We don't want
your data.

Who this covers

This policy applies to the Black & White Bible mobile app for iOS and Android (the "app") and to this website (the "site"). The app and site are made by Matt Nordberg, an individual developer ("we", "us"). If you have questions about anything below, write to privacy@bwbible.app.

The short version

The website is nearly as quiet. It counts page views anonymously — no cookies, no profile, nothing that identifies you — and asks for nothing else. Before launch it also offered a waitlist form; that form has been removed, and the addresses collected through it are covered below.

What the app stores on your device

The app keeps a small amount of information in its private storage area on your phone or tablet. This data never leaves your device, is never sent to us, and is not accessible to other apps:

• Bible text. A copy of the Scripture you've read or that has been downloaded ahead of time, so the app works offline and loads instantly.
• Your reading position. The book, chapter, and page you last had open, so you can pick up where you left off.
• Your display settings. Typeface, text size, verse numbers on or off, light or dark.

All of it is deleted when you delete the app. You can also clear it at any time using your device's standard app storage controls.

What the app does not do

To be specific, because these are the things people reasonably worry about. The app contains no code that:

• Creates an account or asks you to sign in.
• Collects analytics, usage statistics, or behavioral data.
• Records what passages you read, search for, highlight, or copy.
• Shows advertisements or contains advertising or marketing SDKs.
• Tracks you across apps or websites, or builds an advertising profile.
• Accesses your contacts, photos, microphone, camera, or location.
• Sends crash reports or diagnostic data to us.
• Sends notifications — the app has no push notification capability at all.

The one network request the app makes

The app needs an internet connection to download Scripture text the first time. It requests passages from the NET Bible public API operated by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. at labs.bible.org, then stores the text on your device so it doesn't need to ask again.

These requests contain only the name of the book being downloaded — for example, "Philippians". They carry no account identifier, no device identifier, and nothing that identifies you. As with any request to any website, the operator of that server may record standard technical information such as your IP address in its own logs, under its own policies. We have no access to those logs and no relationship with that data.

Once a book is stored on your device, reading it requires no network connection at all.

Copying and sharing verses

When you copy or share a verse, the text is handed to your device's clipboard or to your operating system's share sheet. Where it goes from there is entirely up to you and is governed by your device and whatever app you paste it into. Nothing is sent to us in the process.

This website

The site is a set of static pages. It sets no cookies, shows no ads, and does not follow you to other websites or build a profile of you. Three things are worth naming:

Counting page views

We use Vercel Web Analytics to see how many people visit the site and which pages they read. It is a plain visitor counter: it sets no cookies, uses no advertising or tracking identifier, and does not follow you across sites or between visits. Each page view contributes only the page you viewed, the site that referred you, your rough device and browser type, and the country your request came from. We see totals, never individuals — there is no way for us to tell who you are, pick you out of the count, or connect a visit to anything else. If you use a tracker blocker it will block the counter, and nothing on the site breaks when it does.

The former waitlist

Now that the app is released, the site no longer asks for your email address and there is no form to fill in. Addresses submitted to the pre-launch waitlist are held by Buttondown, the email service that stores our mailing list. We used them for exactly one purpose — telling people about the launch and testing — and we have never sold, rented, or shared them with anyone. Every email we sent includes an unsubscribe link, and you can ask us to delete your address at any time by writing to privacy@bwbible.app.

Hosting and fonts

The site is hosted on Vercel, which — like any web host — records standard server request logs and which also processes the page-view counts described above under its own privacy policy. The site's typeface is loaded from Google Fonts, which receives the request for the font file. Neither is used to identify you, and we do not access or analyze that information.

Children

The app is suitable for readers of every age. Because it collects no personal information from anyone, it collects none from children — including children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). The site collects no personal information from children either; if you believe a child's email address is on our former waitlist, write to us and we will remove it.

Your rights and choices

Privacy laws such as the GDPR (Europe and the UK) and the CCPA/CPRA (California) give you rights to access, correct, delete, and port your personal data, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. Those rights are easy to honor here:

• App data. We hold none, so there is nothing to request. Everything the app stores is already in your hands — delete the app and it's gone.
• Former waitlist email. Write to privacy@bwbible.app and we will tell you what we have, correct it, or delete it. We aim to respond within 30 days.
• Page-view counts. These are anonymous and aggregate, so there is no record tied to you to access, correct, or delete. Blocking the counter, or the script itself, is entirely your call.
• Sale of data. We have never sold or shared personal information for advertising purposes, and we will not.

Our lawful basis for holding a former waitlist email under the GDPR is your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.

Security and retention

Data on your device is protected by your device's own security — its passcode, encryption, and app sandboxing. Former waitlist emails are held by Buttondown under their security practices and kept until you unsubscribe, ask us to delete them, or we retire the list. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, but the best protection we can offer is the one we've chosen: not collecting the data in the first place.

Changes to this policy

If the app ever changes in a way that affects this policy, we will update this page and revise the date at the top. Material changes will be noted here plainly rather than buried. Continuing to use the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Questions, requests, or corrections: privacy@bwbible.app.

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