Privacy Policy

Your story is sacred. So is your data. Here's exactly what we collect, why, and the rights you have over it.

Last updated: August 2, 2026

The plain-English version

  • We collect very little: your email, your name, anything you choose to add (city, bio, photo), the testimonies and sparks you post, and simple first-party page-view analytics.
  • We never sell your data. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone, ever. There are no ads on GodSparx.
  • We share only with the services that run the site — our hosting company and our email/SMS provider — and only what they need to do their job.
  • You're in control. You can see, export, correct, or delete your data at any time, and unsubscribe from any non-essential email with one click.
  • You must be 16 or older to use GodSparx. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian must consent before your story is published.
  • Questions? Email hello@godsparx.com.

1. Who we are

GodSparx (godsparx.com) is a testimony-sharing platform operated by Justin and Calie Cook, doing business in the United States as a sole proprietorship based in Thomson, Georgia. For anything in this policy, we are the "data controller" — the ones responsible for your information. You can reach us at hello@godsparx.com.

2. What we collect

We collect only what's needed to run the platform:

  • Account information: your email address (required — it's how you sign in) and your name or the display name you choose.
  • Optional profile details: a city, a short bio, and a profile photo, if you choose to add them. All optional, all removable at any time.
  • Content you post: testimonies (text and photos, with video planned later), daily sparks (short praise or prayer posts up to 300 characters), comments, and the storytellers you follow.
  • Usage data: first-party page-view analytics — which pages are visited and roughly how often. We run this ourselves; we do not use third-party advertising or tracking networks.
  • Communications: if you email us, we keep the correspondence so we can help you.
  • Technical basics: like nearly every website, our servers automatically log IP addresses, browser type, and timestamps for security and troubleshooting.

We do not collect payment information (there is nothing to buy), precise location, or biometric data. We do not build advertising profiles.

3. How we use your information (and our legal bases)

For visitors from the EU/EEA, UK, and similar jurisdictions, the law asks us to name a legal basis for each use. Here they are:

  • To run your account and the platform — signing you in with email magic links, displaying your profile and posts, sending transactional emails like sign-in links and moderation updates. Legal basis: performance of a contract (our Terms of Service).
  • To send optional devotional and marketing emails, and — if we launch it later — SMS messages. We only send these if you opt in, and every message includes a way out. Legal basis: consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
  • To moderate content. Every testimony and spark is reviewed by a human before it's published. Legal basis: legitimate interests — keeping the community safe and honest.
  • To keep the site working and secure — server logs, abuse prevention, first-party analytics. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
  • To comply with the law when we're legally required to. Legal basis: legal obligation.

4. Cookies

We keep cookies to a minimum:

  • Essential cookies that keep you signed in and keep the site secure. The site can't work without these.
  • First-party analytics to count page views. This data stays with us and is not shared with advertising networks.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies, cross-site trackers, or social media pixels.

5. Email and SMS: consent and unsubscribing

  • Transactional messages (sign-in magic links, "your story was published" notices, account and safety notices) are part of having an account and are sent to everyone with an account.
  • Devotional and marketing emails are strictly opt-in. Every one includes an unsubscribe link that works with one click. Unsubscribing never affects your account.
  • SMS marketing is planned for the future via Mailchimp. If we launch it, it will be separate opt-in with clear consent language, message frequency disclosure, and you'll be able to reply STOP at any time to opt out. We will never enroll you in SMS automatically.

6. Who we share data with

We share personal information only with service providers who help us run GodSparx, and only what they need:

  • Hosting: HostGator (United States) hosts the website and database.
  • Email and SMS delivery: our email service provider delivers sign-in links and, for those who opt in, devotional/marketing emails; Mailchimp is our planned provider for marketing email and future SMS.

These providers process data on our instructions under their own contractual and legal obligations. Beyond that, we would disclose information only if legally required (for example, a valid court order), to protect someone's safety, or — if the platform ever changed ownership — to a successor bound by this same policy (we would notify you first).

We never sell personal information, and we never share it with advertisers or data brokers.

Public content and our social channels: testimonies, sparks, and the media you attach to them are public content. With the consent you give when submitting a story, that content — under the byline you chose — may also be featured on GodSparx's official social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) to help it reach more people, as described in our Terms of Service. Ask us anytime at hello@godsparx.com to take a social post down, and we will.

7. How long we keep data

  • Account and profile data: for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, we permanently delete your profile, testimonies, sparks, comments, and uploaded media within 30 days, except where the law requires us to keep something longer.
  • Individual posts you delete: removed from the platform immediately and purged from our systems, including media files, within 30 days. Deletion means gone — we don't keep a shadow archive of removed stories.
  • Server logs: kept up to 12 months for security, then deleted or anonymized.
  • Email correspondence: kept as long as reasonably needed to help you and maintain records of our interactions.
  • Backups: deleted content may persist briefly in routine backups, which are overwritten on a rolling schedule.

8. Your rights (GDPR and similar laws)

If you're in the EU/EEA, UK, or another region with similar laws, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you;
  • Export it in a portable, machine-readable format;
  • Rectify (correct) anything inaccurate;
  • Delete your data ("right to be forgotten");
  • Object to or restrict certain processing, including anything based on legitimate interests;
  • Withdraw consent at any time for anything based on consent (like marketing emails);
  • Complain to your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these, email hello@godsparx.com. We'll respond within 30 days. We extend these same courtesies to everyone, wherever you live.

9. Your California rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you're a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it (this policy is that disclosure), to access and delete it, to correct it, and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined in California law — so there is nothing to opt out of, but if you'd like to confirm or exercise any right, email hello@godsparx.com.

10. Children and teens

  • GodSparx is for people 16 and older. We do not knowingly create accounts for anyone under 16, and we delete any we discover.
  • If you are 16 or 17, a parent or legal guardian must consent before your testimony is published on the platform.
  • If you believe a child under 16 has an account, please email hello@godsparx.com and we'll remove it promptly.

11. International transfers

GodSparx is operated from the United States and our servers are located in the US (HostGator). If you use the site from outside the US, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States. Where required by law (for example, for EU/UK users), we rely on recognized safeguards such as our providers' standard contractual clauses, and we apply the protections in this policy to your data regardless of where it's processed.

12. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data: encrypted connections (HTTPS) across the site, passwordless sign-in via one-time email magic links (so there is no password to steal), access limited to the people who operate the platform, and reputable providers for hosting and email. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever affects your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

13. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we'll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, notify you by email or a notice on the site before the change takes effect. Continued use of GodSparx after a change means you accept the updated policy.

14. Contact us

Questions, concerns, or requests about your privacy: hello@godsparx.com. We read every message.

Related: Privacy · Terms · Content Policy · Community Guidelines