The short version
Altar collects no data. There is no account, no server, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. The app makes no network requests of its own. Everything you do in Altar stays on your iPhone, and deleting the app deletes it.
The only time Altar talks to anything outside your iPhone is when you buy or restore Altar+, and that goes to Apple through the App Store, not to us. Prayer Lock uses Apple’s Screen Time, which shows Altar sealed tokens for the apps you choose, never their names or how you use them.
Our App Store privacy label says Data Not Collected, and this policy explains what that means in practice.
Who we are
Altar is made and operated by ELAQ Limited (“we”, “us”). This policy covers the Altar app for iPhone and this website, prayaltar.com. For anything about privacy, write to privacy@prayaltar.com.
What stays on your device
Altar keeps the following on your iPhone so the app can work. None of it is sent to us or to anyone else:
- the topics you picked, your translation and theme, and your daily goal;
- your streak, the days you met your goal, your longest streak and any streak freezes used;
- saved verses, highlights and bookmarks;
- your memorise deck and its review schedule;
- prayer journal entries;
- challenge progress;
- Prayer Lock settings (schedules, unlock rule, unlock length, daily unlock limit) and a record of recent unlocks;
- how you respond to cards in the feed (Amen, save, share, skip, time spent) so the feed can learn what helps you. This is a set of on-device scores, not a log sent anywhere;
- your reminder times.
This lives in Altar’s private storage on your iPhone, and in an App Group (group.com.elaq.altar) that only Altar and its own widgets and Screen Time extensions can read. Both are protected by iOS like any other app’s data.
The whole Bible text (King James Version and World English Bible) is built into the app, so reading, searching and the feed never need a connection.
If you back up your iPhone to iCloud or a computer, Apple’s backup may include Altar’s data, as it does for most apps. That backup is handled by Apple under your Apple Account; we have no access to it.
To erase everything, delete Altar. iOS removes the app’s storage and the App Group data with it. See Your data for step-by-step instructions.
Screen Time
Prayer Lock uses Apple’s Screen Time frameworks (Family Controls, Managed Settings and Device Activity). When you set it up, iOS asks whether you allow Altar to use Screen Time. You can say no; the rest of Altar works without it.
When you choose apps to lock, Apple gives Altar opaque tokens, not app names, website addresses or usage. Altar can ask iOS to lock and unlock those tokens, and to show its “Pray first” screen over them. It cannot see which apps they are, how long you use them, or anything you do inside them. That information stays inside Apple’s Screen Time system on your iPhone.
Altar’s Screen Time extensions run on your iPhone only. They read your lock settings from the App Group and write nothing anywhere else.
You can remove Altar’s Screen Time access at any time in Settings › Screen Time, or by deleting Altar.
Photos
If you save a verse wallpaper, Altar asks for add-only access to your photo library and saves that one image. Add-only access cannot read, browse or change your existing photos. If you never save a wallpaper, Altar never asks. You can change this in Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos.
Sharing a verse card uses the standard iOS share sheet; you choose where it goes, and Altar does not see what happens after that.
Widgets and extensions
Altar includes Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets and three Screen Time extensions. All of them are part of the app, run on your iPhone, and read from the same App Group. The widgets show the verse of the day and your streak; the Amen button on a widget updates a counter in the App Group. Nothing from a widget or extension is sent off the device.
Notifications (local only)
If you turn them on, Altar schedules reminders on your iPhone: a morning verse at a time you pick, an 8 pm reminder to keep your streak, an 8 am reminder for each day of an Advent or Lent challenge, and a note when Advent or Lent begins. When you tap Open Altar on the Prayer Lock screen, Altar posts a local notification so you can jump straight into the app.
These are local notifications. They are created and delivered by your iPhone itself. Altar does not use push notifications and has no server that could send them. You can turn them off in Settings › Notifications › Altar.
Purchases
Altar+ is sold through Apple’s App Store. Apple processes the payment and tells the app, on your iPhone, whether you have an active subscription or lifetime purchase. We never receive your name, email, payment details or Apple Account information. Apple’s handling of your purchase is covered by Apple’s own privacy policy.
Restore Purchases asks Apple, not us, which purchases belong to your Apple Account.
Advertising
Altar shows no ads. It contains no advertising SDK, does not read the advertising identifier, and never shows the “Allow tracking” prompt, because nothing about you is tracked across apps or websites.
Analytics
Altar contains no analytics or crash-reporting SDK. We do not collect usage statistics, device identifiers or fingerprints.
If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in your iPhone’s settings, Apple may provide us with aggregated, anonymous statistics and crash reports through App Store Connect. That is Apple’s system and your choice to make; you can change it in Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.
This website, prayaltar.com, uses no cookies, no analytics and no third-party scripts or fonts. It is hosted on GitHub Pages; like any web host, GitHub may process technical data such as IP addresses to deliver and secure the site, under GitHub’s own privacy statement. We do not receive or use that data.
Children
Altar is rated 4+ and is suitable for all ages. Because Altar collects no personal information from anyone, it collects none from children. Screen Time permission for a child’s device is controlled by iOS and, where Family Sharing is set up, by the parent or guardian.
Your rights
Data protection laws such as the EU and UK GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) give you rights to access, correct, delete, port or restrict personal data, and to object to its processing. You also have the right not to have your personal information sold or shared.
Because we hold no personal data about you, there is nothing for us to give you, correct or delete on our side, and nothing we could sell or share. The data Altar uses is on your iPhone and fully under your control: you can see it in the app and erase it by deleting the app.
If you email us, we will see your email address and message and use them only to reply. Ask us to delete the conversation and we will.
If you have a concern about how your data is handled, you can contact us at privacy@prayaltar.com. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will post the new version on this page with a new effective date. If a change would mean Altar starts collecting data, we will say so clearly in the app before it happens.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: privacy@prayaltar.com.
Help with the app: support@prayaltar.com.
ELAQ Limited