AIC Church Digital Privacy Policy
Protecting Your Privacy
Effective Date: Draft
Introduction
Our deep commitment to privacy is rooted in our faith— care, and respect to every person. This policy explains how we compassionately manage personal information and digital media (photos, videos, audio) across our services, website, and social media platforms. We see this policy not just as a legal requirement, but as an act of stewardship over your safety and trust.
This document is reviewed annually by the Church Governing Council (GC) to ensure ongoing compliance and protection for our community and our missionaries.
Disclaimer of Legal Status: This document outlines the AIC Church’s internal commitment and operational procedures regarding digital privacy and media consent within the congregation. It is intended solely as an administrative policy to build trust and standardise internal actions. This policy does not constitute a formal legal contract or legal guarantee of protection, and no external legal liability is assumed or implied by its terms.
1. Our Focus on Privacy and Media Use
The Church utilizes photos, videos, and live streaming to share the joy of community, document ministry activities, and communicate faith stories. We strictly limit collection to the necessary, minimal information required to fulfill our religious and community purposes.
We will not knowingly or intentionally use, share, sell, rent, transfer or disclose your personal information or media to third parties except as may be required by any legal, statuary, regulatory or accounting requirements.
A. Information We Collect:
- Basic Personal Information: Names, contact details, and emergency contacts (used for spiritual care, event coordination, and administrative purposes).
- Participation Records: Records of spiritual activities (e.g., Men’s fellowship, women retreats, children church, Choir, Worship team, outreach, and outdoor activities) to provide spiritual support.
- Digital Media: Photos, videos, and audio recorded during church events and services.
2. Your Right to OPT-OUT of Digital Media
We recognize that you or your children may not wish to appear in church media. Your right to privacy is our priority, and you can opt out at any time.
A. Opt-Out Notification System
For all worship services and events where general photography and live streaming may occur:
- Public Notice & Presumption of Recording: General photography and live streaming are standard practice for all church events and activities, including but not limiting to Discipleship Classes, Worship Service, Youth Fellowship, Children’s Church and Nursery, Filipino Fellowship, Awana, Men’s fellowship, Women’s fellowship, Church Retreats, Choir, Worship team, outreach, and outdoor activities. Unless the event is explicitly marked by ‘No Photography’ signs at the venue.
- Direct Media Team Contact: You may contact a member of the Media Team (e.g., Ps John or Vivian Arul) to request that we do not use any identifiable images of you or your family. This request will be immediately communicated to all Church-affiliated recording personnel.
- Official Opt-Out Request (Form): Please scroll down to Section 6 of this policy to access the official online opt-out form. Submitting this form is the most secure way to ensure your request is logged and fulfilled.
B. Special Consent for Minors (Under Age 18)
For all media featuring children or young people under the age of 18, we require a verifiable higher standard of consent to ensure safeguarding:
- Mandatory Opt-Out Consent: Parents who wish to ensure their child is not recorded or used in any media should reach out to the Children’s Church Incharge or the Impact Team Incharge, who will take necessary steps to communicate the request to all relevant media personnel.
- Anonymity Rule: Church will not publish captions, tags, or accompanying text that includes the full names or other identifying personal information of any person under 18.
- Safeguarding Visuals: When practical, our media team uses group shots, avoids close-ups of children, or photographs activities from behind to minimize privacy risks.
3. Social Media Sharing and Content Removal
A. Sharing Standards
- Content Review: All digital media is reviewed by the church media team before posting to ensure it is appropriate, non-misleading, and avoids revealing sensitive information (e.g., prayer requests, health issues, financial status).
- Location Privacy: We disable precise location tags (geotags) on all social media posts and live streams, except for the Church’s main location and clearly advertised event locations, to protect the movements and presence of our attendees.
B. Content Removal Guarantee
If you find an image or video of yourself or your child on our social media or website that you wish to be removed, we will honor your request promptly, regardless of any prior consent.
- Process: To exercise this right, contact the Coordinators (details in Section 6).
- Commitment: The Church commits to processing and fulfilling the content removal request across all public platforms as soon as possible. The Church cannot guarantee removal of the third-party content but will provide guidance on platform reporting procedures.
