Berea is built to keep your spiritual life private. There is no account, no profile, and no analytics of any kind. Everything you create is stored on your device, and the app works fully offline.
Two optional features — both off until you turn them on, and both available only with a Premium subscription — send data over the network so it can be processed. They are described in full below. This policy explains exactly what stays put and what moves.
The short version
- We have no accounts and never ask for your name, email, or any identifying information.
- We run no analytics, no advertising, no trackers, and no third-party SDKs.
- Your sermons, notes, highlights, and chats live on your device — we run no server that stores them.
- The full Bible text ships inside the app, so reading and searching never touch the network.
- Two optional Premium features send data for processing. Both are off by default. Neither we nor our processors keep it.
Information we collect
None. Berea does not require an account, does not ask for personal details, and assigns you no identifier. We operate no user database, so there is no profile of you for us to hold, analyse, sell, or hand over.
What is stored on your device
The following is saved locally using Apple's on-device storage (SwiftData) and is never uploaded to us:
- Sermons you capture — title, speaker, date, duration, transcript, your notes, and any generated summary, key points, questions, or quiz
- Your chat conversations and messages
- Verse highlights, notes, and bookmarks
- Reading plan progress
- Your settings and preferences
If you have iCloud Backup enabled, your app data may be included in your personal Apple device backup. That backup is handled entirely by Apple under your iCloud settings and its own encryption — not by us, and we cannot read it.
Microphone and audio
Berea uses the microphone only while you are actively recording with Follow Along, and only after you grant permission. Audio recordings are never written to disk and never stored — sound is turned into text as you go, and only the text is kept. You can revoke microphone access at any time in iOS Settings.
Optional features that use the network
Both features below are off by default, require a Premium subscription, and can be turned off at any time in Settings. When they are off, Berea makes no network requests to our infrastructure at all.
Enhanced accuracy (sermon transcription) Off by default
Sermon transcription runs on your device by default. If you turn on Enhanced accuracy, audio is streamed live over an encrypted connection to our relay server, which passes it to Deepgram, a speech-recognition provider, and returns the text to your device.
What is sent: the audio captured while you are recording.
What is kept by us: nothing. Our relay holds no storage and writes nothing to disk; audio passes straight through and the transcript is saved only on your device.
Deepgram's handling of the audio it receives is governed by its own privacy policy and terms, which we do not control.
Deeper Answers (cloud chat) Off by default
Chat is answered by Apple's on-device foundation models by default, with nothing leaving your device. If you turn on Deeper Answers, your chat messages are sent over an encrypted connection to our proxy server, which passes them to the Gloo AI platform and streams the reply back.
What is sent: the messages in the conversation you are having — what you typed and the replies so far. Your sermon library is not sent. The tool that searches your sermons exists only in the on-device model and is never given to the cloud engine. Note that if you switch Deeper Answers on part-way through a conversation, the earlier messages in that conversation travel with it — including any earlier reply that quoted one of your sermons. To keep a sermon conversation entirely on-device, leave Deeper Answers off.
What is kept by us: nothing. Our proxy stores no messages and keeps no logs of their content.
Gloo's handling of the messages it receives is governed by its own privacy policy and terms, which we do not control.
Recording other people
A sermon recording captures someone else's voice and words. You are responsible for recording only where you are permitted to, and for respecting your church's wishes and any applicable local law about recording. Berea keeps what you capture on your device; what you choose to do with it afterwards is up to you.
No tracking or analytics
Berea contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising, no third-party trackers, and no crash-reporting services. It uses no cookies and no device identifiers. We do not profile you, and we have no ability to observe how you use the app.
Bible text
The Bible translations in Berea are bundled inside the app. Reading, searching, and looking up passages happen entirely offline and are never logged or transmitted.
Subscriptions
Premium subscriptions are processed by Apple through the App Store using Apple's In-App Purchase system. We never see or receive your payment details. Purchase and subscription data is handled by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy. The app only reads Apple's on-device entitlement to know whether Premium is active.
Notifications
If you opt in to reminders, they are scheduled locally on your device. No reminder content leaves your device.
Children's privacy
Berea does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. We have no account system and no data about any user.
Deleting your data
Deleting the app removes everything it stored, permanently. Because we hold no copy of your content, there is nothing to request from us and nothing for us to delete on your behalf. Individual sermons, highlights, notes, and conversations can also be deleted inside the app at any time.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update this page and revise the date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email sambulosendas@gmail.com.
This policy applies to the Berea iOS app.