are not allowed to use it for their own purposes.

We also show ads from Google AdSense. Google decides how to use the information it collects through ads, under Google's Privacy Policy.

Articles and pages may include embedded videos or links to other websites. Once you play an embedded video or follow a link, the other service's own privacy policy applies.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or where needed to protect the rights, safety or property of Prayerhood, our readers or others. We will never sell your data.

10. International transfers of personal data

Some of our service providers store or process data outside Ghana, including in the European Union and the United States. Where that happens, we only use providers that apply appropriate safeguards, such as contractual commitments and security standards that protect your data to the level required by Ghanaian law.

11. How we protect your personal data

We use encrypted connections (HTTPS) across the whole site, strict access controls so only authorised people can see personal data, and reputable providers with strong security practices. Sensitive items such as passwords are never stored in readable form. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to prevent loss, misuse and unauthorised access, and we will act promptly if something goes wrong.

12. Children

Prayerhood is written for adults and families. Accounts and newsletters are not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Prayerhood grows or the law changes. We will change the "last updated" date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, let subscribers and account holders know by email.

14. How to contact us

For questions about this policy, or to use any of your rights, email hello@prayerhood.com.