What we do with a conversation

What's stored

Your conversation is saved

This is a pilot. This page says what we store, how long we keep it, and how to ask us to delete it.

When you talk with a Representative or at a Table, we save the conversation. That includes your messages and every reply. We use it to check accuracy, catch problems, and see how real conversations go.

We do not ask for your name or email. We do not collect them unless you send them to us yourself, for example by writing to us.

Each conversation gets a session code. We store only a scrambled version of that code (a hash), not the code itself. The code lets you come back to your conversation later.

Your messages are stored in the same database as that scrambled code and your visitor ID (see below). A conversation can be linked to both.

We also keep a usage log. It records the cost and size of each model call, the time, and which tradition was used. It does not hold the text of your messages.

Contributions

Giving goes through Stripe

If you give to the project, you pay on Stripe's own pages. Stripe holds your name, email and payment details. Our conversation system never receives them, and nothing links a contribution to a conversation.

The visitor cookie

One cookie, for a daily limit

When you start a conversation, our server may set a cookie named cic_visitor. It holds a random ID and a signature that proves we issued it. It holds no name, email, or device details.

The cookie does one job. It lets us set a daily limit: 5 new conversations and 150 messages per visitor each day (UTC). The limit stops one person from running up costs for the pilot. We also count unique visitors from it.

The cookie does two jobs. It lets us set a daily limit: 5 new conversations and 150 messages per visitor each day (UTC). The limit stops one person from running up costs for the pilot. It also keeps track of your free allowance, described in the next section. We also count unique visitors from it.

The cookie is only sent to this site. It does not follow you to other sites, and we do not use it for advertising. You do not need an account.

It lasts up to 400 days. You can delete it in your browser settings at any time. If you do, you get a new ID.

Go Deeper

The free allowance and the pilot pack

During the pilot, Go Deeper sells nothing. We do not take your name, your email or any payment.

Your free allowance is kept for each visitor. We store a scrambled value made from your visitor ID, the day you first used it, and how much you have used. If your browser has no visitor cookie, we use your network address instead, scrambled the same way. We delete this record 30 days after that first day.

If you join the pilot, you get a code that holds your free pack of tokens. The code itself stays in your browser. We store only a scrambled version of it (a hash). With it we keep how many tokens it holds and has used, the day it was made, and the week it was last used.

We do not store the code with your visitor ID or your conversations. We do not record which conversation used it. We keep the record while the code still has tokens. Once they are used up, we delete it 30 days after the end of the week it was last used.

So that each connection gets one pack, we keep your network address only in scrambled form. With it we keep how many packs it has had and the day of the first. We delete it 90 days after that day.

When you join, you choose which description fits you best. We keep only a count of each answer. Your answer is not linked to you or to your code.

A backup can keep any of these records for up to 14 more days. Someone who held our server's secret key, and knew your visitor ID or network address, could match it to these records. If you delete your cookie, we can no longer match you to your free allowance.

Retention

Kept for 90 days

We delete a conversation after 90 days. Copies we make to check quality are deleted on the same schedule.

If a conversation sits untouched for 7 days, we mark it as idle. That is a label only. You can still pick the conversation back up with your code.

Every day we back up our databases to private object storage. The backups include saved conversations. We keep the last 14 days of backups, and older ones are deleted automatically. So a deleted conversation can stay in a backup for up to 14 more days.

Quality checks

A separate record with no link to you

To improve the conversations, we keep a separate record of questions and replies with names and contact details removed. It can't be traced back to you. We keep the questions to see what people ask most, and delete the replies after 90 days.

Who reads it

Reviewed by our team, for quality

Our project team reviews conversations to check that each reply is accurate and true to its sources. Conversations never ask for your name or email, so we don't know who you are unless you tell us.

We do not sell your conversations, and we never quote from them.

Feedback

What we keep when you tell us something

Under each reply in a conversation, you can mark that it helped. We then store which conversation and which reply it was, and the sources behind it.

You can also mark that a reply was not clear or not accurate. We then store which conversation and which sentence it was, the sources behind that sentence, the reason you chose, and any line you added.

In neither record do we store the words of the reply or of your conversation.

When you use “Tell us what you think,” we store the page you were on, what you wrote, your answer about quoting, and your email if you gave one.

We keep each item until a person has checked it, and for 90 days after that. We delete your email when we reply, or when we close the item if no reply is owed.

We quote a comment only if you said we may, and only in the way you chose. A mark on a reply is never quoted.

At the bottom of a conversation, a Table and each Church Family Tree page, you can press a like or send a short report about accuracy or craft. A like stores the page it was pressed on and the time. A report stores the page, the kind of problem (accuracy or craft), your note, the time and, only if you give it, your email. Neither stores the words of any conversation or sets a cookie. Your browser remembers locally that you pressed a like, so you do not press it twice. We keep a report until a person has checked it, and for 90 days after that. We delete your email when we reply, or when we close the report.

Services

Who helps us run it

Replies are written by Anthropic's Claude, running on Amazon's servers. Amazon keeps your messages out of AI training.

Render hosts our server. Cloudflare hosts this website and our backups.

We count visits to this website to see which pages are read. This count uses no cookies and does not identify you.

Deletion

Delete it sooner, any time

To delete a conversation before the 90 days are up, use "Delete this conversation" in the conversation. You can also email info@churchinconversation.com with your session code, or tell us roughly when you talked and which tradition you spoke with. We'll confirm when it's done.

Questions

Ask us anything

We are a small team. If anything here is unclear, write to info@churchinconversation.com.