Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 13, 2026

This policy explains what information CONTEND collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. We aim to collect as little as possible.

CONTEND is a community for Christian apologetics — discussion, structured debate, and learning. Much of what you do here is public by design (see “Public information” below).

Who we are

CONTEND (“we”, “us”, the “Service”) is operated by [Your name or organization]. You can reach us at contact@contendthefaith.com.

Information we collect

Information you give us

Account details: a username and a password. Your password is never stored in readable form — it is protected with a strong one-way hash (scrypt).
Optional email address: only if you choose to provide one, used for verifying your account and resetting your password.
Optional faith tradition: a short self-description you may add to your profile.
Content you create: discussion threads, replies, debate statements, comments, and votes.

Information collected automatically

A session cookie: one essential cookie that keeps you signed in. It is HttpOnly, Secure in production, and contains only a signed session identifier. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.
Your IP address is processed transiently to apply rate limits that protect the Service from abuse.

How we use your information

To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
To display your posts, profile, faith tradition, and rank to other users.
To send account emails you request (verification, password reset). We do not send marketing email.
To operate, moderate, and protect the community, and to enforce our Terms and Code of Conduct.

Public information

Your username, anything you post, your faith tradition, and your experience/rank are visible to other users and may be visible to the public. Please do not post private or sensitive information you would not want shared. Your email address is never shown publicly.

How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with service providers that help us run CONTEND:

Hosting: our application and database run on Render. See Render’s privacy policy.
Email delivery: if you provide an email, verification and reset messages are sent through our email provider (e.g. SendGrid).

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and the Service.

Data retention & your choices

We keep your account and content until you ask us to delete them.
You may request access to or deletion of your account and personal data by emailing contact@contendthefaith.com. Note that content you posted in public discussions may be retained or anonymized to preserve the integrity of conversations.

Security

We protect your data with password hashing, encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure session cookies, and access controls. No online service can be perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children

CONTEND is not directed to children under [13 / 16], and we do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will remove it.

International users

The Service is operated from [your country/region] and your information may be processed there. By using CONTEND you consent to this processing.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will revise the “Last updated” date above, and significant changes may be announced within the Service.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email contact@contendthefaith.com.