Privacy Policy

Who this policy covers

Masjid Bilal is the public app name used by Hazrat Bilal Islamic Centre, a Calgary, Alberta charitable organization. This policy covers the Masjid Bilal mobile app and the website at hbic.ca.

You can browse prayer times, programs, events, media, and general community information without creating an account.

Information we handle

Information you choose to provide

• Private question forms may collect your email address, an optional name, a selected category, and the text of your question.
• Restaurant directory forms may collect business and contact details, including a contact name, email, phone number, address, website, and the information entered in the form.
• Messages sent by phone or email are handled through your phone or email provider and by the centre staff who respond.

Notifications

If you allow remote notifications, the app sends a notification token, device platform, app version and environment, selected notification categories, last registration time, and a one-way hash of an app-generated installation identifier to our backend. The hash supports safe token rotation and removal; it is not an advertising identifier. We use this information only to deliver and troubleshoot the Masjid Bilal updates you selected.

Information stored on your device

The app stores your theme, language, notification preferences, a cached copy of published community content, and the identifiers and status of locally scheduled prayer alerts on your device. Prayer schedules remain on the device and are not uploaded. Cached content lets the app show the last successfully downloaded information when a connection is unavailable.

Technical and anti-abuse information

Our hosting and infrastructure providers process standard connection information needed to operate and protect the service. For public forms, the server uses limited request information to create a keyed security fingerprint for rate limiting and duplicate protection; the raw network address and browser identifier are not saved in the form record.

Information we do not collect in the current app

The current Masjid Bilal app does not require a public user account, does not contain third-party advertising, does not use an advertising identifier, does not include a user analytics or crash-reporting SDK, and does not collect or transmit your precise location. Qibla direction features use device sensors locally when available.

How we use information

• Provide current prayer, iqamah, Jumu'ah, event, program, donation, and media information.
• Deliver requested notifications and remember your notification choices.
• Route private questions and directory submissions to authorized centre staff for review and follow-up.
• Prevent spam, repeated submissions, misuse, and security incidents.
• Maintain service reliability and respond to support or privacy requests.

Service providers and sharing

We do not sell personal information and do not share it for third-party advertising.

We use service providers only where needed to run the service:

• Vercel hosts the public website and server routes.
• Google Firebase provides protected database and administrative infrastructure.
• Expo, Apple Push Notification service, and Firebase Cloud Messaging support notification delivery when you enable notifications.
• Your device platform, browser, phone, email, map, donation, and social-media providers process information when you choose to use their services or open an external link.

We may disclose information when required by law, to protect users or the centre, or with your direction or consent.

Retention and deletion

We keep personal information only while it is reasonably needed to provide the requested service, complete follow-up, maintain necessary operational records, protect the service, or meet legal obligations. Authorized administrators can close and permanently delete private question and directory submissions.

Notification tokens remain active until they are disabled, become invalid, or you use the app's removal control. Delivery records are retained only for operational troubleshooting and do not contain message content from your device.

To request access, correction, or deletion of information you submitted, email info@hbic.ca. Please use the same email address supplied with the submission so we can verify and locate the request.

Your choices

• You can use the main informational features without creating an account or submitting a form.
• You can decline notification permission, change notification categories, or remove this device from Masjid Bilal notifications in the app.
• You can clear locally stored app information by removing the app from your device.
• You can contact us to request access, correction, or deletion of a private submission.

Children's privacy

Our community information includes family and youth programs, but the forms are not intended for children to submit independently. A parent or guardian should contact the centre for a child. If you believe a child provided personal information without appropriate permission, contact us so we can review and delete it.

Security

We use access controls, server-side validation, rate limiting, and encrypted network connections to protect information. No system can guarantee absolute security, so we limit collection and restrict administrative access to authorized personnel.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the app, website, providers, or legal requirements change. The effective date at the top identifies the current version.