Who We Are
Mt. Vernon Church of Christ
Our website address: mountvernonchurchofchrist.org
Our phone number: (903) 537-4129
Our email address: mtvcoc1@gmail.com
SMS (Text Messaging) Privacy Policy
Introduction
At the Mt. Vernon Church of Christ, we value your privacy and are committed to ensuring the confidentiality and security of your SMS (Text Messaging) communications. This SMS Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and protect your SMS data in compliance with industry standards and regulations.
Collection and Use of SMS Data
When you communicate with us via SMS, we may collect limited information, such as:
- Your phone number
- The content of your messages
We collect this data to facilitate communication, provide support, deliver updates, or share relevant information about our services. We will not use your SMS data for any other purposes without your explicit written consent. Additionally, we do not sell, rent, or share your SMS data with third parties unless required by law.
Opt-In Process
To ensure you have control over your communication preferences, we operate on an opt-in basis for SMS notifications:
- You will receive an initial opt-in message from our number.
- Follow the instructions provided to confirm your subscription by replying with "YES."
- Once confirmed, you will receive a follow-up message acknowledging your successful enrollment in our SMS communication system.
Opt-Out Process
You have the right to stop receiving SMS notifications at any time:
- Reply with "STOP" to any of our messages to opt-out.
- Upon opting out, you will receive a confirmation message indicating you have been removed from our SMS notifications. If you change your mind, you can always opt back in by following the opt-in process.
Data and Message Rates
Standard message and data rates may apply to SMS messages sent and received. You are solely responsible for any fees or charges incurred from your mobile carrier related to SMS communication with Mt. Vernon Church of Christ. Please verify with your MNO - Mobile Network Operator like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc for data and messaging standard rates.
Frequency of Messages
We strive to keep SMS communications to a reasonable frequency and relevance. You may expect to receive SMS messages from us only when necessary for reminders, scheduling adjustments, or important updates related to our congregation. We do not engage in unsolicited marketing messages via SMS without your explicit consent.
Protection of SMS Data
We take the security of your SMS data seriously. Our systems implement industry-standard measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include encryption, secure access protocols, and regular system audits to ensure compliance with privacy standards.
Disclosure of SMS Data
Your SMS data is never disclosed to third parties except under the following circumstances:
- To comply with legal obligations, such as court orders or subpoenas.
- To protect our rights, property, or the safety of our employees, customers, or others.
We remain transparent in such cases and will notify you where legally permissible.
Your Rights
As a valued member, you have the following rights regarding your SMS data:
- Access: Request a copy of the SMS data we hold about you.
- Correction: Update or correct any inaccuracies in your SMS data.
- Deletion: Request the deletion of your SMS data, except where retention is required by law.
To exercise these rights, please contact us at mtvcoc1@gmail.com.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this SMS Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Any modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the revised policy on our website. We encourage you to review this page periodically for updates.
Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this SMS Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at:
Email: mtvcoc1@gmail.com
Phone: (903) 537-4129
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select "Remember Me", your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
We may use analytics services to help understand how visitors use our site.
Who we share your data with
We do not share your personal data with third parties except as necessary to provide our services or as required by law.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
