Porchlight privacy policy
Last updated: November 10, 2026
Porchlight is a daily prayer companion for parents and grandparents praying for a grown child who doesn't share their faith. This policy says what we keep, why, and how to delete it.
What you share, and what we keep
- Your account: your first name, your tradition (Catholic or Protestant), your time zone, your prayer and letter times, and, if you choose, your email address. Your tradition tells us which prayers to show you.
- Your children: the first names, relations, where each is with faith, and anything you choose to say about each child.
- What you lay down: the words you type, or the words written down on your phone when you speak. Voice recordings never leave your phone. They are kept there for 30 days, so you can listen back, and then deleted.
- Your letters, your candles, and your signs of grace.
- Your device's push token, so we can send your morning reminder and evening letter.
How your letters are written
Your evening letters, and the words Porchlight suggests in Find the words, are written by Claude, an AI system made by Anthropic, using only what you share and a library of prayers reviewed by our pastoral advisors.
Only with your consent. Before your first letter, Porchlight asks whether it may send what you write or say (as text), with the first names you've shared, to Anthropic: to write your evening letters, to find words for hard moments, and to notice when you may need extra support. If you say "Not now," nothing you share is sent to Anthropic: your letters are quiet ones from our prayer library, Find the words waits, and the safety check uses only a list of words on our own server. You can change your answer at any time in Settings › How your letters are written, and it takes effect at once. We record when you agreed or withdrew, and which wording you saw.
What Anthropic does with it. Anthropic's commercial terms don't allow it to train its AI on what we send (Commercial Terms of Service, section B, effective June 17, 2025). Anthropic deletes what we send within 30 days. It may keep content longer only if its automated safety systems flag it under its Usage Policy (up to 2 years) or the law requires it (Anthropic Privacy Center: how long data is kept, updated July 1, 2026, and training, updated August 18, 2026).
Porchlight is not a priest, counselor, or therapist, and it never replaces your church, your pastor or priest, or professional care.
During the pilot only (through December 24, 2026), and only with your written consent, a member of the Porchlight team reads each evening letter, and the notes it was written from, before it is sent, and may make small changes. Every change is recorded. Otherwise, no person at Porchlight reads what you share unless you ask us for help and give written permission.
Safety
Each thing you lay down is checked for signs that you or someone else may be in danger, so Porchlight can show you numbers to call at once. This check is automatic; Porchlight is not a crisis service. Without your consent to the writing service it uses only a list of words on our own server.
Who helps us run Porchlight
We use these services, each only for the purpose listed:
| Service | What it does | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Stores your account and what you share | Everything above except voice recordings |
| Anthropic | Writes letters and words, and checks for safety, only with your consent | What you write or say (as text), first names, each child's relation and where they are with faith |
| Resend | Sends letter emails, if you turn them on | Your email address and the letter |
| Expo | Delivers notifications | Your device's push token |
| Sentry | Tells us when the app breaks | Error reports, with your words removed |
| PostHog | Counts how the app is used | Named events (for example "a letter was opened"), never your words, names, or location |
We don't sell your information, show ads, or use trackers beyond these.
Keeping and deleting
What you write stays until you delete it. Voice recordings are deleted from your phone after 30 days. Settings › Delete all my data deletes your account, everything you shared, and your letters, at once.
Adults only
Porchlight is for adults 18 and older.
Contact
Questions or requests: roamingcloud39@gmail.com.