User Data Deletion Policy

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to personal data processed through MinistryCount for:

• church members whose records are kept in the system;
• visitors and follow-up contacts recorded by a church;
• church administrators, users, attendance officers, reports officers, ministry leaders and other authorised users;
• church account owners and primary contacts;
• people who contact us for support, billing, onboarding or service enquiries.

3. Data covered by this policy

A deletion request may relate to information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, photos, assembly information, ministry information, attendance history, visitor records, follow-up notes, announcement records, SMS/email campaign recipients, user accounts, activity logs, support communications and billing-related account information.

Some information may be entered directly by a church, some may be generated by normal system use, and some may be required for security, accounting, support or legal purposes.

4. Who can request deletion

A deletion, deactivation or anonymisation request may be made by:

• the individual whose personal data is held in the system;
• a parent, guardian or lawful representative where appropriate;
• an authorised church administrator acting on behalf of the church account;
• the primary church contact or church account owner;
• a person with verified authority to act for the church or individual.

We may decline or delay a request where we cannot verify the requester’s identity or authority.

5. How to request deletion

To request deletion or related action, send an email to support@ministrycount.com with the subject line Data Deletion Request.

Please include enough information to help us identify the relevant account or record, such as:

• your full name;
• the church name;
• your phone number or email address used in the system;
• whether you are a member, visitor, church user, church admin or church account owner;
• the exact action requested: delete, deactivate, anonymise, correct or export before deletion;
• any relevant details that will help us locate the correct record.

Please do not send unnecessary sensitive information. We will only request extra details where needed to verify the request safely.

6. Verification before deletion

Before deleting or changing records, we may take reasonable steps to verify the requester’s identity and authority. This may include confirming the request with the church administrator, checking the email or phone number linked to the record, asking the logged-in church admin to confirm the action, or requesting additional evidence of authority.

Verification helps prevent unauthorised deletion, impersonation, accidental record loss or misuse of another person’s data.

7. Church-controlled records

For member, visitor, attendance, follow-up and church communication records, the church that uses MinistryCount normally controls the purpose for which the data is collected and used. MinistryCount provides the platform and technical support for processing that data.

Because of this, members and visitors should usually send deletion or correction requests to their church first. Where a request is sent directly to us, we may refer the request to the relevant church administrator or work with the church to process it properly.

8. Deletion, deactivation or anonymisation

Depending on the nature of the record, the request and the church’s legitimate administrative needs, we may carry out one or more of the following actions:

• Delete: remove the record from active system tables where it is no longer required.
• Deactivate: keep the record but mark it inactive, transferred, suspended or no longer in use.
• Anonymise: remove or replace identifying details while keeping non-identifying statistics or reports.
• Correct: update inaccurate or outdated data instead of deleting the entire record.
• Restrict access: limit who can see or use the data while the request is being reviewed.
• Export before deletion: provide the church or authorised requester with a copy of relevant data before removal, where appropriate.

9. Information we may retain

We may retain some information where necessary for lawful, security, financial, operational or dispute-resolution reasons. This may include:

• billing records, invoices, payment references and subscription history;
• security logs, login records, activity logs and audit trails;
• SMS/email delivery logs needed for provider reconciliation, abuse prevention or support;
• records needed to investigate suspected fraud, unauthorised access, abuse or service misuse;
• records required to comply with legal, accounting, tax, regulatory or contractual obligations;
• aggregated or anonymised statistics that no longer identify a person.

Where full deletion is not possible, we will consider whether deactivation, anonymisation, masking or restricted access is appropriate.

10. Backups and technical logs

Deleted data may remain temporarily in encrypted or protected backups, server logs or disaster recovery copies until those backups are overwritten or expire according to our backup process. Backup copies are not used for normal operations and are only restored where necessary for disaster recovery, system integrity or security reasons.

If a backup containing deleted data is restored, we will take reasonable steps to re-apply the deletion, deactivation or anonymisation request where technically possible.

11. Response timeframes

We aim to acknowledge deletion requests within a reasonable time after receiving enough information to identify the account or record. The time needed to complete the request may depend on verification, church approval, the volume of data, technical complexity, billing status, backup handling and any legal or operational retention requirement.

Where a request is complex or requires church confirmation, we may provide updates and explain any delay or limitation.

12. What happens after deletion

After a record is deleted, deactivated or anonymised, some features may no longer work for that person or church account. For example, a member may lose access to the member portal, attendance history may no longer show the person’s name, SMS/email campaigns may no longer include the person, or reports may change.

Deletion may be irreversible. Churches should export or preserve any records they are lawfully required to keep before requesting permanent deletion.

13. Concerns or appeals

If you believe a deletion request has not been handled properly, or if you disagree with a decision to retain, restrict or anonymise data instead of deleting it, contact us at support@ministrycount.com. Please include your original request details and explain your concern.

We will review the concern and, where necessary, work with the relevant church administrator or account owner to resolve it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this User Data Deletion Policy from time to time to reflect changes in MinistryCount, our operational processes, legal requirements, third-party providers or data protection practices. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.