Privacy
DRAFT. Not yet reviewed by an attorney.
Marcus is an AI Bible study guide from Narrow Way Discipleship. You must be 18 or older.
- Your messages are sent to our server and then to OpenAI, a third-party AI provider, to produce Marcus's answer. You agree to this on the first screen. Do not share personal, medical, financial, or confidential information.
- OpenAI's published policy (read 2026-10-25) says it does not use API data to train its models by default, and keeps API data for up to 30 days to monitor for abuse. Messages are also checked by OpenAI's moderation service, which it says keeps no record.
- Voice, files, photos and videos (only if you use them): when you speak to Marcus, the recording is sent to OpenAI to turn it into text; when you tap Listen, Marcus's reply is sent to OpenAI to make his spoken voice, which is AI-generated; when you attach a PDF, Word or text file, our server reads its text and sends it to OpenAI with your question; photos are made smaller in your browser and sent to OpenAI; when you attach a video (up to 15 minutes), our server takes its sound and six still frames, deletes the video at once, and sends the sound to OpenAI to make a transcript; the transcript and frames then go to OpenAI with your question. We do not keep recordings, files, photos or videos after the reply.
- "Hey Marcus" (off unless you turn it on): while it is on and the page is open, your browser's own speech recognition listens for the word "Marcus". In Chrome, the browser sends that audio to Google to recognize it; other browsers differ. Nothing is sent to us or to OpenAI until you say "Marcus". Turn it off with the same button or Stop.
- Study groups (only if you start or join one): we keep the group's name, its course and meeting day, its join code, each member's first name or nickname, whether they lead or are a member, and which sessions they marked done. Nothing else: no emails, phone numbers, notes, or prayer requests. Your study notes stay only on your device. Leaving a group deletes your marks; a leader ending a study deletes the whole group; groups with no activity for 90 days are deleted automatically. Your group key is kept on your device, and we store only a scrambled form of it.
- Courses taken for a grade (only if you enroll): we keep the first name or nickname you give, the course, your start week and any pauses, a code for this device and your recovery code (both stored only in scrambled form), your quiz answers, the points and feedback on each, any appeal you make and its result, and your grades. When you turn in a quiz, each written answer is sent to OpenAI, without your name, so that Marcus can grade it; OpenAI receives the question, its grading guide and your answer, and nothing else about you. Your posts on the class discussion board are seen by your class (everyone who started the course in the same week as you), with your first name or nickname; they are kept with your coursework. To grade your week, your posts and replies are sent to OpenAI without your name. When a simulated classmate answers one of your posts, that post is sent to OpenAI too. Simulated classmates are written by AI and are always labeled; they are not real people. A report about a quiz key or a classmate's post is kept with your note, for Narrow Way to review. If you delete your coursework, your posts show as removed by their author. You can download all of it or delete it at any time from the gradebook. A year after you finish or leave a course, your work is deleted and only a short record stays (the course, your final grade and the date). An account with no activity for two years is deleted with its coursework.
- An account (only if you make one): we keep your email address, the dates you created it and last signed in, and a link between your account and the records you choose to add to it (your ministries, Bible studies, courses and grades). We email you a sign-in link that works once and expires in 15 minutes; there is no password. We store your sign-in session in a cookie on your device and keep only a scrambled copy of it on our server. We use your email only to sign you in and to link your records. You can sign out or delete your account at any time on the Account page; deleting it removes your email and unlinks your records, which stay where they are saved. Sermons and messages you write are saved only on your device.
- Churches and ministries (only if you set one up or join one): we keep the organization's name and description, its ministries and teams, each person's first name or nickname, roles and team places, and one optional contact line that only that person's leaders can see. Nothing about children, no notes about people, no prayer requests and no giving. You can leave at any time, and the owner can close the organization, which deletes it. Organizations with no activity for 12 months are deleted. When a leader asks Marcus to help plan, only the words the leader types (and the organization's name and date) are sent to OpenAI; never anyone's contact details or names from the member list, and requests that contain an email address or phone number are refused. Drafts are not kept unless the leader saves them.
- Notices and phone notifications (churches only): we keep short notices for you, such as a new announcement, turns to reply to or a task given to you, for 60 days. If you turn on phone notifications for a device, we keep that device's push address and keys until you turn them off or leave. The notification is encrypted for your browser and passes through the push service of your browser's maker (for example Google or Apple), which cannot read it; it holds only a short line and the page to open. Announcements are kept until a leader deletes them or the organization closes.
- Message preparation: your messages, outlines, notes and sources are saved in your browser on your device only; we do not keep them. When you ask Marcus to study a passage or check a draft, the passage and your draft are sent to OpenAI for that answer. Checking quotations and making slides happen on our server without OpenAI, and nothing is kept.
- We do not keep your conversations with Marcus on our server. Your chat history stays in your own browser on your device, and you can erase it with the Clear button.
- We keep only anonymous counters (a scrambled form of your network address and a daily request count, plus monthly totals of words processed) to prevent abuse and control costs. No names, emails, or message text.
- This service is hosted by Render (in Oregon, United States), which may keep its own technical logs, such as network addresses.
- Marcus is not a pastor, counselor, doctor, lawyer, or financial advisor, and does not have the Holy Spirit. He can be wrong. Please bring your questions to your pastor and fellow believers.
- In an emergency call 911. For crisis support in the US call or text 988.
- Contact. To ask a question about your information, or to ask for it to be corrected or deleted, write to contact@narrowwaydiscipleship.com. You can also download or delete your coursework yourself from the gradebook, and delete your account from the Account page.