- Archived Service Videos: While the Content Removal is Guaranteed, removing an individual’s image from lengthy, archived service recordings (like full services or stage performances) is an operational burden. The removal of the segment only, if technically feasible.
C. Printed and Physical Materials (Bulletins, Newsletters, etc.)
We recognize that physical materials (e.g., printed bulletins, seasonal newsletters, brochures) cannot be easily altered or removed once distributed. Therefore, the policy for print media is focused on internal pre-publication diligence.
- Opt-Out Master List Adherence: The Media Team is strictly mandated to cross-reference all proposed print content (both images and names) against the official Opt-Out List (Section 2) before finalizing the print design. Any individual on the list must be excluded.
- Confirmation for Features: For any prominent use in print (e.g., close-up photo, testimonial), the Media Team must obtain and log clear confirmation of consent from the individual (which can be verbal or digital). This is required even if the person has not formally opted out of Printed and Physical Materials.
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Opt-Out Requests After Content Has Been Printed (Post-Distribution Obligation):
- Immediate Action: When an individual submits a post-distribution opt-out, the Coordinators must immediately fulfill the request by adding the individual to the Master Opt-Out List and ensuring that “no future printed materials include their image or identifiable information”. This commitment safeguards the individual against any future publication in this unalterable medium.
D. Archiving Policy (Keeping Our History Safe)
Social media platforms are used for temporary distribution, not permanent storage. We prioritize the safe retention of our ministry records.
- Immediate Download: We assign staff to download and secure all valuable service and event recordings immediately after the broadcast to prevent content loss.
- Secure Storage: We ensure all archived media is saved in at least two separate, secure locations (e.g., on a local drive and in secure cloud storage) to protect against accidental loss or disaster.
- Prioritization: We prioritize the permanent archiving of key historical events and special services (like baptisms or sermons).
4. Special Protection for Missionaries
Missionaries serving in regions with security or religious risks (“Sensitive Areas”) requires our highest level of protection.
No Public Disclosure:
We never share the following about sensitive-area missionaries on any public platform (social media, website, public bulletins):
- Full names, photos, or videos.
- Specific living or working locations (e.g., city, street address).
- Real-time updates about their ministry activities.
Internal Control and Public Updates:
- Internal Control: Sensitive missionary information is shared only with authorized individuals (e.g., Pastoral Team and Missions Committee) who sign a Confidentiality Agreement to prevent accidental disclosure.
- Public Updates: Mission updates are shared publicly using only generalized language (e.g., “Our team in Southeast Asia”) and generic, non-identifying images (local landscapes, ministry tools).
5. Policy Activation Boundary and Retrospective Content
The full Content Removal Guarantee (Section 3.B) applies to media captured and published after this policy’s official Effective Date or after the individual’s Opt-Out request submission date. For content published prior to these dates (retrospective content), the Church cannot guarantee full or complete removal due to the inherent difficulty of altering historical digital records and distributed physical materials. The Church will, however, make best efforts to address concerns regarding pre-existing digital content, but the unconditional Content Removal Guarantee is specific to media generated under the new policy framework, subsequent to the individual’s official Opt-Out communication.
6
Submitting Your Privacy and Opt-Out Request
You have the right to request access, correction, or deletion of the personal information the Church holds about you, as well as the right to opt-out of all media use. You can submit these requests through three methods:
Digital Method (QR Code)
Scan this Official Privacy QR Code (also available in the church bulletin) for instant digital registration.
Direct Team Contact
7. Policy Administration
- Policy Distribution: The complete AIC Digital Privacy Policy will be made available via the church website, e-bulletin, and through links in church pamphlets, ensuring easy access to the full document, including details on the opt-out procedure.
- Data Security: We store personal information and media on secure, password-protected devices and encrypted cloud storage, with access limited to authorized staff.
- Policy Review: This policy will be formally reviewed by the Church GC team annually.
- Moderation: All official social media channels are monitored by designated adult administrators who are trained to remove comments that are profane, abusive, off-topic, or violate privacy standards.